Murky water... what could be causing it?

Question

This is quite a small tank... about 1"w x 1"d x 1"h.. a cube really. It has a few tetras in it with a very small rainbow shark and a guerami. The tank has an undergravel filter that was keeping the water clear but began leaving residue over the gravel so i had to use the gravel cleaner and do a small water change. A day or so after I did this the water began getting murkier and is not very clear at all. I bought a second filter for the tank to try and clear it but the water is still murky three days later.

I don't think it is the water as I did a water change in my other tanks at the same time and they are perfectly clear...

what could be causing this and how can I correct it?... please help...

Hi guys.
You are right I did mean 1 foot cubed....sorry!

This tank is my brother's. I am looking after it as he is away for a few weeks so I cannot change it i'm afraid. I can only pass on your thoughts to him about a larger tank and let him deal with it.
It was always fine before though so I don't think over crowding is causing this particular problem.
It could also beoverfeeding as I am more cautious about his fish so perhaps being too "generous" with food.

The water has a greenish tint to it if that helps.
I will drop a sample in to my aquatics down the road to see what he says. Just wanted your opinion first really as I seem to be pestering him alot recently..

Thanks guys for all your answers.. all of them sound pretty plausible... will try putting some more gravel in to make sure the grid is covered. I did another water change yesterday so will wait a few days before I do another one. i was worried that too many water changes will be more harmful to the fish?

Answer 1

You may have upset the bacteria colonies in your substrate. Can you give the "cloudiness" a color? Usually this helps understand what is causing it. Here is a quick legend:

Greenish tint = Alage bloom, usually caused by available ammonia or other eccess nutrients such as phosphates.

White/milky haze = Ammonia levels are high. Tank is not completely cycled, is overstocked or over fed. Also possibly caused by a dead fish left in the tank.

Brown haze = Bacteria or diatom bloom. Usually seen during cycling or shortly after cycling a tank. Also after having disturbed the biological filter.

These are the common ones we encounter. Until you know more, try to leave the UGF alone as well as the substrate. Do partial water changes and reduce feedings just in case it's an ammonia spike. Having your water tested by your LFS may go a long way too.

Hope that helps

Answer 2

Hi, I'm guessing you mean 1' x 1' x 1', right? Like, one foot by one foot by foot? ' = foot, " = inch. If so, that is 7 gallons.

The murkiness comes from when you upset the biological balance of the under gravel filter by cleaning the gravel. This should demonstrate why under gravel filters (UGF) don't work. In theory, they pull all the fish waste and uneaten food into the gravel where it biodegrades. In reality, there is usually too much fish waste and excess food for the filtration system to deal with. While the water LOOKS clear, there is actually loads of gunk and grossness in the gravel. When you syphoned the gravel, all this stuff got kicked up and bacteria populations exploded (called a bacterial bloom), which is causing the murkiness in your water.

UGFs also give the impression that you never need to change your water or vacuum the gravel; but you do need to, every week, 30%.

Give it a while to settle, and keep doing daily 10-20% water changes (but stay away from the gravel) until the water clears.

BUT look into getting a hang off the back (HOB) filter. HOB filters remove large particles of food/poop, and house bacterial populations which convert ammonia into less toxic nitrates. They are really much better filtration devices, though many would disagree with me ;)

Also, your tank is a little overstocked. Gouramis and rainbow sharks are 4-5 inch fish, and should be alloted no less than 15-20 gallons EACH. Consider bringing these back to the petstore and getting something more suitable, like a dwarf gourami.

Answer 3

If the pond is sufficiently small, the murkiness could be brought about by utilising feeding carp as they start to sift interior the direction of the dying flowers that incorporates fall. i've got faith in various the rustic that's already too chilly for a fall spawn for the carp that could additionally muddy the water. This time of the twelve months however, the lake is in all probability turning over. it relatively is whilst the backside layer turns into warmer than the acceptable layer (or the acceptable layer gets less warm than the backside layer) and the water certainly switches places.(because of the fact heat water is lighter) this could and could fire up sediment and dying flowers from the backside. you will see the fish do an analogous element. you're fishing the place the catfish have been, now the carp have long gone to the cooler water and the cats and bass have moved to the place the water is warmer. it may only be a pair of levels yet it relatively is adequate of a distinction to them. As for the lack of ability of bass, that's no longer the carp, the bass are nonetheless there. basically in a diverse region and feeding temper. Jamie ~ Angler a million Sportfishing Adventures ~ Yahoo communities - ~ The Las Vegas Canoe club ~ ~ Nevada Anglers ~

Answer 4

1st off 1" means one inch. Since I know you couldn't fit the fish you named into 1 cubic inch I will assume you have a 1 cubic foot tank I will also assume with this size tank you have about 5 gallons of water in the tank. The cloudiness/ murkiness is caused by chemical imbalance in the water. In a 5 gallon tank with (unknown number )tetras, a gourami, and a rainbow shark this is not uncommon. The tank is simply over its limit of fish. I would recommend removing some of the fish a tank this size has the capacity to happily hold about 4 or 5 large body tetras and about 6-8 small body tetras, or it could hold 1 juvenile gourami (but not long) or 1 juvenile shark (not long). i would also recommend doing a 25% water change and changing your filter cartridges and/or carbons.

Answer 5

If you just set the tank up this is the normal cycle it goes through building bacteria up to run the system. If they start dying you might want to cycle the tank with only goldfish in it so you don't kill anything you pay a lot of money for.
If you didn't just set it up you probably put new fish in recently (under a month ago) and the bio-load (poop and pee from fish) is too much for your little system to handle.
If none of these apply you are overfeeding the fish... Try to just feed one pinch once a day.
You are only supposed to have one inch of fish for every 3 gallons of water... So you probably have less than a ten gallon tank.. If you have more than 4 fish in there your overloading it...
You can ask a pet store to give you some of their wet gravel in a bag with water.. the bacteria from their gravel will spread to yours. If you put it in a pantyhose footy you don't have to worry about switching gravel colors

Answer 6

You have maybe 5 fish in a 1" x 1" x 1" tank? First you need to know how many gallons you have. Rule of thumb is 1" of fish per gallon of water in aquarium.

Usually the cause of murky water is overfeeding and a small water change won't help much. Do a 50%, then wait a couple of days and do a 25% and in a couple of more days another 25%. Filters do little to eliminate uneaten food on the bottom of the tank. You have to "vacuum" it out. Please make sure you use appropriate chemicals for chlorine/chloramine in your water, add a little bit of aquarium salt and some Stress Coat. Tropical fish in aquariums are in a captive environment. It is our job to make sure their environement is as clean and healthy as humanly possible.

Answer 7

Sounds like you are not doing enough water changes. You should be changing AT LEAST 20% of the water once every week. On top of that your tank is very overstocked. Rainbow sharks need 30 gallons minimum for 1 fish all alone, plus they are very aggressive, so your other fish are not going to be alive much longer with him in there.

Answer 8

To me that sounds like a lot of fish in a 1" cube tank - most bettas would need more room than a 1" cube by themselves. One product I use in my aquarium is called "Waste Control" - it has helped keep my water crystal clear. Test the water for high ammonia levels too. And get yourself a bigger tank if you want that many fish - that's way too crowded.

Answer 9

it sounds like the filter might be too strong try adjusting the filter so its not so strong. It also might be that there might not be enough gravel covering the grid.You might also try putting in new gravel after the water change.You might also think about getting a bigger tank as smaller tanks are harder to keep clean.try reducing the amount of food

Answer 10

How long do you have the light on or is the tank near to direct sunlight. Having the tank light on for too long or direct sunlight can encourage excessive algae growth