# cloudy water!!



## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

so ive had cloudy water now in my 30 gallon long for about 2 weeks and its getting worse and worse...ive even been doing like 50% water changes every 3-5 days and it clears up a bit but by morning its all cloudy again can someone tell me how to clear this??*H2


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## Brittrugger (May 30, 2010)

Did you just setup this tank or have you just added some fish? Sounds like a possible bacterial bloom from cycling. Have you run any ammonia or nitrite levels lately? also what type of substrate is in your tank?


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## rtbob (Jul 18, 2010)

The five fish you have listed as the occupants of your 30g tank would go along way to maxing out a 75g tank.

As all ready stated: Thanks to Brittrugger.

Cloudiness can be caused by a bacteria bloom in a newly set up tank. Any tank that has been set up for less than three months IMO qualifies. This is usually a white-hazzy cloudiness. 

Dirty substrate used when tank was set up can cloud your water. Even if it was brand new in the bag it needs to be rinsed very well before being added to your tank. 

If the cloudiness is greenish in color it is an algae bloom. This is caused by excessive light and nutrients.

Bio-load to large for the tank's filtration ( to much waste for the established bacteria to process) may cause cloudiness also.

Test your water with a quality LIQUID test kit. Test the ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte.

Please post back you results. Answer the questions Brittrugger asked please.

Also what size Penguin filter are you using?

Good Luck.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Which penguin model do you have? I hope at least the 200. Even that may not be enough. How long has the tank had fish in it?

Also, is it a white kind of cloudy or a greenish? Easiest way to tell is to put something whate in the tank.


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## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

sadly i have the 150 model and i am getting the 200 to go with it and it is whitish water, also i dont have the pangasius catfish anymore and i have regular dark blue gravel that i rinsed really good before setting up the tank


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## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

I had problems with cloudy water in my 30 gal for quite some time. 

Here's how I fixed it: 

1) Lifted up ALL the decorations, plants, rocks etc, to let out all the trapped debris under them release.
2) Vacuumed ALL the gravel. (there was a LOT of junk under there!)
3) Added extra carbon to my canister filter. 
4) Cut down on how much fish and food went into the tank. 

4 months later: Tank is Crystal clear, haven't had cloudy water since.


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

I've learned that phosphates and iron additives (supplements) will cloud the water for a few hours or days. Have you been adding anything like that?


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## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

idk I don't think so


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## Magoo (Mar 15, 2011)

Oh I have the cloudy water blues myself.  

My tank has been setup for about 4 months now and the water just recently got a dense cloudy white tinge to it. It really grinds my gears!

I just did another water test:
pH: 6.4
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm

I added Accu-Clear the day before yesterday and it made no difference. I have also done 20% water changes every other day. I went to the pet store the other day and bought a "Poly Filter" pad that claims to remove all forms of phosphates. The white tinge to the water makes me think the phosphates are high. I added the Poly Filter pad to my penguin 200 filter. It has been in there 2 days now. So far no change. I have a bid on Ebay for a phosphate test kit. I also have another bid on there for a Hot Magnum 250 canister filter. That filter has a micron cartridge that I'm interested in using to see if it helps. 

So am I on the right track here? What else could/should I consider?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

No additive that causes cloudiness would last for 2wks. 

I still haven't seen where you've tested the water and if I've missed it, how long have the fish been in the tank? Post your results from testing.

This all just sounds like a cycling issue.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Magoo said:


> Oh I have the cloudy water blues myself.
> 
> My tank has been setup for about 4 months now and the water just recently got a dense cloudy white tinge to it. It really grinds my gears!
> 
> ...


I would stop adding stuff to your tank. Most things, even some diseases, can be fixed with a water change.

What are your water change habits? How often/much do you feed? I'd do a 30-40% water change and stop feeding a few days.


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## Magoo (Mar 15, 2011)

I do a 20% water change once a wk. I feed 3 times/day.


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## squishy (Apr 13, 2011)

maybe feed less often? do the fish appear to be suffering or gasping for air? This happened to me and i have no idea how the water cleared but i guess my tank must have finished its cycle (i didnt know about it when i started the tank). i initially tried to wait it out, and then when it didnt go away i did a 50% water change, re-cleaned all the of the decorations, fed less often, didnt keep the tank light on as long, and washed out my filters. the fish didnt seem to be suffering and seemed perfectly fine so i just left it as is with weekly 25% water changes and it just all went away one day. i also heard that the bacteria can use up a lot of oxygen so make sure u keep the oxygen pump on so the fish dont suffocate!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Magoo said:


> I do a 20% water change once a wk. I feed 3 times/day.


