well water issues...

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Your nitrates are too high so even if it clears up with carbon you need a solution. If your well water is fine then you just need to do way more water changes. If your well water is already high in nitrates you need an RO/DI. You could lug water from the LFS but that is a nightmare every week.
 
If it were me, I'd probably take 3 samples (well water, tank water and tap water), and set them in a container (preferably closed), and let them stand for a while (24--48 hours), completely undisturbed if possible.

I'm thinking that you have something physical in suspension (e.g., dust, not bacteria or plants) and if so, you should be able to tell if it settles to the bottom or not from the 3 samples. If it settles, you might be able to solve the problem with mechanical filtration (sub 40 micron); if it doesn't a UV unit might resolve the issue.

Of course, it might be metals or some chemical that won't settle and neither of those solutions are likely to have much effect.

And, yes the nitrates are too high. Well water in regions that consume a lot of fertilizer might be prone to high nitrates, (and Medina, Ohio, looks like it has a lot of farms.) I would test the nitrate levels, although I wonder if the nitrate levels vary considerably from season to season. It still would be nice to know if the water you are adding is extremely high. If not, do more and larger WC; if yes, other solutions as mentioned by others.
 
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It could be high in minerals. Is it possible to examine the well the water comes from?
 
No issues with the well water. The ph was negligible; right around 6.8 to 7. So I'm even more confused about the tank testing on the alkaline side. Tap water source is the well. No plants in tank or substrate, but I do have driftwood for the pleco. Temp is around 78. Eventually, everyone is going into my 340. But I want to fix these issues now before I move everyone. I'm definitely going to have lots of plants in the big tank; not sure about a substrate yet. I've always done sand in previous tanks, but it's a hassle with this big tank as far as cleaning. FX 6 for the filtration.
 
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What were the nitrates of the well water?
 
Then the first step is to do way more water changes. How often do you do them?

I would start with proper maintenance and then see if the problem persists before trying carbon or UV or anything. That would be like adding a supercharger to a car you won't change the oil on. It will have some advantages but they won't fix the actual problem.
 
I do 50% water changes every weekend. But like I said in my initial post, the water clarity has always been an issue even after a change. Plus the nitrates were high along with the pH within a few hours of the change.
 
Drstrangelove said:
Well water in regions that consume a lot of fertilizer might be prone to high nitrates, (and Medina, Ohio, looks like it has a lot of farms.)
Click to expand...

I'm lucky, I'm in a rural area but so far my well has always had Zero nitrates in 20+ years!
 
setup a r/o system and u can add a drip with that also.
cloudy water & water change issues fixed.
 
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