Help! Cloudy Water( I No, But I Get Di4rent Theories)

[yzho105]

my tank is cloudy(white).

i've been doing some reserch on the net. and i am confused~~~

some say add bacteria solutions, therefore it consume the left over nuitrient.

some say it due to bacteria bloom, definately no more bactera solutions.

"bacteria bloom", some one plz define it. cuz i am confused. does it refer to Increase in bacteria or bacteria die off?

i've got a 130L tank, its been set up for around 2 mouth now, its been cloudy b4 (first week?).

what can cause the water to be cloudy this time

what should i do?

ps. i am having increasing ammonia level too
thanks

 

[tnhowery]

How frequent are your water changes?

Overfeeding?

 

[yzho105]

How frequent are your water changes?

Overfeeding?

i was a little lazy on the water change

but.... since the problem arose, i did 2-3 times of 15% water change(over the period of 2 weeks). and it didnt help at all. so i guess its not solely about the water change.

second, i feed my fish 2 times a day, consumed in 1-2 minutes as i was told. on top of that i often (not always) drop half of a tablet food for my bottom feeders during lights out.

 

[zoekin8yg]

what are the water levels? ammonia/nitrite/nitrate etc

 

[yzho105]

what are the water levels? ammonia/nitrite/nitrate etc

water details:

according to my test kit:

ammonia: 0.5 mg/L
Nitrite:0mg/L
nitrate: unknown (i dont have the nitrate test kit)

i am not an expert on the whole "cycle" thing, but the ammonia and nitrite have been pretty stable( i've had this 130L tank for around 2 month). i've use sponge, rock, plants, decrorations from my previous tank. thats the reason i wasnt too worried about the good bacteria amount. i've did some random check on those levels, every time its been 0. but today i have 0.5 mg/L ammonia.

So whats ur comments? is the ammonia level has something to do with my cloudy water?

thanks

 

[@ombomb]

Is there anything in the tank?

Sounds like a bacterial bloom to me.

Basically the bacteria live on ammonia. If ammonia levels rise, bacterial levels rise. If this happens quickly (normally when a tank first cycles) the numbers will grow high enough for them to cloud the water.

 

[yzho105]

Is there anything in the tank?

Sounds like a bacterial bloom to me.

Basically the bacteria live on ammonia. If ammonia levels rise, bacterial levels rise. If this happens quickly (normally when a tank first cycles) the numbers will grow high enough for them to cloud the water.

yes, u may be right. then, i have to reduce the ammonia level right? then what should i do to reduce the ammonia level?(isnt it by again adding those bacterial solutions then the problem spins a circle?). plz correct me.

2ndly, i've recently introduce this air stone into my tank. u know, the air pump and a air stone which creates bubbles. i do not think its becuz of that, but again, correct me if i am wrong.

 

[@ombomb]

Is there anything living in your tank?

I very much doubt this has anything to do with the airstone.

 

[Callum]

the airstone shouldnt affect anything at all. it is probably just a bacterial bloom

 

[Torrean]

what's your substrate? sand/gravel.

Did you rinse it before you put it in?

Is the airstone underneath the substrate?

It's probably just a bacterial bloom.

 

[yzho105]

what's your substrate? sand/gravel.

Did you rinse it before you put it in?

Is the airstone underneath the substrate?

It's probably just a bacterial bloom.

i use gravel and there are tetras and angles and cats living in my tank.

if its a bacteria bloom. how do u cure/fix it?

 

[kev350d]

i use gravel and there are tetras and angles and cats living in my tank.

if its a bacteria bloom. how do u cure/fix it?

I had the same issue a few days back, infact mine never completely cleared since it was set up (1st tank was set up for 3 weeks with no fish then when i purchased my new one i transferred all water, filters, substrate and to boot i had some media donated via a member on here. The cloud never settled though and increased when i had to add fish 2 weeks ago, after many 20% water changes it did improve slightly but would return, i decided to try Nutrafin BClear and 48hrs later the water was 90% improved but ive now chose to opt for more water changes as im not fond of adding chemicals and as my tanks levels are steady i would hate to disrupt the process.

I would use it again if needed as a kick start (it did not alter the waters parameters) and succeeded in doing what it said, only snag is that you have to determine if its bacterial or dust (microscopic debris) from your substrate etc.