i must be doing something wrong...

[BIGgourami]

i got a large female oscar in a 75 with a baby jd and 2 small senegal polys. i have a penguin 400, or whatever the big azz one they make is on there with a UGF.

one time long ago (like a year or so, can't remember) we did a water change and the tank has been cloudy ever since. whitish cloudy.

we had the oscar in a 25 for a long time while his 75 got ready and before him we had a buch of community fish in it, neons and such. but the 25 had the same filter as the 75 does and was always crystal clear. no ammo, trites, and very low trates. (20ish)

it seems everytime we do a WC the water gets cloudier, it settles a little bit bet never gets as clear as it did in the 25?

any suggestions?


aslo if this should be moved to a tank maintainence forum, please let it be done so by a mod.

-thank you

 

[jmac510]

That happend to me too. I just went to my LFS and got some water clarifier and it seemed to clear it up within 24hrs. Also it seemed to help when i change my carbon more often.

 

[Modest_Man]

Ditch the undergravel filter. Back in my beginning days I had the same issue and as soon as I pulled the UGF it helped clear it up.

Edit to back up my statement. White indicates that the issue at hand is a bacterial bloom, which is caused by too much organic waste in the tank. UGF's trap waste underneath them which can the feed the bacteria. Cutting back on feeding for a while can help as well as plenty of water changes.

 

[BIGgourami]

i only feed once-twice a week, MAYBE 3.

my dad seems convinced that UGFs are necissary, so i'll see about that...

anything else?
why was the 25 so clean?

 

[Modest_Man]

Clear water doesn't indicate clean water. I'm sure the 25 was fairly filthy, it just didn't have a bacterial bloom in it.

 

[BIGgourami]

also how does a bact bloom last for months?

tips on ending it? remove the UGF & add another HOB?

 

[rabendr2]

Yes, if you get rid of the UGF and do multiple water changes as well as have adequate filtration (3-5 times an hour at an absolute minimum) it should go away shortly. Large Oscars are dirty fish, so good filtration should be a top priority. I have also heard that changing the carbon in your filter if you use it will also help clear up cloudy water.

 

[Modest_Man]

The short answer would be to remove nutrients (phosphates). Removing the UGF and vacuuming the gravel will go a long ways to helping do just that.

Google "aquarium bacterial bloom" and you'll get a lot of good info.

 

[James B.]

The bloom will last as long as there is a source of food for it, IE all the crap stuck under you UGF.
Your best bet is like Modest_Man and rabendr2 said take out your UGF, vac your gravel and make sure you have adequate water filtration.
I know others will probably say different but from my experience the charcoal is no good and even though changing it may make the tank look better, in the end it is nothing more the a cosmetic fix that doesn't last and actually masks the fact there is a problem with the water. Also I have heard that charcoal can be a cause of HITH in Oscars. I have no charcoal in any of my tanks, I took it all out and replaced it with pot scrubbers over a year ago and have not had any problems with my water.

 

[pcfriedrich]

The bloom will last as long as there is a source of food for it, IE all the crap stuck under you UGF.
Your best bet is like Modest_Man and rabendr2 said take out your UGF, vac your gravel and make sure you have adequate water filtration.
I know others will probably say different but from my experience the charcoal is no good and even though changing it may make the tank look better, in the end it is nothing more the a cosmetic fix that doesn't last and actually masks the fact there is a problem with the water. Also I have heard that charcoal can be a cause of HITH in Oscars. I have no charcoal in any of my tanks, I took it all out and replaced it with pot scrubbers over a year ago and have not had any problems with my water.

pot scrubbers?