Help !

[seanmcn]

I have a 190 ltr 3 cornered tank (with Cichlids) & an external filter.

Recently, when turning the lights on in the afternoon, I have noticed that the water appears really cloudy & the gravel at the bottom, below where the fish spend most of their time, covers in a green algae very quickly.

I am doing regular water changes & cleaning the filter, however this persists.
I don't know if it's my imagination or not but the longer i leave my lights on the more it seems to clear the cloudiness.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[dthoffsett]

Not sure off hand what the problem is, could you answer a few questions to help diagnose it?

How long has the tank been set up?

How often, and how much water do you change, do you clean the gravel while you do it?

What species and how many do you have, are they juveniles or adults?

What do you feed them, how often, and how much?

You said algae grows on your gravel quickly, is your tank getting direct sunlight?

How do you clean your filter, in old tank water or tap?

What are your current ammonia/nitrite/nitrate readings (actual readings if possible)?

If you could answer as many of those and you can, that should help us figure out the problem.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

 

[seanmcn]

Not sure off hand what the problem is, could you answer a few questions to help diagnose it?

How long has the tank been set up? - Around 6-7 months

How often, and how much water do you change, do you clean the gravel while you do it? - Every 10 days or so & no.

What species and how many do you have, are they juveniles or adults? - 2 kribs, 3 red devils, 2 jewels, 3 cons

What do you feed them, how often, and how much? - mixture of bloodworm & flakes (alternately), daily

You said algae grows on your gravel quickly, is your tank getting direct sunlight? - No

How do you clean your filter, in old tank water or tap? - in the water I have emptied from the tank.

What are your current ammonia/nitrite/nitrate readings (actual readings if possible)? - unsure, I am in the process of getting them read.

If you could answer as many of those and you can, that should help us figure out the problem.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

Thanks a lot for your response.

 

[dthoffsett]

Well, first I'd suggest you start cleaning your gravel when you do water changes. I believe you have fairly high waste producing fish, and I know blood worms can go bad quick if they end up in the gravel. I don't know how much water you change when you clean, but I'd change at least 40%.

I'm thinking the algae on the gravel is due to high nutrients in it (ie food), a not getting moved around on occasion. As for the cloudiness, I'd check your ammonia and nitrite, it's often a bacterial bloom that clouds the water. If you don't have one, I'd definitely recommend investing in a liquid test kit, API is a good brand.

I'm not too up on New World Cichlids, but I think you may be overstocked for your size of tank which could also be contributing to the problems. I'd post in the New World section for further help on stocking.
[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/category/28/New-World-Cichlids/"]http/www.fishforums.net/category/28/New-World-Cichlids/[/URL]

 

[Calab]

Recently, when turning the lights on in the afternoon, I have noticed that the water appears really cloudy & the gravel at the bottom, below where the fish spend most of their time, covers in a green algae very quickly.

Are you vacuuming your gravel when you do water changes?