My tank water wont get clear

[IHaveANewHobby:)]

Hello Everyone!

Heres the delima:

I have had my fish tank set up (25 US Gal) since August 1st of this year. I only have 2 Zebra Danios in the tank (Cycled with fish) (didnt know about fishless at the time)

Anyway this reading of the tank are:
PH 7.6
Nitrite 0
Amonia 0
Temp 78-80

I have a whisper filter system that uses a bio bag, and all this time I have been doing weekly water testing and changes where I clean the ornaments on old Tank water, the filter is rinsed in old tank water, and I siphon the gravel (onlyy about a quarter of the tanks gravel a week,) and the water in my tank has always been crystal clear.

Howver,
In the last 2 weeks my water will (NOT) get clear for the life of me. I have tried slowing down the feeding, turning off the light to the tank for a full day and that so far has not helped. Should I just keep doing water changes untill its clear? I dont want this tank to do a mini cycle or anything. Please let me know what you all think ! Thank you so much! BTW the tank is cloudy in a murkey way, in the light the water just looks cloudy, however when I turn off the tank it is greenish in coulor. Thanks!

 

[IHaveANewHobby:)]

*bump* Please Help

 

[Sye]

It sounds like an algae boom even though your nitrates are 0.

You could try adding a product called Green Away that clumps all the suspended particles together so the filter picks it up

 

[IHaveANewHobby:)]

What is an Alge Bloom? Sorry I have never heard of that. Please explain THX!

 

[Juggernaut22988]

I think algae bloom is the stuff in feeder fish tanks in pet stores


Just cover up the tank with newspaper and put some algae remover chemicals in.

DO NOT CHANGE WATER TOO OFTEN!
It benefits the algae


leave lights off too.

 

[Alien Anna]

Just cover up the tank with newspaper and put some algae remover chemicals in.

DO NOT CHANGE WATER TOO OFTEN!
It benefits the algae

leave lights off too.

I disagree with that advice. Algae bloom is usually caused by an excess of nutrients in the water, usually either ammonia (if the tank is not cycled) or nitrates (if it is cycled). High nitrates can come from the tank being over-stocked, from doing too few water changes and also from tap water (our tap water is often highly contaminated with nitrates). High phosphates from tap water can have a similar effect.

Test your tap water and tank water for nitrates. Assuming the tank water is higher nitrates than the tap water, start instituting regular, frequent partial water changes.

Do try to cut down on light but if you cut out all light and still have high nutrient levels, you could simply start growing brown algae rather than red. I suspect it was an ammonia spike as you cycled the tank that caused the algae - and one it is established, it can take a while to clear.

I've got a similar problem in one of my tanks (due to high nitrates) so I'd better go and do a water change myself! Good luck.

 

[IHaveANewHobby:)]

Ya know, its funny you mention brown alge. I have some of that now and I never had that before. Is this a good thing? Oh and I just did a 30-40 % water change. So, keep lights off and wait?

 

[aquamanis]

Hi, something you might want to try that dosen,t cost too much. Put some activated carbon (about a cupfull) in a sock and let it hang in the water near the outlet of your filter so the water passes through it. Any excess nutrients will be soaked up by the carbon and your water should become clear. I did this and let it sit for a week then removed it. The water was crystal clear and no smell.
oh, something else I forgot to mention, Barley straw extract is now available in some pet stores and internet mailorder shops. It stops algae in its tracks and stops new algae reappearing.