candy Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 in the last week i have noticed the water in my litle 2 foot tank starting to cloud up and its worring me as i can see no problems all water tests normal no new fish added.been doing regular water changes ect.nothing out of the ordernary realy but the water has clouded up and i normaly have crystial clear water. any idears anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Sounds like an algae bloom. Is it white cloudy? Won't harm the fish but looks unsightly. How long has the tank been set up? This is common in new set-ups and should disappear again after a week or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Hi Candy, Welcome to the Fishroom Other things you should look out for besides the above are: New tank setup... Normally the water takes a while to get real clear. Overfeeding... Decomposing food or plant matter. Dead fish lurking under rocks etc. Ornaments or substrate breaking down.. Try the Vinegar test. Place a bit of rock/ornament/gravel into a bit of vinegar.. if it fizzles.. regect it. Too many fish.. The filtration of the tank can't cope with the waste being produced, so the bacteria builds up causing cloudy water. Try a bit of carbon in your filter.. but don't "clean" the filter medium too well, as this destroys the bacteria (the good ones).. that are living there. Keep up the water changes.. say 15% twice a week should do it. We really need to know how many fish in there and how long the tank has been set up..? All the best. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted August 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 thanks for that its just my little comunity tank, it has been set up for well over a year now so not new tank. there is 3 plattys,4neons and 1 apple snails.so deffinatly not over stocked filter get rinced every so offten so not full of goop also has carbon in it. im the only one who feeds them an i know how much to give there so wated food sitting about.no real plants (apple snail thinks they are yum) and no dead fish i feel clueless about this one must be algae (yes it is white cloudy) but how do i kill it off naturally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 filter get rinced every so offten You don't rinse the whole filter at the same time, do you? You could be resetting the cycle of your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 and only rinse it with water from your tank!!! When was the last time you changed the carbon? It very quickly reaches it's UBD and is then only useful as an area for the bacteria to grow on. If using medications in your tank, carbon is used for removing them, so remember to remove carbon when you treat your tank, and to use the carbon when the treatment is finished. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted August 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2005 i promess u all that i allway rince with tank water and never all the filter at once it has two sponges so only rince one at a time also i change carbon about once a month i know all about the cycle and everything so u dont have to worrie about that iv been in to fish for quite a few years. any other idears about getting rid of the whote cloude ???? with out killing my fish and snail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted August 8, 2005 Report Share Posted August 8, 2005 Maybe its your water supply. If its high in phosphates it can cause an algal bloom - I think. Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiverJohn Posted August 8, 2005 Report Share Posted August 8, 2005 HI Candy, i had this exact same problem, and i was stumped for a while too. This is what i did.... I bought a phosphate test kit. Reading was medium (10ppm) but ideal is zero. Then i noticed that the water when i came home from work was crystal clear, but seemd to go cloudy later on. seemed to happen after feeding time... And also when ever i added fertilizer for my plants, it would go cloudy too. Literally before my eyes . I was suspicious of the chemicals in the fertilizer. After a water change it would be fine for a couple of days , then back to cloudy.... SO i got to thinking... 1st, I started doing bigger water changes ( 15% increased to 30% per week) significant & immediate improvement. Second, i added PhosEx to a hang on filter. Been running 2 months now and time for a change. 3rd Stopped using LFS fertilzers - now used PMDD - MUCH better!! NOt quite sure exactly what the issue was, but with phosphates at zero now, everthing is good. HTH John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted August 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 well i still dont know whats up with my tank but i have got a phosphate pad and put it in my filter and hopefully that will clear it all up. thanks for all ur help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 You could try a couple of products from Aqurium Pharmaceuticals via Brooklands. Bio-Chem Zorb or Phos-Zorb these are the same people who make Melifix and Stress coat , both the above proucts work better and for longer than carbon. Web site www.aquariumpharm.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted August 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2005 thanks bk will look in to them its realy sad to see my smallest tank looking and sad and cloudy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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