cloudy QT

muggiwhplar

muggiwhplar

Member
I'm running a hyposalinity QT and it's becoming very cloudy. Ammonia and nitrites are zero, nitrates are around 20. Alk is about 120 ppm, pH is about 8.1. I cycled the tank by ghost feeding, and I'm figuring that the cloudiness is the result of a bacterial bloom brought on by extra food left over from the cycling process. I've performed a few 20% water changes in the last few days, but that hasn't really helped. I also hooked up a canister filter with a bunch of carbon for a few hours today, also without any noticeable effect. Would adding a broad-spectrum antibiotic like Maracyn Plus help to clear the water? Also, do these bacteria pose a serious threat to the fish? They all seem fine so far. Even if it doesn't pose a threat, I'd still like to clear it up because it makes it difficult to observe the fish.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
I believe your assessment is correct, and the problem likely resulted from using the ghost shrimp for cycling. Nowdays, better to just use a small piece or two of live rock or rubble rock for cycling, rather the the old shrimp thing. Are you cycling your tank under hypo?
You might need to use a water clarifier. Are there fish that you are treating in the QT?
 
muggiwhplar

muggiwhplar

Member
By "ghost feeding" I meant dumping in food with no livestock in the tank. (I guess it's not as common a term as I thought--sorry for the confusion.) Anyway, yes I am cycling under hypo. Does that cause problems? There are fish in the QT. As I said, they seem to be fine. They're active and eating and whatnot. What kind of water clarifier should I use?
 
muggiwhplar

muggiwhplar

Member
If it's a bacterial bloom, what exactly will a water clarifier do? Will it cling to bacteria just like it's supposed to cling to dirt and organic molecules? Or does it pull stuff out of the water and remove the bacteria's food source?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top