Cloudy Water

[Bowman]

Hey everyone.

I'm new to a big fish tank. I have a 21 gallon and after about 3 weeks after setup and two weeks after the fish were introduced my water got pretty cloudy. I use my test strips every other day and all my reading are good. Should I change about 20% of the water every other day? Any advise would be great.

I have 5 Glo fish (zebras), 2 Angels and one rubber mouth sucker.

Thanks for any help.

[epond83]

Did you cycle the tank the first? and i would guess bactria bloom with the new bioload.

[brian1973]

Originally Posted by epond83

Did you cycle the tank the first? and i would guess bactria bloom with the new bioload.

my thoughts as well.

One piece of advice, get rid of the test strips and go with the API mater freshwater test kit or one similar.

[djbids]

I was treating my tank with melafix for about 5 days then did a 50% water change. My tank has been cloudy ever since. About 3 days now. Can something else occur when the tank has been up and running for along time? My tests are good on nitrates. I also put my carbon back and replaced my sponge with another that had been in the tank for about 5 days. (carbon has to be removed during treatment)

[robdollaz]

Originally Posted by Bowman

Hey everyone.

I'm new to a big fish tank. I have a 21 gallon and after about 3 weeks after setup and two weeks after the fish were introduced my water got pretty cloudy. I use my test strips every other day and all my reading are good. Should I change about 20% of the water every other day? Any advise would be great.

I have 5 Glo fish (zebras), 2 Angels and one rubber mouth sucker.

Thanks for any help.

How much are you feeding them? Too much flake can cause cloudiness.

It also might be time to change your filter.

[roark fishies]

How did you cycle your tank? If it is still cycling it could be bacteria bloom. As previously stated...

[Lakea]

Be careful by doing to many water changes before the tank is cycled could mess with the cycling process. Really you need to check your nitrates/nitrites/ammonia levels and do you water changes accordingly. Also what kind of filter do you have?

When I first started up my 70g after it was resealed we had to put the fish back in without letting it cycle (huge mistake still dealing with the after affects). And it was very cloudy for a few days, I changed the filter cartridge out and within hours it was clear. And in an effort to help the fishes from the cycling tank I was doing lots of water changes, but the nitrates continued to build up to a bad level we were told that the water changes were actually making it worse, we slowed down on the water changes and eventually everything balanced back out. But before you do anything you need to get your water tested.

[Mystic Venom]

when my tank was done cycling for the first time it did the same thing. I have read and been told that it means algae has started to grow in the tank. I had to change the filter a lot for a while but now its seemed to level out well. You can buy a Tetra brand water clarifier which worked wonders on my tank.