cloudy water??

[flukekiller]

looking for some thoughts,,,,

over the last few days the water in my tank is a bit cloudy...
tested the water everyday for the last 3 days and suprisingly
its spot on. 0 amm 0 nitrate and <5ppm nitrate.

i am on well water. tested from the tap and all param are good also.

i have 2 rays and 11 discus in the tank.
currently feeding frozen blood worms and live black worms.

the only possible thing i can think of is that my filter is outside and
i am currently finishing the build of the housing for it so it is open to
nature. could it possibly be cloudy due to tree pollen? i mean the pollen
bad, when you go outside your car is covered and looks green lol.

i dont think its a bacterial bloom cause i do not have any decorations,
i have not added anything new. tank is over 2 months old with fish in for
just over 3 weeks

whats your thoughts?

 

[Drstrangelove]

Heterotrophic bacteria are commonly the cause of bacterial blooms and that organism is ubiquitous, thus pretty much available to bloom under the right conditions. This can occur even when water parameters look good.

That doesn't mean it can't be the pollen, but tree pollen isn't the common cause. It also doesn't mean it's not something from the well water. Indeed, it could be debris from the frozen blood worms.

A clear photo of the water might be helpful since algae and bacteria can both cause cloudy water.

Since the water was clear before and suddenly became cloudy, I would do a large water change to see if it clears up the water (without feeding.) If it does, but it becomes cloudy again within hours, I would suspect a bloom.

If the tank has excessive lighting, you could consider reducing it to see if that solves the problem. You can also reduce feeding drastically (over the next few days to a week) to see if that solves the problem. Be sure that all the food is eaten and not left around to cause a bloom.

 

[SandNukka15]

i noticed my 600 was a little cloudy today as well.....i needed to change my filter sock........check your mechanical filteration make sure it doenst need replacing or cleaning

 

[flukekiller]

Lighting is just a CFL and house lights...and the CFL is on roughly 8hrs.
Tried changing the filter pads no difference. Might just do a big water change and see if that helps

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Big water change won't always help, and sometimes will actually cause cloudy water, or make it worse/last longer.

Chances are, you have some sort of free floating bacteria that is causing the cloudiness. It will probably clear up on its own, but if you want to accelerate the process a ton, you can get a UV steralizer.

Just an example, I used to get cloudy water every so often when I did a water change...usually when it was a large water change. The first time had me really nervous, but it cleared up after about two days. It happened a few more times after that and would always clear up in a day or two. Then, my fluval cracked the canister and I replaced it with a SunSun that had a built in 9W UV steralizer. After that, if I ever got cloudy water after a water change it would clear up within an hour or two, instead of a day or two.