Cloudy tank?

Question

i have a 30 gl cube tk with two shubkin goldfish one is 2.5 inch long and the other is 5inches long. it is a well established tank (2 years) and every thing was great untill recently. i am now haveing problems keeping the tank clear. 2 months ago i added an additional filter and per advise started doing 10 percent water changes every other day this was to go on till the tank cleared. after a month of this i got frustrated and did a 50 % change and completely sterlized the older filter. for a month the tank stayed clear. its NOW back to being Cloudy agian. i have two filters on the tank. one a Whisper with Bio sponge rated for a 30-60 gallon tank and the other is an Enhim (?) rated for a 50 gallon tank with 2 bio sponges and other media. i have done a 20 percent water change, changed the filter media in the whisper filter and carbon in both and no change its still cloudy, the water test with no ammonia,or nitrites. are my fish to big for that tank? what can i do to keep the water clear

Answer 1

Your tank can be cloudy for a number of reasons. Since your tank is cycled, the problem has occured recently. The extra filtration should not be causing your cloudy water. Are you feeding your fish any differently than before? More perhaps? Have you checked the phosphorus in the tap water and in the tank?
There could be a problem steming from a change in the tap water you are using.

It could also be an algae bloom. What is the temperature of your tank now? I am assuming around 60-65. Have you changed the lighting pattern on the tank? If you are not over feeding, the lights are the same, and the tap water still tests the same as before, Algae bloom seems to be the best guess at this point.

Here is more on algae:

Algae are mostly-photosynthetic organisms that sometimes resemble plants but are not plants, having no true roots, stems or leaves. Algae grow in freshwater and saltwater. Saltwater algae are sometimes referred to as "seaweed." Like plants, algae require light and nutrients to grow. We supply plenty of both in our aquariums, with several hours of aquarium lighting a day and nutrients like nitrates and phosphates from fish waste.

Algae come in many forms. There are microscopic, one-celled algae, filamentous algae that resemble hair, algae that grow in sheets, and macroalgae that look like plants. There are even algae that live inside the outer integument ("skin") or calcium shell of some corals, anemones, and other sessile invertebrates called zooxanthellae. There are slimy-looking algae that are often not algae at all, but a colony of primitive photosynthetic organisms known as cyanobacteria. There are also very hard-to-remove little dots of green that sometimes grow on aquarium panels which also are not algae, but diatom or radiolarian colonies (microscopic, one-celled, animals with hard shells) with algae incorporated in their matrix. With all that said, let us answer some common questions right up front:

Algae growth is inevitable in an aquarium.
Algae consume nutrients in the aquarium that if allowed to accumulate, are harmful to fish. Algae can be a good thing.
The presence of green algae in an aquarium indicates a healthy environment for fish.
There is absolutely no way to completely prevent algae from growing in an aquarium, without killing the other life in the tank.
Chemicals should never be used to control the growth of true algae in an aquarium, and should only be used in rare circumstances to control cyanobacteria.
Correcting a severe algae problem requires time and patience.
Natural methods of controlling algae are the best and most effective.

Algae removal from the tank panels can be done on an as-needed basis, but no more than once a week. Removing algae involves either correcting negative water conditions to control or slow excessive algae growth, or an age-old process known as "elbow grease" (scrubbing it off!). Algae removal in an aquarium should be done only when necessary. We have seen many aquariums where daily removal of algae resulted in fish that were so stressed, most had diseases and were dying. You should never remove all of the algae from your tank. Allowing some algae to grow in the aquarium can be beneficial to the aquatic environment. When algae is removed from aquarium side panels, care should be taken to select an algae scrubber that will not hurt the finish of an aquarium. Be careful not to get gravel caught in an algae scrubbing pad where it can scratch the aquarium. Never use household cleaning pads to remove algae. They contain fungicides that kill fish.

Be sure your tank is not within direct or indirect lighting such as a window or in a room where the lights are on constantly. Is you tank near a heat source. Sometimes we do not take into consideration a fishtank is near a heat register which can and does add additional temperature changes to your tank.

