# beer (yeast) causing hazy water?



## apenticoff (Jan 27, 2012)

This is a weird one - I'm hoping someone can help me. In late October I went on a business trip and my 16-year-old daughter had a party (obviously she got caught) and somebody fouled the tank and shorted out the lights. By the time I got back and found the damage, six platys were dead (but she had replaced them thinking I wouldn't know) but the pleco and catfish survived. The weirdest thing is that the tank water was a hazy white. Water changes would minimize the haze for a day or two then it would grow back. The new light bulbs with the fixture were brighter and probably a different frequency than the previous bulbs because a neon green algae bloom resulted, along with the white haze. 

I've now been through so many water changes that the replacement platys and the catfish have all died (pleco still holding on) but I cannot get the tank clear no matter what I do. Algaecide, water clarifier - nothing. The haze is definitely biological not chemical, since it increases over time. My newest thought is that one of the stupid kids dumped a beer in the tank, maybe a microbrew that still had live yeast(?) and that is the culture I can't get rid of. Has anyone heard of such a thing? Is it even possible for yeast to grow in a tank? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Amy


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## greenaquarium (Dec 19, 2008)

try to turn the temp down for a few days, also try erythromycin


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Sounds like a bacterial bloom.


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

its a bacterial bloom. my tank becomes very hazy when I do a water change, but turns clear after about a week.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Don't add more chemicals, you're probably making it worse. I would do a couple of large water changes and let the tank settle down again on it's own. The bacterial bloom it'self is not harmful to fish, but it indicates an imbalance in the water. It is most common in new tanks that are cycling or overstocked tanks. I would guess that the powercut killed the good bacteria in your filter and the tank it is cycling again. During cycling there are spikes in ammonia and nitrites that can kill fish. Ideally get a test kit for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and you will have a better chance at saving the fish you have left. Also you don't mention the size of your tank, but make sure that you are not overstocked, a heavily stocked tank will always make problems like this much worse. In any case don't add more fish until the tank is stable.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I wouldn't use erythromicin as was suggested higher up - antibiotics are for medical not cosmetic use, and the less we use them the less resistance bacteria will evolve to them.

Water changes. 50%, twice a week til it clears. No chemical and additives - just good old fashioned water changes til you clean it out.

I can't see brewer's yeast getting established, especially if you are doing water changes as you should. I used to brew, and it only clouds beer, its ideal environment, for a short time.I experimented once with adding it to aquariums with daphnia cultures as food, and it didn't do much.

I'm suspecting the pleco more than the party. How big is the tank, how big is the pleco, what do you have as gravel/sand and what do you feed? I have heard of oversized plecos being associated with cloudy water before, as odd as it sounds.


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## sion342 (Jul 31, 2011)

greenaquarium said:


> try to turn the temp down for a few days, also try erythromycin


Question about those products: Are they natural and safety for Fresh water
Inverts ,fishes and plants?


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