Holy crap!! Why? Honestly, there is no need for that much feeding. Even if, your fish are consuming all of the food and none is hitting the bottom and eventually rotting, your fish will create a lot more waste and therefore pushing your bio-filter. I would feed no more than once a day and skip one day a week. Make that your normal practice and your water will never cloud again.


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## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

I feed twice a day, once in the morning at 7:45 am(right before the lights come on) and once at night. (8:00 pm). This seems to work best in my 30 gal.


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## ReStart (Jan 3, 2011)

I agreed with Jrman, reduce feeding, at least for awhile. I let mine go without food once in awhile just to "clean out thier systems ;-)" It makes them really glad to see me!

I might try a 25% wc every day for awhile too. Can't hurt, even if it is a cycle issue, imho. Also, are there any live plants in the tank? They seem to help keep my 10g water clear. I have only plastics in my 60g tall because I don't want the light costs right now but I have Cascade 2000 and that seems to keep water crystal clear.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Yeah I agree.The only reason to ever feed three times a day is if you are conditioning breeding pairs or feeding fry.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

majerah1 said:


> Yeah I agree.The only reason to ever feed three times a day is if you are conditioning breeding pairs or feeding fry.


You're right. I did leave out reasons why you may "need" to do that. Hopefully, even those are very controlled so tank parameters don't get out of wack.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I have learned from past experiences with fry,if you overfeed,you dont have much of a chance to fix your mistakes.And when conditioning the fish,you need to up the waterchanges to compensate the extra waste,or you will get problems like the OP has.


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

have you guys added anything to the tank recently before the cloudiness started?


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## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

ok so my test results are ph: 6.2-6.5 i have test strips so i cant tell exactly

no ammonia test strips yet ( i no its really bad not to have them)
nitrite:0
nitrate between 20-30 ppm


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Test strips are inaccurate anyway,so instead invest in a master test kit when you can.


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## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

ok but are those results ok?


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## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

Yes. Nitrates are acceptable at low amounts, as Nitrate is the least toxic of all of them. 

Nitrate is the result of Nitrite which is the result of ammonia breaking down. 

It is quite common for a completely healthy and stable tank to have a small amount of Nitrate.


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

agreed.. the nitrates are good if they're kept below 40ppm, gettin iffy at 80 and should do a water change at that point to get it below 40 and preferrably below 20.. and ungood completely above that and should do immidiate water changes (not too much all at once, 25-50% over a few days should work) until its brought down... and if it does get higher than 40-80ppm, then you're feeding too much, dont have enough plants, or not changing the water enough. or all the above really. Figure out how much you have over a week without water changes so you can see if you need to decrease feeding and how often you need to change your water. If you can keep things below 20ppm all the time, then you're doing well. Lower the better though. Hope this wasnt too confusing for you to understand with my blabbering.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Ill be a parrot and repeat what has been said.Levels are fine but the master kit will give more accurate results than the strips.


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## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

No, its fine phys but i cant tell what my ammonia levels are because i dont have the test kit for it but id i do like a 25% water change every other day will it keep it safe so i can at least no the water will be ok until i get the test kit, also how long until my ammonia goes to 0 ppm and stays... is it until the cycle finishes?


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

if you dont have ammonia test materials, keep a watch on the nitrites. if they're still there, then you probably have some ammonia still. When they reach zero, then theres probably not any ammonia. But as others have posted, you could possibly have it but it will be at a low level. So for now, if you see nitritres, then keep going with your water changes. 
It can take up to a month for the cycle to finish. But since you're seeing nitrites, its probably a week to 2 weeks away. Every tank is different though so keep checking things.


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## plecosrawesome (Mar 1, 2011)

ok cool thanks


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Since you already posted that nitrites were zero, possibly it means there is no ammonia. It is not uncommon to not see nitrites on a cycle using fish. So what I am saying is that it is good that you're not seeing nitrites, never looked back to see if you ever were, but it doesn't mean that the ammonia has completely zeroed out.


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## Magoo (Mar 15, 2011)

Okay okay.....so I guess I'll cut down on the feeding. I'll try once a day, and cut it to every other day till the tank clears up. I will also continue water changes everyday till it clears up. It seems to be helping alittle already. 

Have a lot of little green algae growth so I'm also busy scrubbing that away. Is it better to scrub it all away or buy a product to kill it?


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

i'd say just scrub away.. If you try the natural ways to get rid of it, you wont have to worry about strange chemicals sitting around.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Never use algaecides for any reason.


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