cloudy water WTF?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
well, its whatever you want it to be really, some people wait till their nitrates are higher than others. I usually try to keep the nitrates lower than 30ppm. (depending on which tank it is)

If you can get some filter sludge from the LFS or a freind ( a trusted source obviouslly), put it in your filter, and it will help speed up the process:)
 
When I was forced to do a virgin setup of a 55 with an oscar & JD, the bloom lasted over a month. Them BAM it was clear overnight.

I agree hold off on WC for a bit..

Also, on a side note, when you are doing WC you are de-clor & conditioning, correct? Using water with chlorine is not only stressfull to fish, but it kills bacteria, thus causing an even longer cycle. (I am sure you are using conditioned water, but someone else may benifit)
 
i've had the same situation before..if the cloudiness seems kinda greenish to u, den it is most likely an algae bloom...and if it is, u gotta stay off the water changes...u gotta ride it out...the bloom itself is not harmful to the fish so u dont have to worry bout dat..also it always differs on how long it takes to go away..it might take a few days to months...i got over my bloom in bout 4 weeks or so...but if u want to make sure 100% its gone and it'll never come back, id go get a uv sterilizer
 
i got a brand new 1 for sale for 20 bux if u want it...only reason selling it is cus i got the wrong size for my tank..ne ways gud luck
 
Jag8219;480013; said:
i have a cascade 700 its built for 75 gal. i change the filter monthly but not the floss.

what do you mean you change the filter? dont wash out the media with regular tap water as it will kill off any B.B. already established.

i agree with others that it may not be fully cycled or maybe you are just feeding too much. if you have some established media, stick it in the filter which will help alittle.

good luck.
 
:WHOA:

Not changing the water at all could be risky even with tough fish like Oscars.

If the pH is high and there is a lot of bacteria at work then you may end up with higher concentrations of amonia in its more toxic form. Lower pH tends to push the amonia concentration equilibrium towards higher concentrations of the less toxic form of amonia.
You should probably consider investing in pH, amonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits.

Without knowing more, I would sugest cutting back on the feeding for a while as well as increasing aeration and possibly lowering the temperature slightly. Doing this will increase the amount of available oxygen for the nitrifying bacteria to get established. Water dissolves more oxygen at lower temperatures and your fish metabolism will slow down, producing less amonia.

Once your amonia level begins to drop you need to concerned over rising nitrite levels. Nitrite is highly toxic to fish but once levels begin to rise, so will the population of bugs that eat it producing less toxic nitrate. Nitrate is usually metabolised by aquatic plants or reduced in concentration by water changes.

Often in new tanks (depending on your water source) changing water at a rate frequently enough to keep amonia and nitrite below dangerous levels, can prevent the establishment of a diverse healthy bacterial community by introducing toxins such as chlorine and chloramines that have been added for just that purpose by your water supply authority.

Continue with frequent small water changes but use only aged water. A fast way of aging water is to use a water cooler type water bottle (18 litre I think) filled with cold tap water. Drop a submersible 100 Watt or better water heater into the bottle set at the highest temperature along with an airstone for circulation. By heating the water you drive out virtually all of the dissolved gases including ozone and chlorine that may be introduced by your water supply authority to kill bacteria. The aeration will ensure proper circulation and uniform heating of the water. Keep the water warm and circulating for 12 hours and then unplug the heater and continue to aerate for the next 24 hours as the water cools and dissolves enough oxygen prior to being introduced into your tank.

Letting tap water sit in a similar sized bottle in most cases will age out in a 3 day period without having to be aerated and heated. Just make sure the bottle is clean and there are no small air bubbles adhering to the sides of the bottle. Using aged water will not kill your establishing bugs, reduce the amonia content below fish stress levels and provide micronutrients for the bacteria.

You may consider tossing a sponge filter into your tank to help accelarate the cycling process.

Hope this helps...:)
 
How lond have you had the tank set up ? and is it fuzzy lookuing water or green looking water? If its green water your leaving the light on to much and if its just cloudy It probably means you have a bactera bloom, dont rinse your bio media or anything.
 
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