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Ok, my water is STILL cloudy.

At least i thought.

When i look at my tank, it doesnt look couldy, but when i look through the long side, it is cloudy.

I looked through the other side, and when i saw my window, my water was kinda tan from the driftwood.

Now, it is kinda hard to see the plant at the other side of the tank, but you can still see it, and from that angle it looks milky white, but from the other angle it looks more tan than the mikly white color?

I will test my water in a sec.

ammo - 0

Nitrites - 0.1

Nitrates - 8

Hi,
The fact that you have any readable nitrites, says that
for whatever reason, the tank is cycling and cloudy
water is a frequent occurance in cycling tanks.
You can do a partial water change, or just let it take
its course. The nitrates are still climbing, once they
peak out, and the nitrites drop to zero and stay there,
then water changes will be more effective.

If the tank is cycling, then water changes simply dilute
the "soup" and the cycling can take longer.

Tannins will change the water to the color of tea,
not the sides of the glass.

Frank


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

the tank is already cycled.

Also, i was talking about different angles that i look through.

I dont know why I have nitrites, and i cant get them to go down.

You reminded me of another guy who said when he looked through the side of the tank it looked slightly cloudy...

When he looked through the front it didn't look so cloudy.

I told him, kidingly, to look through the bottom to see if it looked cloudy also.

He wrote back and asked if he should remove the gravel to look.

Your tank will clear in time if you do the normal things you always do, meaning, regular water changes and proper maintenance.

If you can get some NIC then dose some. The god of good bacteria will smile on you.

--garyroland.

Last edited by garyroland at 27-Oct-2004 20:00

Vic, we have been over this about a million times in chat. Posting the same question multiple times with slight variations of vocabulary is not going to change the answer. Just in case I, or any of the other members who have already responded to this situation, wasn't clear enough in answering for you, I will break the answer down carefully.

Your tank is cycling. NitrIte is only detectable in cycling tanks. If your tank wasn't cycling you would have no nitrIte. I can't comment on the past state of the tank without past information.

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). You have mentioned in your conversations with me that you have been adding livestock quickly and doing very frequent water changes and cleaning of the tank. Both will tend to aggravate the newly set up system (good bacteria), causing your tank to mini cycle.

Tannins should not affect the transparency of your water enough to make it look cloudy. If it looks cloudy, it's either bacteria or algae. White-cloudy = bacteria; green-cloudy = algae. You had said that there was no green tinge to the water; that combined with the fact that you are reading nitrIte in the tank makes it almost 100% certain that the cloud you're seeing is a bacterial bloom.

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]

i know trys, but my tank already cycled.

Also, thanks gary, i was gonna get soem cycle, but i forgot to when i was at my LFS.

I guess it was just a bacterial bloom, and tannins in the water.

I hate this, my tank has been cloudy for like 3 weeks now.

Oh yea, my filter is overflowing, I have washed it out a few times.

Do you think i should leave it in t here, or put a new one in??

Will it screw up my bac. bloom?

im gonna try to get some NIC tonight

Before I get it, is there anything I need to know?

What does it exactly do, and how fast will it clear up my tank?

BuMp

My water is still cloudy.

I did a scheduled water change on wednesday night.

I came home thursday afternood, and my tank was kinda clear, but it wasnt as clear as i want it.

I added BIOZYME (since noone has replied to my post, I am using it) and my water became cloudy as it normally is.

I cant get cycle, since none of my LFS's have it.

What should I do??? I know im not overfeeding my fish, i am acually underfeeding them (my gouramis eat all of the food within 3 minutes)

And I honostly dont think a bacterial bloom is suppose to last over 3 weeks.

My dad wolnt let me put my fish in the 55 gallon tank, so do you think i should just return them to my LFS, and have them slowly die off becuase they dont care for their fish?

Hey Vict,

The nitrites down now?

If you want to test the over-feeding theory, try halving the food you feed (even if the gouramis eat it in 3 minutes) for a few days...

I can't remember if it was you or someone else I spoke to in chat a couple weeks back, but is this the tank where the food gets "pushed down" by the force of the filter?

My personal recipe for a clouded tank has always been to:

a) cut feedings in half
b) leave the filter media alone for a bit (an overflowing HOTB filter with a full bacteria population is better than a smooth running filter with smeg-all in the way of bacteria).
c) drop in a handful of gravel from an established, cycled tank (ala the Bailey Brothers)

IF the nitrites are still reading on a test kit, that should give the tank some time... if not, and if you try those 3 tips, cloudy water REALLY shouldn't last for more than 2-3 days...

In EXTREME cases, I'd even say stop feeding the tank entirely for a couple days... adult fish can get by on a lot less food than most people think... remember, even if they are eating everything you feed them in 3 mins, if that is 5 times per day or something nutty, you're REALLY pumping a ton of waste into the system, and with already cloudy water that isn't going to improve anything till everything catches up...

Feed once per day with "ration" levels of food and see if that helps maybe?

Dex

Thanks for the help.

This morning, my tank was cloudy, and today when I come home, I can see everything on my computer monitor through the tank (my comp is about 5' from the tank)

It is REALLY clear.

I only feed my fish 2 times a day, and like i said, the gouramis do eat all of it.

It might of been me about the filter, but I added a 36" plant in the tank, and now my fish arent getting blasted down, and the food stays mainly on top.

I think my next thread is gonna be about my filter getting cloged in 2 days.

But thanks, and I will check for nitrites a little later and post them.

Once again, thanks.

trystianity, that was great!

See my profile (link below) for fish and setup.

Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.