Constant Water Clouding

[andyw823]

Ever since i set this tank up back in feb this year i have always had a cloudy water problem, i have used interpet filter aid which clears the water in a few hours but then returns after 3 days or so. I have also used Interpet green away which also clears it up but then it returns again. Its a 290l tank with a Rena xp3 external filter (rated at 1000+ L per hour) whch contains 4 foam sponges in one tray, the 2nd tray has ceramic media and the 3rd tray had lots off wool type media with a carbon filter. I change 15 - 20% water every 7 - 14 days. Any ideas?

 

[DarkEntity]

If its white itll be bacterial blooms, if its green its an algae bloom. Algae blooms can be stopped by blackouts or using a UV filter. Bacterial blooms will go by themselves after a while, just keep doing water changes. Mine lasted 2 weeks before its started to disappear and it was a lot worse than that.

 

[andyw823]

By blackouts do you mean no lights?

 

[DarkEntity]

No lights, no sunlight, nothing, basically cover the tank with a set of towels so no light at gets in.

 

[andyw823]

No lights, no sunlight, nothing, basically cover the tank with a set of towels so no light at gets in.

How long for and will the fish suffer?

Thanks!

 

[Angel_Queen]

No lights and also cover the entire tank glass ( on outside) in newspaper

 

[DarkEntity]

If anything your fish will be better as there are no humnas wandering about scaring them.

 

[deogan]

mine is white and it is there for over two months now. Can it be anything else? does not go away even after a water change. Please help. It is a 100 L tank with two internal filters.

 

[Tobigara]

actually i have the same issue. not a bad one but i'd like to hear as many options as possible for how to correct it

 

[SamUK]

you should all post your water stats.


can often see whats wrong from that......


could be a number of things really.

 

[Htw]

Do you have a pump with an air stone? Try oxygenating the water and see if that helps.

 

[deogan]

Guys, I think I have found the culprit. when I leave for office there is a power cut every alternate one or two hours for half an hour each. There can be about 4 to 6 such cuts in a day. Do you think this can be a reason? at night there is no cut.

 

[Spooky76]

Bacteria bloom / blossom usually starts through ammonia levels being high. it can happen quickly in smaller tanks if you overfeed.

The answer is yes to your question, it could easily be the power cut. Although it wont kill all your good bacteria, because the water is unfiltered the ammonia levels will rise with fish waste.

I think you hit the nail on the head....dont know how you stop it though...

 

[deogan]

I need advise on another thing. I have a big vertical long internal filter rated for 2000 lph. It has two chambers, one below the other. both the chambers have sponge in it. can i replace the sponge in one chamber with bio balls, carbon granules and cotton wool? Will it reduce or enhance the cleaning ability of the filter? and if i replace the sponge with these media, should I put it in the top chamber or bottom chamber?

please advise