Cloudy Water (NEED HELP)

floydkd20

Feeder Fish
Sep 17, 2014
2
0
0
Mansfield, PA
I've had my tank set up for about 4 weeks now and a week ago I added a piece of driftwood. I didn't soak the wood and it seems to be making my water cloudy. Its not a yellow kind of cloudy its more of a milky kind of cloudy. Yesterday I added fish to my tank (two green corys, and two clown loaches). They seem to be doing fine and the driftwood hasn't affected my pH or ammonia or nitrites/nitrates. Will the cloudiness simply go away or do I need to do water changes/take the wood out? I don't want to harm my fish so I also want to know if this cloudiness can harm them. If you have any answers or insight let me know. I have a 20g tank with an aqua clear 30 filter.

Thanks,
Kim
 

brich999

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 3, 2010
4,312
11
38
New Hampshire
It sounds like a bacteria bloom which your tank will go through as it cycles. If the problem persists you may need more bio filtration
 

Drstrangelove

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Oct 21, 2012
2,693
1,227
164
San Francisco
Floyd, welcome to MFK!.

Based upon your posts, I'd guess that you had some organic material on the wood. It could be harmless and small, but it was enough to spark a growth in bacteria. Measure the water parameters (ammonia, nitrites) and if they are zero then wait it out. As long as the fish are acting normally and not breathing hard, it should work itself out.

Typically, I scrub or boil anything I put in a tank that was once organic or exposed to organic life. Bricks, rocks, wood are some examples. Sand and pebbles I give a long rinse and if I think they are not sterile, they get a bleach bath.


If it doesn't clear itself up in a couple weeks, then you might have suspended solids (which may have been dust on the wood.) Gradually, water changes will clear that up. My own rule of thumb: water changes will help clear a tank that has suspended solids, but not for a tank that has a bacterial bloom.
 
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