cloudy tank

[dave harris]

My tank has been set up for 4 months an everything is good. I clean my tank an filters once a week an do a 15 to 20 percent water change every week. The tank is a 150 gallon. The tank cycled very good an was clear. An about 6 weeks ago it started getting cloudy. No matter what I do it will not get crystal clear. Any info or suggestions would be great THANKS

 

[flower]

Hi,

You should not be cleaning your filters once a week...good bacteria builds on it and helps keep the tank stable. Is the cloudy water white or green? Bacterial blooms mean you have too much organic material in the water...do you run a skimmer?

This link explains things in better detail:
http://northtexasaquarium.com/2011/01/19/bacterial-blooms-cloudy-aquarium-water/

 

[dave harris]

no I don't have a protein skimmer. an it is a milky white fog. an I read the article an not sure what thy want me to do the fix the problem tho. My tank is a aggressive tank but everytime I do a water change an vacuum the sand there is no waste or left over fish,

 

[flower]

no I don't have a protein skimmer. an it is a milky white fog. an I read the article an not sure what thy want me to do the fix the problem tho. My tank is a aggressive tank but everytime I do a water change an vacuum the sand there is no waste or left over fish,

Hello,

Usually bacterial blooms correct themselves. It sucks the oxygen out of the tank, so I think a protein skimmer would help. adding an airline (no stone) might help clear it up as a temporay fix (salt creep is terrible, but not as bad as a constant cloud) If you can set up a refugium, and put macros in there will help keep parameters in check. I purchased an in-tank refugium that worked really well, they make HOB types too. Having good bacteria is the best way to prevent problems, JMO...I think you over clean your tank. That's why I think a refugium would be the best thing you could do, because it will house the tiny critters you need to keep things balanced.

 

[beaslbob]

try killing your lights and stop all feeding and see if it clears on a week or two.

my .02

 

[beth]

Try a water clarifier such as such a Accu-Clear. There are many brands which your local store should have.

 

[2014FishKiller]

try killing your lights and stop all feeding and see if it clears on a week or two.

my .02

You are joking right: stop all feeding and see if it clears on a week or two.

 

[2014FishKiller]

If you are using flake food and using formula one, it is the food.

 

[beaslbob]

You are joking right: stop all feeding and see if it clears on a week or two.

Nope very very serious.
fish and corals can live for weeks with no food or light. but it is not the healthiest especially for the long term.
What happens is the cloudiness is do to the nutrients in the tank reacting with light. So you starve it and kill the lights. It dies off and returns the nutrients back in the correct ratio needed by corals, algae and so on.
my .02

 

[bang guy]

I'm beginning to understand why your tank crashed so often Beaslbob.

 

[beaslbob]

I'm beginning to understand why your tank crashed so often Beaslbob.

LOL

never lost a fish, coral, macro algae,or fw plant killing the lights and stopping feeding to clear the tank.

 

[2014FishKiller]

Nope very very serious.
fish and corals can live for weeks with no food or light. but it is not the healthiest especially for the long term.
What happens is the cloudiness is do to the nutrients in the tank reacting with light. So you starve it and kill the lights. It dies off and returns the nutrients back in the correct ratio needed by corals, algae and so on.
my .02

When fish hungry that will create aggressive? Be careful for ICH. FYI I always over feed my fish since I am doing 10% water change per week and get enough fish that eat algae.

 

[beaslbob]

When fish hungry that will create aggressive? Be careful for ICH. FYI I always over feed my fish since I am doing 10% water change per week and get enough fish that eat algae.

You tanks is cloudy because of the lights and overfeeding. Killing the lights and not adding food will settle things including the fish who will not starve and in fact clean up the tank looking for food.

 

[2014FishKiller]

My lighting schedule is like 15 hours a day, but that is led, which does not create heat, my problem is the flake food, that was red, this is my second time using same flake food, I was noticed the water change to brown after I using it again, my family asked me what is wrong with the water and rocks, I told them it is color that add to the flake food, I ordered the New Life flake food, now the water is getting better every day. In two weeks, it should go back to crystal clear again. By the way, I still over feeding my fish.

 

[bang guy]

Have you considered not using flaked food?

 

[bang guy]

You tanks is cloudy because of the lights and overfeeding. Killing the lights and not adding food will settle things including the fish who will not starve and in fact clean up the tank looking for food.

Well, no, that's not true.

 

[2014FishKiller]

Have you considered not using flaked food?

I have kept thinking about it, at one point I want to do it on the my own, but I afraid to create aggressive.

 

[beth]

Goodness. No one can say for sure why the tank is cloudy. Hardly enough info to know why. Its guessing. Its not like a disaster that has to be resolved this moment or else. I would start with what is easiest which is discontinue flake food. Go with frozen or home made. And use a water clarifier. Try that before starving out everything in the tank.

Post your water readings....if you decide to followup on this post.

 

[2014FishKiller]

My water is fine now and much better after I change different brand of flake food (non-red one) I knew that because it happen to me second time when I using the red flake food.

 

[flower]

The problem with flake food is that it has the highest phosphates. All fish foods have phosphates, but we are able to rinse frozen foods. Phosphates are the main fuel for nuisance algae, and cloudy tanks. Running carbon makes clear water since it absorbs and reduces toxins.