FishProfiles.com Message Forums

hi

i have a 3ft nursery tank. with aa heap of krib fry (3-4cm)
the water has a white cloudy appearence.

i have tried large water changes but to no prevail.
and have tried algae clear but it didn't budge it.

is it possible that the charcoal in my filter is stopping the algae clear from working.
thanks

try some phosphate removers, and yes the carbon (if active) is most likly removing the algea stuff

Daka

will the carbon remove aquatic fertilizers to

white and cloudy, sounds like a bacterial bloom to me, rather than algae. The algae remover won't do anything to help, really, and water changes may only prolong the problem. White, cloudy water is quite common in new tanks but doesn't really require any work to get rid of, just patience.

Could you please post test results for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate?

Also, how old is the tank, how long has it been running, what do you have in it, what filters?

Algae remover and other chemical fixes, yes even the phosphate remover, are really a waste of your money. The only product I would suggest in this case is a good bacterial starter like New & Improved Cycle or Bio-Spira to get more good bacteria in there to out-compete the bad stuff.

amico, excellent question.

The answer is: the jury is still out on that! :%)

Many aquarists with planted tanks will NOT use activated carbon because it is thought to remove important nutrients from the water. It is possible, and probably even likely, that activated carbon filtration WOULD remove nutrients and fertilizer from the water, but the results of aquarists with planted tanks using activated carbon seem to say otherwise. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of difference either way. :%)

Activated carbon actually has limited purpose in a planted tank, as many of the chemicals it will filter out are utilized by plants anyway. The choice is really up to you. If you choose to go without carbon, depending on your filter you may chose to replace it with something else. Good choices are ceramic bio-balls or an extra filter sponge, anything that will provide you with mechanical and biological filtration. Going without carbon is also cheaper, as carbon needs to be replaced every 6 weeks or so, and other media will last for years with just simple rinsing.

Hope that helps!

I'm siding with Sheila on this one, white and cloudy water generally indicates bacteria and not algae. Algae bloom turns your tank water into something that closely resembles peasoup, not watered down milk In either case the algae remover (or phosphate remover) do not have all that much effect, if any at all. take a bit of your tank water to a good LFS and have the parameters checked out, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and phosphate levels are the most important ones to worry about. Also keep a close eye on your fish and check that they're not gasping for air at the surface. Bacterial blooms (and algae bloom as well in the dark) can use up a large amount of oxygen in a short time, leaving nothing for your fish. You may want to add aeration with an airpump until the water clears.

Good luck

i am currently experiencing the same problem, my ammonia is about 4-5 ppm and my ph keeps dropping due to this.it sits at about 5-6. im doing 25% water chan ges and adding ammolock to deal with the ammonia, but after 4 days it seems to have gotten worse. i cant see from end to end anymore (4ft) the fish dont seem to mind (they are acting normal) the tank has ben set up for around 4 months and the gravel and filter media and such came from old tanks that had been running for about 2-4 years. so the tank should be cycled, it seems that it is cycling itself again. what can i do to make the water cleAr again.??

Fan Fan,

Although you did not mention the bioload that you have in your aquarium, the cloudiness in your tank reads like a bacteria bloom. In addition, you should check the KH of your tank because of the drop in your pH.

A quick caution is AmmoLock will give you a "false" positive for ammonia.

I am a firm believer in water changes and filtration to clear up problems in the aquarium. Keep up your water changes, test your KH, monitor ammonia, nitrits and nitrates. Be patient and the bloom should dissipate. If you KH is below 3 degrees of hardness or 51 ppm, you can add baking soda to raise the KH or buffering in your aquarium to stabilize your pH.



__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

i came home from work today to find that the tank was completly white and i couldnt even see the back of the tank, i cud see about an inch from the glass. in a panic i set up one of my old two foot tanks 10-15 gal ( which is now cramped with all my fish from my 50 gal.) i dumped in a filter which i had been running in my bigger tank for extra filtration. and some plants and ceramic logs etc and caught all the fish (which took ages) i then did a big probly 50-60 percent water change, and used some of my neighbours tank water to top it back up. along with fresh water (dechlorinated etc) the tank is looking clearer and i plan to do another 50% change in the next few days. will this hurt anything? im running an aqua one 1500 ltr/phr canister filter, and after this im thinking of getting a small submersible unit to provide a bit of extra filtration. thanks

This worked for me and is from "Another cloudy water thread" down this page in November. I give you Gary Roland...

"Bacterial blooms can happen anytime...

The explosive growth of bacteria occurs because the bacterial population of the tank is not in balance with the level of waste nutrients.

Overfeeding, overcleaning and the dosing of meds are the main causes.

The bio wheels, although efficient, cannot overcome the bacterial bloom until the causes are corrected.

You can cut back on feeding for a few days, do a 25% water change every two days for a week of the same temp and pH and add a little "New Improved Cycle" which may briefly increase the cloudiness but will produce more heterotrophic bacteria that solubilize nutrients.

--garyroland.

--Vero Beach, Florida."




Last edited by puddle cat at 12-Jan-2005 11:09

thanks for your replies.

ive had that tank since august 2004, so it is reasonably new. my filter is a overflow (not bio wheel) filter i clean it when it needs cleaning.

the fish are happy no signs of low oxygen.

what gets me worried is the small bubbles that are on the surface of the water . the water was green for a while and then it turned white so i dont no whats happend there.

i replaced 50% of the water yesterday and 50% to day and this afternoon she's milky again. im half thinking once i've sold the kribs to clean it out and give it a good hard scrubbin.]:|

Matt...

What are you feeding the fry? Is there a chance that the food is fouling the water?

What are you using for your substrate? Are you using anything other than normal aquarium gravel in this tank? Have you been vacuuming the substrate?

What type of water conditioners are you using at different times in this tank?

You don't dismantle your filter when cleaning it do you?

How often do you change/charge your carbon?

im heaps sory to hijack your thread but im experiencing the same problem. I did a 50 percent change yesterday (after moving all the fish) and filled it back up but it was still cloudy!!!! but tonight there is like pond scum on the surface, there has been like an oily film ontop for a while but now there are bubles and when the pop on the glass there is like a brown scummy residue leftover!! HELP PLEASE!! im goin away in like 5 days and dont want to leave my fish in the tiny tank.

i feed the fry (about 3cm now) mainly on frozen bloodworm, and defrosted washed yabbie eggs.

as for cleaning my filter i just pull out the inserts wash in tap water then rinse in a bucket of tank water.

my good mate at my lfs has givin me a lend of his ultra-violet filter iwill give it a whirl 2 morra.

Matt...

When washing the inserts skip the tap water step and only rinse the inserts in the tank water. By using the tap water you are killing off all the viable bacteria. If when rinsing the inserts the water doesn't pass through them freely then it is time to change to new inserts. I change mine every 8 to 12 weeks.

A situation with every question I asked you could help contribute to your problem. Except the carbon question. About the carbon, if it is old enough it won't perform the function that it was meant to. By old enough I mena it could be as little as two weeks old and it may not be working to clear anything in the water.

fan fan...

First, make sure that your filtration system is operating correctly. I would ask you the same questions I asked Matt.

thanks for your answers.

my good mate at my lfs lent me his uv filter

mate crystal clear water in 24hrs.

(priced on for my tank $150aus) the water can stay milky for that price.:88)