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Well dang, 3 weeks later and its still cloudy. How long do these things usually take to work themselves out?

i wash out all of my filters with a sink (I cover the hole with my finger so it is comming out with high pressure).

I wasned my other filter out with a hose yesterday.

You mean the actual "Media" in the filter? These filters are not more then 3 weeks old.

Last edited by 91Bird305 at 27-Oct-2004 16:50

They are new filters, fresh filters, three weeks old, running in the tank?

If your store doesn't stock NIC you'd better find a new store or order it online...

Water changes do not clear cloudy tanks and the junk the store gave you doesn't work either.

Overcleaning gravel will make the matter worse when you remove all the good bacteria living in the gravel.

Find the NIC somewhere or be willing to wait until the tank clears on its own.

Don't ask me how long that will take. It could be a month or two or three.

--garyroland.

Yes Malaikah.

3 weeks old, basically new filters (not backed up or anything)

Thanks Gary, as of RIGHT now, i added another dosage of the biological water conditioner after the water change and now its clear...how long it stays that way we will see. And thats what I thought too when they said to do a good gravel sweep cause I was like "Aren't the good bacteria in the gravel?" but they said that it usually clears things up. lol. real informative.

LoL, now it is a little bit cloudy. ]:|

Quoted from another similar thread. . . . . . .
Maybe I should expand this into an article and put it somewhere permanent

If you have white-cloudy water that's sticking around you have a bacterial bloom, which is basically the bacteria in your tank having a party while it works to get your tank chemically stable.

New tanks are especially e to cloudy water and mini or re-cycling, especially when the system is placed under stress. We have a common term for this: New Tank Syndrome (NTS).

Ok, so now that we're clear on what's going on in there, how are we going to fix it?

Easy.

1. Leave it alone. STOP adding livestock until your tests are reading 0 nitrIte for at least 2 weeks. Even if the LFS has a zebra plec going for $1 and it's really really gorgeous and you must absolutely HAVE to have it, NO excuses. Nothing goes into the tank until it is completely stable and has been for a good few weeks. When that time comes, you can start stocking the tank to the desired level GRADUALLY (that is, making sure you give the tank time to stabilize again before you add anything else). Give your bacteria a break, they will thank you.

2. STOP overfeeding. You are only adding more waste for the bacteria to feed on and giving them more reason to multiply or bloom. Remember that it's always easier to feed more food later than to remove uneaten food from the tank.

3. LIMIT water changes. As was posted above, water changes on a cycling tank can dilute the "soup" and slow the cycle down. That's not what you want. Stop doing water changes, but test your water often to be sure your "numbers" are in safe range. Don't panic. Nitrite is not as toxic as some would lead you to believe, especially not when the fish are only going to be exposed to it for a brief amount of time. If your fish are showing signs of stress, or if your nitrItes are testing over 12-15 ppm, do a partial (10%) water change. If your fish seem fine, don't touch it. You'll know when the water quality is getting intolerable for them.

4. Get some bacterial starter if you want. NIC and biospira are both good. Lay off the chemicals, though. The only things going into your tank water for now should be bacterial starter and dechlorinator, nothing else. There is no magic cure for New Tank Syndrome, only patience.

5. DON'T STRESS! Yes, your tank will eventually cycle and that cloudy water will be a thing of the past. But you have to be patient! Let the tank chill out, let the bacteria do the work for you and sit back with a nice tall, chilly glass of lemonade. . . or even a nice hot cup of herbal tea will do if that's more your style. Observe the magic of nature in the cycling tank in all its glory! Yes, I guess that is a little bit extreme, but my point is that there's nothing you can do to rush your bacteria. They could care less how excited you are to get your beautiful new tank stocked and ready to go. They don't have brains. So, as much as it is human nature to try and dominate the world around us (brainless bacteria included), sometimes you just have to sit back and wait for it to happen without interfering. This is one of those times. DON'T PANIC!

Let us know when the tank is cycled, I'll be more than happy to celebrate with you.

Heed these words or beware the consequences! [/font][/font]

Last edited by trystianity at 28-Oct-2004 10:08

Yep, what tryst said.

Mini cycles can happen in a cycled tank.

~After adding new fish

~After excessive feeding

~After aggressive cleaning

~After extensive power outages

Just let it take care of itself once its noticed. Continually cleaning filters because they're clogged either means the tanks over stocked or is under filtered, or a combonation of the two. Rinsing in tap water, like I've said many times before, will only kill your bacteria possibly causing a minicyle.

^_^
H2g2 2005 Don't Leave Home Without it

Last edited by Babelfish at 28-Oct-2004 10:41

Well the filters aren't clogged and all my numbers are normal. Nothing is on the high side. Thats why I am confused why I have this cloudy water. I am gonna take my water in to get tested again tommorow and I will post exact numbers for everyone.

Also, I feed the fish twice a day (once early morning and then evening) and then the bottom feeders at night before I shut off the lights.

