Tropical Fish Keeping banner

New member here, help with cloudy tank

4K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  Cbay916 
#1 ·
I've had this fish tank for a year or two now, and I really love it. Recently, Ive had this nasty cloud in my tank, and wanted to know how you guys would suggest i fix it. I do know my way around the fish tank hobby, so jargon and technical terms are fine help.

By the way, this is a few hours after a 40-50% water change.
Sorry for large pics, dont know how to resize on photobucket.



Side View, cant see through........


Light off
 
See less See more
3
#4 ·
Any recent changes in water chemistry?
Any recent additions of new gravel, decor, fish, etc?
Is this cloudyness just in the tank itself, or can you see a film at the top?
Is it just kind of "regular cloudy" or is it milky?

Water parameters would be great as well.

Oh, how big is the tank? Looks like a 55/75 to me (or bigger), but not 100% sure.
 
#5 ·
I changed around 50% of my water today because it was cloudy, refilled, and the cloud remains.

no new additions to report.

there is no film at the top, just in the water.

it doesnt seem milky, just kinda white. you may be able to see in the picture, with the light off you can see through, although it is slightly cloudy. Once the light comes on, you cant see to the other side.

Water parameters
pH- ~7.8
ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 5-10ppm

tank is a 75 gallon.
 
#7 ·
What foods did you use? What test kit are you using? Have you cleaned the filter media? How? What filter media do you have?
 
#10 ·
I feed them Hikari cichlid gold. I test with aquarium pharmaceuticals master test kit. I just replaced the filter pads, which have the carbon already in them, and didnt touch the bio-wheel. thats all the media I have.

Tank doesn't look a year old to me but what do I know? I see no decorations of any kind were they removed recently? Filters replaced ? Gravel vaccumed regularly or replaced recently? What size filter and brand is being used to filter the water? Any aggressive cleaning of the tank lately? What chemicals or additives if any are being used including dechlorinator. Any medications and or salts added to the tank recently?Perhaps answers to these questions will allow others to offer some suggestions as to possible cause.
I took out the decorations for the gravel vac. Filter pads were replaced. I have a Penguin 350 Bio-Wheel. I use Aqua-Plus water conditioner, havent added any other chemicals in over a month.

first picture, that bag of food ontop of the tank looks like sinking wafers. these will effect water quality.
Nope, floating pellets.
 
#8 ·
Tank doesn't look a year old to me but what do I know? I see no decorations of any kind were they removed recently? Filters replaced ? Gravel vaccumed regularly or replaced recently? What size filter and brand is being used to filter the water? Any aggressive cleaning of the tank lately? What chemicals or additives if any are being used including dechlorinator. Any medications and or salts added to the tank recently?Perhaps answers to these questions will allow others to offer some suggestions as to possible cause.
 
#13 ·
I do not believe a bacteria bloom to be uncommon in tank where substantial or aggressive cleaning has Perhaps resulted in mini-cycle. Were it me,, (and it's not) I would monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels closely for the next few days . I might also call local water company and inquire if a change to the way they treat the water has taken place lately. As already mentioned,,, Best to clean things one at a time,, with week in between cleanings for reasons mentioned. In my humble opinion.;-)
 
#15 ·
Diatom Filter

If you have ruled out the mini cycle over the next few days, and if the milky appearance is bothering you, you could run a diatom filter (such as a vortex)on it for a few hours and see if that does the job cleaning it up.

However, that will not address the root cause of the cloudiness, and will do nothing to prevent a repeat.

MY experience has been that when that happens in a tank that is cycled it is because of dissolved organic compounds in the water, often due to overfeeding or overcrowding.

Just my opinions, and YMMV.

Good luck and please keep us posted on progress so we can all learn what you discover as you work through the issue.
 
#17 ·
Could be any number of causes, all of which have been brought up already (all of which I can think of, anyway). I have had a bacterial bloom on a mature (1+ year old) tank that had no recent changes in feeding habits, water chemistry, bioload, etc. I was never able to pinpoint the cause of the bloom, but even with aggressive water changes the bacteria depleted oxygen levels in the water enough to kill a couple of fish (all of the fish were gasping).

I would recommend adding extra surface agitation and aggressive water changes. The surface agitation will help replace oxygen in the water being used up by the bacteria. You can agitate the surface with airstones, powerheads, or by lowering your water level a bit and letting your power filter have a bit of a waterfall effect.
 
#18 ·
I would recommend adding extra surface agitation and aggressive water changes. The surface agitation will help replace oxygen in the water being used up by the bacteria. You can agitate the surface with airstones, powerheads, or by lowering your water level a bit and letting your power filter have a bit of a waterfall effect.
ohh i see. thanks for the advice.
 
#21 ·
Sounds like you have done everything you are supposed to, but for some reason you tank still has suspended particles. It's been a few days, has your tank cleared yet? If not try some water clarifier to aid in filtering these particles... I included a link below as an example of these products.....

Top Fin® Water Clarifier - Water Conditioners - Fish - PetSmart
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top