Did you clean the filter as well? Be sure the entire filter is cleaned and free of debris and algae.

Use a razor or scraper and gently scrape all sides of your tank.

Algae likes heat and light.

If you have a stick on thermometer, get yourself a floating one. The stick on thermometers pick up ambient air temperatures from OUTSIDE the tank and can be up to 10 degrees off. DON"T trust them.

You can also purchase phosphorus pads for around $2.00 at your local pet store. These can be cut to fit with your filter and remove large amounts of phosphorus. These can be reused over and over just remember to rinse them out well when you clean your tank.

Water changes so frequently as well can be leading to a cloudy tank.

If you need any more help, you can im or email me.

Answer 2

These are the only 2 fish in the tank?
If you have two filters running it should be sufficient.

Goldfish crap the water up a lot. Feed them less!

Cut their food intake in half and see what happens.

Continue with water changes. Normally 10% per week should be sufficient. More water, more frequently until the cloudiness clears should be okay. But if the water is still cloudy after a month, then there is some other underlying cause.

Don't let anyone else feed the fish. Period. One feeder - half of what you are currently giving them. Don't let anyone else monkey around with the tank. Do you have little kids in the house?

If the problem persists (for a month!) then there is an artificial contaminant in the tank. Move the fish to a different tank (start over)..

Answer 3

It sounds to me like you need to get a nitrate bag (anti-amonium rock bag) for your filter or an active carbon bag. I have been in Germany for far too long and have no experience with tanks in the US so I don't know which you would need, but I use the Nitrite bag.

Basically, it's a bag that you put at the very top of your filter where the cleanest water is. My filter is a 4 stage filter as so (from bottom to top):

Bottom of filter: Water comes in, untreated and unfiltered.
Filter box with large stones and a rough filter pad.
Filter box with small stones and a fine filter pad.
Nirtite bag at the very top where the clean water is pumped to the tank.

It is very similar to this filter but not as super clean (mine is about 5 years old) **Click on the bottom link under sources and there is a filter on the right side of the page. That is a good example without a nitrite bag**

Answer 4

you're over feeding. Left over nutrition motives risky micro organism that consumes oxygen. Oder is likewise led to via micro organism. (to not be at a loss for words with useful micro organism) as a result bypass that chemical. strengthen your filter out length. Feeder fish nor any fish are mandatory to start up algae. easy is (the extra easy the extra & swifter algae growth). you in addition to mght might have presented to many fish to rapidly in the event that they are gold fish feeders as they have an inclination to be "grimy" via nature. additionally wide-unfold rule a million" of fish consistent with gal. of water. I take you mean DE-CHLORINATOR not chlorine chemical compounds as chlorine kills fish. If the water have been left as long as you mentioned chlorine remover does not be mandatory. Chlorine might dissipate interior 40 8 hours at generic room temperature. In new tanks because of the fact no useful bacterial have yet more desirable a unexpected intro of that many fish ought to fairly start up clouding with little filtration. The aeration is help finished shop it going. Given approximately 5days with much less nutrition the tank might desire to clean up. you should apply a chemical like "clean" that motives "dirt" molecules to bond and be filtered out extra fairly or sink to the backside, whether it would clean without it. decrease back to a million or 2 pinches an afternoon and make helpful they eat it in under 5 minutes. placed your funds right into a miles better filter out and purchase chemical compounds in basic terms while nessary. do not clean the tank & filter out on the comparable time. in case you do your doing away with all the useful micro organism at as quickly as and you will might desire to start up the approach over as quickly as extra. clean one or the different wait 5-7days and then clean the different. you will not might desire to purchase starter em-zines. Do use declorinator while doing water ameliorations or addind fish till now 40 8 hrs. till you have properly water.

Answer 5

r u feeding the same amount as before? cos over feeding can cause ur fish tank to get cloudy

Answer 6

Have you changed their food try Aquarian flake food it does not cloud the water.Make sure they are eating all the food ,they may have eaten less due to the winter months.Left over food rots in the water.Go to everything about fish on the web.