cloudy water?

Question

im so confused on what to do.. my tank has been set up and running for 6 weeks now. im having cloudy water that will not go away. i have a 55g tank. i did a pwc last week and a few days later changed 2 of my 3 filters. im have 2 HOB power filters and a UG filter. i have 5 chiclids, 2 placos, and 2 cats. i feed once a day and they eat everything that i put in the tank. my levels are right where they need to be. nitrite 0, ammonia 0, and nitate 10. im guessing its a baterial bloom, but im not really sure. and if it is what to i do to fix the problem. ive been told to just wait it out and ive been told to do pwc every day till it stops. please help i just want my water to be crystal clear.

its a fresh water. and if the gravel is dusty wouldnt the filters and pwc clear it up?

Answer 1

it seems like your tank was already established because of your readings you got
but you made one big mistake, you cleaned out all your filters, therefore killed all the bacteris which had established in there
you will most likely see that it will go through another mini cycle

To prevent that in the future, just clean one filter at a time, and keep up with weekly maintanance of 25% partial waterchanges with a gravel siphon
even after cleaning you experience sometimes a cloudy period because of all the particles which you loosen through the cleaning, but it should clear up after about 24 hours



Hope that helps
Good luck



EB



Feel free to email me for further Questions

Answer 2

OMG DO NOT DO A COMPLETE CHANGE! it will kill everything!

your right, most likely its a bacterial bloom, and the most important thing is to let it bloom and let it equalize by itself
i reccommend feeding your fish every other day for about 2 weeks,(to reduce ammonia introduced into the tank) and not putting anything in or out until this time is up, no water changes
check the ammonia daily, and it might be a good idea to check the carbonate hardness as well

you should see an improvement in a few days

if you want to add a supplement of enzymes that should be ok
good luck

Answer 3

I started with salt water tanks....but you did not make it clear if yours is salt or fresh water.

In any case, I do a complete cleaning every 6-8 weeks. Take the fish out and place in a seperate bowl with the water they are used to.

Drain your big tank completely.....all the plants, ornaments, AND ROCKS need to be cleaned and completely rinsed.

Then use BOTTLED water.

Sometimes the rocks we buy have a dust on them that will cause cloudiness.

Answer 4

I would use a syphon to clean the water under and within the rocks. Try that or add that anti-cloud stuff. Good luck. ;)