water change

[sandman]

I changed my water a day ago approx 40 liters and the tank has gone cloudy for some reason.It is no different than the last time and the fish are not distressed what could it be????

[F15hguy]

if grey it could be either a bacterial bloom, or "dust" from the gravel or from the water.

if it doesn't settle in a few days and you have abnormal water params (high ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) try a live bacteria solution. if that doesn't work, then try a flocculant to settle the cloudiness (don't forget to check your filter flow afterwards)

[F15hguy]

also if green try a lights out for a couple of days.

how often do you do water changes???

[sandman]

every 20 days or so , it often goes cloudy for a night but then clears the next day. Water is not grey or green just a light milky shade

[sandman]

tank has been up and running for over a year with no probs.Mountian minnows and plants thats it. power filter is running fine and has under gravel for good measure

[Godly3vil]

Sounds like a bacterial bloom alright, just keep a close eye on it and you should really be doing water changes a bit more regularly in my opinion.

[sandman]

Thanks for that , water changes about once every 10 days or so then? and about 40 liters at a time or less.Tank size is around 120 liters

[Godly3vil]

Yeah, 40ltrs every 10 days or so should be fine, especially since your tank has been running for quite awhile and should be pretty biologically mature.

[#!CrunchBang]

You are using a water conditioner to deal with chlorine? if your water supply is chlorinated, and do you use a gravel vac every now and then?

[sandman]

yes i use a conditioner and yes i gravel vac as well

[F15hguy]

start by increasing water changes to once every week (easiest to start a schedule.)

around 25% should be ok.

also are you cleaning your Filter???

and what kind of filter do you have?

[hovmoller]

I find that if I do a very large water change (50%+) then I sometimes get a slight milky haze right after. Definitely not a bacterial bloom or dust.. Something to do with mixing mature tank water and tap water I think (different mineral content, ph, etc.) but it always goes away in a day or so.

[sandman]

Thanks for all your help people, my tank and it's population are all good now.Water cleared up two days after my first post so I am happy again.Thanks again :thup: