help me cure cloudy water!

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rosie T.

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Hi! I have a 10 gallon tank that's been set up for almost 3 months now. And I have 2 mollies and 3 pink tetras and no live plants. ( ALthough, I've been thinking of getting live ones). My water quality is fine, and usually has been. But lately, my water has been a bit cloudy. Not so cloudy that I can't see anything, but there seems to be lots of little itty-bitty particles just floating around. I do weekly 20% water changes, and have been adding those drops to cure the cloudiness. Are these particles harmful? Should I take clean my decoration weekly as well? Help!!!
 
>>> Are these particles harmful?

Difficult to say without knowing what they are. If organic, (bacteria etc.), then yes they could well be, if inorganic, probably not.

Tell us a little about your filter(s) and these "drops" you are adding. What colour is the haze?
 
To answer your question, I have a Whisper Power Filter and the drops I've been adding is called "Crystal Clear". It's supposed to clear cloudy water I guess. It makes a dark brown haze when dropped in, but that's the color of the solution. After a couple of seconds, the hazed disappears. How do I know if it's organic or inorganic?
 
Searching, Crystal Clear would appear to be a floculant, something that makes fine suspensions clump together. I've never heard of it before, however, I have used floculants to help clear wine and beer. I assume the stuff you are using is harmless, however, it would also appear not to be working!

It was actually the colour of your cloudy water I was asking about. A green haze is almost certainly algae. A brown haze could be algae, could be something leaching tanin or tannic acid into your water. A silvery grey haze could be protozoan or similar. A white haze could be bacteria or a micro-crystalline suspension. So, tell us about the cloudy water. Not all of these hazes will clear with a floculant.

Does the tank smell odd? Are you using any other chemicals, (pH changers for example)?

I assume you filter is properly cycled as you say your water chemistry is okay.
 
He Lateral Line! Sorry... the haze is actually white. And the particles aren't too small. They're actually pretty big. I just don't know what they're coming from.
 
>>> And the particles aren't too small.

Okay, so the next question, do you have any fine media in your filter that would trap them?

It is possible your floculant isworking, you are just not trapping the colloids! Something to try to note, does the haze start fine and get coarse when you add the floculant? This is important, because floculants are good at clumping inorganic suspensions, less so with live organics.

You didn't answer this...

>>> Are you using any other chemicals, (pH changers for example)?

... could be important.
 

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