[MFOUT]

I have struggled with cloudy water for weeks. I have had my water tested and told it isn’t related to algae, but my PH, GH, and KH are high. I have been doing water changes every couple days and started using accu-clear. Did nothing and so one last ditch effort I took out 80% of the water vacuuming the gravel really good. To my amazement, it was crystal clear and beautiful. 3 days later I see it starting to resemble a white cloudy appearance again. Trying to get ahead of it and get advice. Can PH cause cloudy water? I gave 5 glofish and 2 African dwarf frogs in a 20 gallon.

ph 8.5
Kh 240
Gh 180
Nitrates 0

Also, not a new tank. It’s been up for 2 months and was crystal clear and then suddenly went cloudy and unable to see anything in it. Been babying it trying to keep the fish happy and healthy.

 

[MFOUT]

so wondering if plants could be causing the cloudiness? I put some sword plants in it because I read it helps tanks. It wassomething I attempted when it was cloudy. But now that it was clear, I’d it the plants and high ph? My tap water is crap and I don’t know if I can ever get the ph down without a bunch of chemicals.

 

[Jda]

I have struggled with cloudy water for weeks. I have had my water tested and told it isn’t related to algae, but my PH, GH, and KH are high. I have been doing water changes every couple days and started using accu-clear. Did nothing and so one last ditch effort I took out 80% of the water vacuuming the gravel really good. To my amazement, it was crystal clear and beautiful. 3 days later I see it starting to resemble a white cloudy appearance again. Trying to get ahead of it and get advice. Can PH cause cloudy water? I gave 5 glofish and 2 African dwarf frogs in a 20 gallon.

ph 8.5
Kh 240
Gh 180
Nitrates 0

Also, not a new tank. It’s been up for 2 months and was crystal clear and then suddenly went cloudy and unable to see anything in it. Been babying it trying to keep the fish happy and healthy.

Take out the gravel. Something in the gravel must be dissolving in the water. Also do you use well water or city water? I suspect the gravel is breaking down. I do not use gravel. I use sponge filters and marineland filters with charcoal. Plastic plants can be used to replace the gravel. Remember that certain foods will clod water if used in excess. Good luck!

 

[MFOUT]

Take out the gravel. Something in the gravel must be dissolving in the water. Also do you use well water or city water? I suspect the gravel is breaking down. I do not use gravel. I use sponge filters and marineland filters with charcoal. Plastic plants can be used to replace the gravel. Remember that certain foods will clod water if used in excess. Good luck!

I have city water. Not very good city water at that. So you just have a bare bottom tank? I also have a sponge filter. I’ve had it for 2-3 weeks now.

 

[YSR50]

You have 3-4 threads that all seem to be the same problem.

Unfortunately there is no set manual on how to set up and keep fish, too many different factors. Ask 10 different people the same question and chances are you will get 5-10 different answers. What works for one person will not necessarily work for the next.

With that said, personally I still feel you need to let things settle in. If you're still keeping just a few glofish and dwarf frogs in a 20 there isn't much of a bio load.

 

[Jda]

I have city water. Not very good city water at that. So you just have a bare bottom tank? I also have a sponge filter. I’ve had it for 2-3 weeks now.

You will notice on u tube that serious breeders do not use gravel. Years ago i took out my gravel and undergravel filters and replaced them with sponge filters, old type bubble up filters and hang on the back marineland filters. You can never have too much filtration. I use plastic plants for decorations
City water needs to age at least three to four weeks to dissipate chlorine and ammoniates You need to change 10 % of the water each month. The bare botom tank makes it easy to suck out any debris on the bottom. Also ring out your sponge filter with the old water from the aquarium.

These techniques have worked for me to raise and breed fresh water angel fish.

 

[YSR50]

This is what I mean, different things work for different people.

I also breed fish. Mainly Plecos but also shrimp, snails, corydora, guppies, rainbow fish, sparkling gourami … All but one of my tanks are bare bottom. My 125g tank is in a family room so it has substrate and plants to make it more pleasing to look at, however it also serves as a breeding setup. Use of bare bottom tanks and lack of decorations is for convenience.

I use hob, canister, sponge, and matten filters as well as power heads. Sponges I clean with tap water every few months. One of the “filters” I rely on most in many of my tanks are live floating plants: Java moss, najas grass, süsswassertang, and especially hornwort and pothos.

As for water, I have Chicago water. I use a python on all tanks to drain and fill with tap water straight from the faucet. Dosing with API. Approximately 20-30% per tank per week, more often on grow out tanks to help the growth of fry. I haven’t “aged” water in probably 15 years and when I did, it was only for maybe a week. I don’t regularly vacuum my tanks, other than grow out tanks. The others I only vacuum when I tear them apart, once or twice a year.

 

[Jda]

These differences are due to differences in fish species . Tropical fish have varried habitats. Differences in water parameters, pH etc. You need to learn about the requirements of the fish.
I cannot use tap water directly with angel fish because of all the chemicals I found it can kill. Other fish are more resilient.
Maintaining an aquarium doesn t need to be so expensive and sophisticated as stated in a previous post

Read up on the habitat of the fish you have in your tank.

 

[YSR50]

I’ve done the same when keeping angelfish with no problems. None of this matters for op though, was just demonstrating the differences in fish keeping.

O.p. has a 20g kit she bought for her son that is lightly stocked. In reading her other threads it seems she had an algae bloom and in response the tank was over cleaned causing it to start the cycle process over again.

 

[MFOUT]

I’ve done the same when keeping angelfish with no problems. None of this matters for op though, was just demonstrating the differences in fish keeping.

O.p. has a 20g kit she bought for her son that is lightly stocked. In reading her other threads it seems she had an algae bloom and in response the tank was over cleaned causing it to start the cycle process over again.

I know people give different explanations. I just get defeated when it clouds up. I took out the two plants I bought because they don’t thrive in high ph. I cleaned really good where they were and it’s not cloudy anymore. I feel like there’s so many different causes for cloudy water. Just trying to learn. Thank you.

 

[Jda]

I know people give different explanations. I just get defeated when it clouds up. I took out the two plants I bought because they don’t thrive in high ph. I cleaned really good where they were and it’s not cloudy anymore. I feel like there’s so many different causes for cloudy water. Just trying to learn. Thank you.

Some people think you just set up your tank and sit back and warch. Like anything else good you need to work at it! Yes, there is constant maintenance and learning new things. Keep trying.

 

[Thecountrygoldfish]

at first i had high ph but i found these sponge things that remove extra phosphates and algae particles