cloudy 5 gal

[tothna]

I have a 5 gal that I have some baby GTs in. I don't know if you can tell from the pic, but two days after I do a water change it's all cloudy already. Brown algae grows really fast too. Could this be from being in the sun?

 

[puffer_girl]

The algae definitely caused by the sun..... Not sure about the cloudy water. Being that close to the window you may have a prob with temp consistency also..... I'd move it.

 

[danny boy]

having the tank in a window area is the worst thing youcould do where algea is concerned it will really grow fast like that. also the water can get overheated. also those GT's are going to outgrow that tank incredibly fast and will probably fight big time.

you mention the water clouds after a water chage so this would lead me to believe you are not treating your tap water before adding it to your tank. it needs to be dechlorinated (this is a liquid in a bottle hat you add to the water) also how much water are you changing each time? it should be aout 30% certainly no more than 50%..

hope this helps.

 

[pinoy]

If you can't move your tank, you can use a sponge filter, attach it to a powerhead, that should solve the problem. I have a 35 gal that is right in front of the window. I intentionally did that. To control the algae, like i said, i have a huge powerhead attched to a sponge filter.water is crystal clear.

 

[xnsdvd]

Actually the cloudy water could be a bacteria bloom. The presence of algae could support the theory as well. Bacteria blooms are caused by excess nutrients(fish poop/over-feeding) in the water causing their population to explode. Your heater might be contributing to it too.

And since you've got your tank in the sun, there's a way to solve both problems. Add live plants. I have no idea what's native to Ohio or what temperature you tank should be at. In fact i have no idea what species GTs are.

But the idea would be to head down to your LFS, ask for a "fast growing, low light plant" It'll probably be a species of moss that's attached to driftwood. Just plop it into the tank and it'll start taking up nitrates and ammonia which'll prevent the algae and bacteria from growing.

Also, check if you actually need that heater. I've seen alot of people who have the idiotic notion that the fish get sick because "the water is too cold". And then proceed to raise the temperature to a blistering(to the fish anyway) 30 degrees celcius. Tropical fish should never be kept at temperatures above 28 and preferably between 20 - 26 FYI.