need help

[btaylo75]

so i have a 55tall with about 8 fish in it, it is not crowded by any means, but i am not here to ask about that.

over the past few days, the water has become very cloudy, i have not changed anything drastic that would cause this sort of thing to occur.

I have never experienced anything like this, does anyone have anything they could share to help me clear the water.

I have proper filter size as well good aeration through the tank, no water levels have changed, no fish have died, just awfully cloudy

 

[CHOMPERS]

How old is the filter media?
How long do you run the lights?
What type of filter(s) are you running?
When was your last water change?
What are your water parameters?

 

[btaylo75]

lots of questions

lights off about 10 hours per day, 1 60gal filter from marineland with all components less than 5 weeks old (changed at various points in the alst few weeks), and the last water change occured about a week ago

 

[CHOMPERS]

If you have another tank, switch filters for a few days. That one is likely having a slow cycle. If you have a spare filter that is established, add it to that tank.

For the next few days keep your lights off, and cut back on feeding until the water clears. If your tank is planted, cut back on the light by 50% for now. Keep an eye on the plants for signs of yellowing.

 

[CHOMPERS]

One other thing...don't clean the filter.

When you did your last water change, did you also clean the filter? Did you use a de-chlor product? (gotta ask just to make sure) Adding tap water directly to your tank can kill your bacteria population.

 

[btaylo75]

i have well water so i have not needed to worry so heavily about the treatment of it, i still test it before adding but have only treated it once

everytime i make a water change i clean the filter, so yes

 

[CHOMPERS]

That's fine. Just don't clean it for now. A dirty filter works better than a clean one. Since you have well water, you can disregard most advice against cleaning your filter with tap water You will find that the best place to clean the filter when the time comes, is in the kitchen sink with the sink sprayer. (Just send the wife out for a facial or something.)

 

[btaylo75]

thankyou, i will go shut the lights off and update you in a few days