Cloudy water comes and goes. Oily on top as well?

Question

10 gallon tank which had a Red Devil (just died recently) gets cloudy water by morning almost every day. I never shut tank off. By the time I turn the light on aroiund 6 pm at night, water is almost crystal clear. Light stays on for 5 hours tops and is dark until daylight. By morning it's back again. Tank is near a window but no direct sun. Just did major partial having set water aside for 24 hours with ager to adjust for chloramines. Tank has been empty for three days now and problem still exists even after partial.did filter change and power housing cleanout to be sure. Can't figure what is going on. Help!

Answer 1

the source of the cloudiness depends on the color of the cloudiness. If it's greenish you have a slight algae bloom but if it's milky, which I suspect you mean, it's a bacteria bloom. The fish dying in the tank was probably the first cause and now more and more of the nitrifing bacteria is dying due to a lack of ammonia and nitirites that they feed on. The cycle roller coasters up and down. As more bacteria die, they cause some ammonia, which causes some to grow, then they starve and die.... back and forth but always losing ground. In a few days the bacteria will be gone and with water will clear, but you will have to cycle the tank again. So go ahead and add a fish or two to keep the bacteria cycle in place until you figure out what ou want for the long haul.

Hope this helps

MM

Answer 2

that's probably your problem - ( water changes) to do a PARTIAL water change, you will need a siphon. do this only once every thirty days, drain 1/4 of the water- with siphon from the bottom 1/4 of the tank. refill from top. i think your problem is too much water out from the wrong place. every time you do it- it starts the whole process of cloudy water because of new ammonia buildup, which is very toxic to fish.
i owned a pet shop for ten years - before working for the postal service.
remember-ONE TIME PER MONTH-- LOWER 1/4 BOTTOM OF TANK.
you may experience cloudy water for 2-3 days. leave it alone, it will clear and stay that way after the cycle passes.
hope this helps.

Answer 3

The answer to bad water can virtually always be found by doing tests of the water. Test kits often come separately, testing only one specific quality of the water. Master test kits are a combination of tests, but this one I particularly like in that it does 10 different tests, including the standard, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, but also tests for iron, phosphate, calcium and carbonates, which can be some of the cause of algae blooms. I would also suggest testing for carbon dioxide. I'm glad that you are wanting to resolve the problem before adding more fish. I would also request that you not use "guinea pig" fish to cycle the water and test out the quality of your water. It's inhumane and unnecessary. There are ways of bringing your water quality into the correct parameters using the "fishless cycling" method, without adding death fish. Thanks for listening and good luck! I can tell you have the patience to get this tank right for your fish!

Answer 4

Is it a white cloudy or a green cloudy?

If its white it might be a bactirial bloom if you recently did a really big water change or it wasnt cycled.

If its greens its probably some form of algae