Hazy Water For 2 Days Now...

[trojannemo]

i changed the gravel on wednesday to eco-complete plant substrate. i'm guessing the company that makes it expected it to cloud the water for a while as they included a "bio-clarifier" with each bag of the product. i followed instructions and mixed it in...it should have helped to clear the water. i waited a full day (from wednesday afternoon to thursday at night) and the water was still hazy. so i decided to try the water clarifier i bought from Petco 9 months back...i dont like using it but it does a great job usually at clearing the water. well 12+ laters the water is still looking hazy.

it's not a bacteria bloom because all of my parameters are fine as they have been for a long time. i made sure the cycle wouldn't start from scratch by saving all my bacteria colonies (3 media bags, biowheel, plastic grid from the wet/dry, etc).

what can be causing this haze in the water? the fish are not stressed at all, quite the contrary since the change in gravel (now it's more like a sand) and addition of more hiding spaces with a rock and tall plants they are all showing better colors and swimming happily.

so it's not a bacteria bloom, and water clarifiers can't get at it. i have 2 HOB filters, each of them capable of cleaning the entire tank, so what gives?

 

[minxfishy]

Try filter floss in the filter, that usually catches all the smallest particles and clears up the water well.

 

[trojannemo]

Try filter floss in the filter, that usually catches all the smallest particles and clears up the water well.

well that's the problem...i already have it in there!

here's what i have in my filters

biomax media bag
plastic media tray (came with filter)
carbon filter pad
filter floss/cotton


biomax media bag
home-made media bag
carbon filter pad
bio-wheel
filter floss/cotton


one filter is for 40G, the other for 50G, so i have 90G of filtration as described above in a 33G tank...so i would expect my water to clear up wouldnt you? maybe i'll change the floss now (i bought a HUGE bag of it so i have got a lot of spare...)

in the meantime, any other ideas?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

just give it a few more days, sometimes it takes a while for these substrates to clear up fully.

 

[Syphoniera]

Just wondering if you have any diggers among your fish?
I've never used eco-complete, but did get some aquariumplant.com substrate which I used in a couple of tanks.
I'm having what may be a similar problem to yours in one tank with a temporary occupant who doesn't so much dig (well, burrows under some raised slate sometimes) as sometimes wiggle her tail on the substrate when feeding, so that every time the water finally clears, I know more dark nutrient will shortly be again released and the misty effect reappear...
The fish don't SEEM to be bothered, although it's kept me up a (not-so-good) few nights anxiously peering and cursing myself, and the plants are growing nicely.
I figure - despite two filters stuffed with filter wool - it'll likely remain that way to some degree or other until the baby bristlenose can be moved into her new home.
The tank's been running for a while, although the baby bristlenose is a somewhat more recent addition, so I'd have expected the problem would have been cleared up within maybe a couple of weeks.
And I rinsed the top layer of substrate waaay more than the manufacturer said to, just to avoid any chance of this sort of thing...
Could something like this be the source of your problem?

 

[trojannemo]

i dont know if that's it. i have one clown loach and also 4 apple snails who travel the gravel (ha!) multiple times a day...go figure!

hopefully it'll clear up. i'm not worried and i'm not adding any more chemicals to try to clear it up. i'll just wait it out

 

[Syphoniera]

i dont know if that's it. i have one clown loach and also 4 apple snails who travel the gravel (ha!) multiple times a day...go figure!

hopefully it'll clear up. i'm not worried and i'm not adding any more chemicals to try to clear it up. i'll just wait it out

Good plan.
While I know nothing myself, I've heard the flocculants in clarifiers are not positive things for fish gills.