More Water Changes=cloudy Water?

[IovaykInD]

Okay, I've been reading about the forum and it seems that people who have cloudy tanks try to do more water changes. They never get crystal clear water. I haven't changed my tank water for over 4 months, and the tank is crystal clear. Also, the stats are fine when I test the water(pH 7, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 3ppm.) I have guppies and neon tetras in the tank, and they are all healthy. I'm sort of thinking that we should do less water changes and let the filter keep overturning the water. In turn after time, the tank will become crystal clear since there isn't new water for the filter to filter. What do you think about this?

Isaac

 

[kris-b-]

It's not just the ammonia, nitrites & nitrates that are in the water. There are other compounds that will build up over a period of time and these will become more concentrated the more of them there are.

How heavily planted is your tank? If you haven't changed your water in 4 months and your tank is not heavily planted then there's no way that your nitrates could be that low! In fact my test kit doesn;t have a 3ppm its 5,10,20,40,80, 160+.

 

[IovaykInD]

I know..i've been afraid of the hardness being extremely high. My dad doesn't really believe I should change the water, because of the fact that it is crystal clear. He says the tank water is the best it could ever be. I didn't do the test, I took a tank of water to the lfs and that's what they told me. I'll be sure not to ask them anything I need to know in the future.

 

[kris-b-]

There was a thread about this recently where someone did post up the reasons why you should change the water and what the compounds within the water were.

Even though the water looks crystal clear it may not be the best for your fish. If I was you I would invest in a test kit of your own as the nitrate reading doesn't sound right to me.

 

[Tolak]

White clouding is caused by a bacterial bloom, the usual cause is not having enough bacteria built up on the filter media & substrate to support the bio load. More water changes will not contribute to cloudy water, as long as the replacement water has been properly treated for chlorine & chloramine.

A couple examples, one of my tanks, & one where I work;

10 gallon, bottom tank in a 3 tank rack. Well established, running for years. 3 platys, & a small albino bristlenose call it home. Being the bottom tank on a rack in a room full of tanks you have a hard time seeing or hearing the hob filter if it goes out, which it did a few weeks ago. Tank went cloudy, I restarted the filter, it cleared up in a day. This tank gets 50% weekly water changes. Bacteria in the substrate was not enough to carry the bio load.

72 gallon, once again well established, running for years. Large common plec, a few tetras, 2 iridescent sharks & a clown loach. Magnum 350 for filtration. Case split, soaked motor, totally dead filter. By ther time a new magnum was purchased, the old media was dead. Bacterial bloom for a good month, until the filter media cought up with the bio load. 25% weekly water changes previous to the filter self destructing. Absolutely crystal clear water for years before the filter incident, the owner won't have it any other way. He was ready to ditch the tank, stand & all after the first 2 weeks. It took a good 6 weeks for it to clear up, it's back to it's normal self for the last few weeks. Bacteria in the substrate was not enough to carry the bio load.

Tolak

 

[Dorkhedeos]

another reason why waterchanges might cause the water to get more cloudy is because of your substrate isnt really clean so when you pour water in, it disrupts it all the crap gets stirred up

 

[Mo_loves_fish]

If you want a clear tank. TIME is the essence.