Last edited by 91Bird305 at 28-Oct-2004 13:51

Also, the LFS suggested I do a very good gravel sweep so I just got done doing that. It wasn't very dirty gravel. Some parts were dirty but a lot of wasn't to dirty.

Last edited by 91Bird305 at 26-Oct-2004 20:46

Alright, I talked to the lfs manager and he was just about as confused as i was since I brought my water in again and everything came out PERFECT! LoL. Go figure. He said that since I have 2 emperor 400's going at full speed that maybe I should tone them down a little bit in that I am possibly moving to much water in the tank. Does that sound logical?

I just restarted my 90 gallon tank with a dose of NIC and 22 new Albino Corys...

The tank started out perfectly clear and slowly began turning into an almost solid London Fog, as I expected it would.

I expect my tank to remain cloudy for weeks until the bacteria get settled in and, as repeated several times in other posts, so will yours.

You've done all you can do despite the repeated almost identical well-meaning posts you've received.

Babs, my understudy, brought forth some useful information, especially about overcleaning your gravel which will introduce, sometimes quickly, cloudy conditions.

I think she said, in so many words, to let the tank alone and let it find a happy, clear medium, which in time it surely will.

--garyroland.

Alright, I will just try leaving it be and see what happens. Its been 3 weeks though and still its been cloudy. How long do these things usually take? Cause this is deffiently a minicycle since I have had my tank cycled for over 2 years now and now this.

Last edited by 91Bird305 at 10-Nov-2004 20:54

I was having major algae blooms in my tank and was cleaning the sides of the tank weekly to rid the algae.

Then the algae started to form on the gravel as well - looked like thick grass - was disgusting. So I was gravel cleaning 1 a week removing about 20litres at a time and sometimes 40litres - it is a 200litre tank.

I have been trying to grow plants in my tank with no success (since about July) so I pulled out most of the plants that were in there, as they looked horrible.

After I pulled the plants out I did another gravel clean (20litres) and since then the water has become very very cloudy (probably due to the number of gravel cleans in the psat 2 weeks???). I struggle to see the other end of the tank. I turned the lights off 2 days ago to try and kill the algae blooms, too early to tell but will see how it goes in a few more days. My java fern will probably die by then.

I also changed 1 of the media in my filter (Aquaclear 300). Guess I sick back and wait to see if the water clears, but damn it looks ugly at the moment

Now off to the plant section to see if I can get some tips on growing plants - I certainly don't have a green thumb when comes to aquatic plants.

Last edited by Adam at 10-Nov-2004 01:28

Your tank, Goldie, is suffering from an overclean of gravel, as you suspected...

There's a tremendous amount of good populated bacteria living in the gravel that help maintain the water balance. Remove too much of that and trouble begins.

Algae, a type of seaweed, has been around since time began and the curtailing of light may not do a thing to diminish its activity.

I like to consider the alga as a thinking plant. Shut off its photosynthesis and it reverts to a sort of stupor, just waiting for the light to return to do its thing once again.

The algae-eating trop species, if you have enough of them, usually keep the awful growth under control.

--garyroland.

Hi,
Goldie,
I just looked through the plants section and did not see
a post. We'd love to guide you as you and your tank recover
from the latest event. When you do post, we would like
to have you furnish the following information along with
your question(s):

Tank size
Fish (what they are, quantity of, size)
Watts/gallon of light
Type of light (flourscent, Compact flourscent, incandescent)
Duration of lights on.
Substrate (gravel, flourite, sand,?)
Water Chemistries (pH, KH, GH)

I'm sure we can assist your green thumb!
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Thanks for the comments garyroland and Frank.

Frank - I was going to post some info the other day but was banned for 48hrs... I will post some info when I get a chance. Hopefully we can work out why the plants are not growing

I have yet to see any numbers for the test results, unless I am missing them?

What kind of test kit is the LFS using? Some around here use the strips, and from personal experience, they do not show correct results. Do you have your own test kit?

And I'm sure I'm not adding anything new...
If your ammonia and nitrites are anything but 0, that probably explains it. If you have done anything to the bio-wheels or cleaned the filter with tap water, that would have killed the bacteria. Fry don't have a huge impact on the bio-load initially, but a lot of them could have caused a mini-cycle.

I don't have the numbers off hand but my ammonia was zero and p.h. was 7.0 and my nitrites and nitrates were all perfect numbers (can't remember off hand but they said they were great). They were shocked that my water was even cloudy after seeing my results. The type of testing kit they use is one where they add droplets to these tubes and then they compare them to the color strips. I have no idea on the name of the kit. But those are my numbers.


As far as cleaning my media and my bio-wheels;
I have never cleaned my bio-wheels, always told that I wasn't suppose to. I change my media filters when my filters begin to backup. As of right now, my media filters are not clean but aren't causeing any backups. They have been in there for over a month I would say running on high. (Dual emperor 400's).

I have now had "NIC" running in my tank for about 2 days now. No changes. But like you said earlier, it doesn't take care of things instantly.
Any ideas?

Last edited by 91Bird305 at 15-Nov-2004 16:50