Dirty Water

[Hailey]

hello....so i have had my tank for about 3 or 4 months now, and i CANNOT get my water clear! i have tried EVERYTHING!! and i am getting SOOOO MAD!!! is there any way that works well??
i also got my water tested today and everything is perfect

 

[smithrc]

is it a yellowey brownish colour?

if so I bet you have bog wood in there

If so its a natural colour realeased from the bogwood called tannin.

It will fade over time with water changes (may tank a LONG time e.g. many months)

It's not harmful.

 

[Hailey]

nope there is no bogwood in my tank. all safe plastic decorations.....

 

[freshmike]

Try Accuclear.

 

[rvm]

what sort of filter do you use, and what media types do you have in it?

 

[Phantom Thief]

What do you mean by 'dirty water'? Is it a greenish colour or something similar? If so, it may be algae bloom, which can be stopped by reducing light intensity and duration.

If it is a whitish, dusty look, then it is probably bacterial bloom, but it is unlikely because your tank is already too old for that. It's still possible though.

Tell us more about your situation

P.T.

 

[Bryan]

Rather that start a new topic I thought I could jump in here, I have the same problem, the color is milky white. when you get close you don't notice, but when you look at my other tanks that are clear, then look back it looks very cloudy. I'm running 2 filters ones is meant for a 55g and the other is for a 30g, the tank is a 55g. In the past week I've done 5 30% changes and last week I did a 60% change. It just don't seem to go, now I'm adding some chems, the package is at school, can't remember the name, maybe it is called "clear water" or something like that. I put a ton of charcoal in my filters. It was clear a month ago, then I added my plants, I stirred something from the bottom.
This chemical is like what I add to my pool, makes the suspended particles coagulate so the filter can better grab them but wont that make it easier to get stuck in the fishes gills?

 

[Dubby]

If you have what looks like tiny bits (almost like powder) floating in the water then using filter floss (wool) in your filter should help.

Any discoloration can normally be tackled by adding activated carbon to the filter.

 

[Hailey]

my tank is 35 gal, and i use a whisper filter appropriate for the size. the water is like a brownish yellow colour, but i knwo its not bogwood because there is no wood in my tank, all plastic. i changed the filter cartridge last night and nothing has changed as of yet. thanx for the help i will try some of the suggestions

 

[Hailey]

what do u mean by "media types"???

 

[Hailey]

i just looked at my tank from further, and the colour of the water isnt brownish yello, its more greenish yellow...

 

[Hailey]

GREENISH BROWN!! if i could type! haha

 

[karrihug]

greenish brown? sounds like algea. if you don't have live plants try leaving your lights off for a few days, then make sure you only have them on for about 8 hours a day once it is cleared. if you have live plants you need light every day but turn it on for a couple hours and off for a couple hours every day. plants can do fine with this but algea needs more constant light.

 

[Barday]

Try putting some carbon in your filter, that should sort out the colour

 

[leafs]

I just started using filter floss in my Aquaclear and I was really impressed with how clear my water is now. It's worth a try.