# Why is my water cloudy?



## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

My water has been cloudy for a while now, seems like it started after I noticed the new fish from the crappy lfs had ick (they're dead now, at least my original fish are ok). I added a bunch of salt (per label instructions) and I turned up the temp to like 85f. I assumed it was the salt that was making it cloudy but I have been doing nightly water changes of at least 25% and it is still couldy! What could it be? See pics below.


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

Ok, I just did a test and the warm water comes out of the tap and its all cloudy looking, this is normal i guess since the water is heater, whereas the cold water is crystal clear. So I guess I will fill with cold water instead of warm water and see what happens. What do other people do?

BTW: My danios LOVE to swim under/through the water as I add it to the tank! They are so fun!


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

I never had that problem.


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

Is your cold water parameters from the tap, the same as the warm water?

I don't have problems with cloudy waters, but in my 125 gallon tank, I use straight warm tap water for WC and Gravel vacs. Both my 20 gallon long (shrimp and L-046 Zebra) and 10 gallon QT tank, I use dechlored, heated, aged water.


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## JouteiMike (Oct 7, 2006)

You use any medication for Ich? Could have killed off your bacteria and is undergoing a mini-cycle.

What are your water parameters?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

JouteiMike said:


> You use any medication for Ich? Could have killed off your bacteria and is undergoing a mini-cycle.
> 
> What are your water parameters?


Good questions.:thumbsup: Cloudiness can be caused either by bacterial bloom or overfeeding.

Another question would be what kind of medicine was use.


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## Guest (Nov 23, 2006)

Just a thought


Are those live plants in your tank?
If so check for decaying plant matter we went through months of cloudy water tried everything under the sun to clear it up ended up being dead plant matter under the gravel that kept making it cloudy.We got rid of all the live plants and never had a cloudy problem again..


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

My current readings are Ph 7, Kh 5, everything else 0. They are real plants and I pick the decaying leaves off when I notice them. I did not use any medicine for the ick, just pumped up the temperature and added salt. I havent checked the difference between the cold/hot water from the tap...so when you people fill a glass bowl with cold water, then hot water, it looks the same? I thought hot water was always cloudy because it is heated (and aerated?)?


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## JouteiMike (Oct 7, 2006)

Do you really use HOT water from your tap? I use warm water for one of my tanks, which I make sure if roughly 75-78, and even that isn't technically all that warm, feels slightly cool to the touch. Unless you're giving your heaters a nice kick-start, I wouldn't add hot water to your aquarium...it contains dissolved metals, bacteria ect, all the stuff you DON'T want in your aquarium. The cloudiness comes from dissolved air, which is released in the form of fine bubbles when cold water becomes warmer.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Er...Mike was right.:mrgreen: "Hot" and "warm" are different terms. It's probably warm and we do prefer it rather than hot which could have killed the fish or worse, cracking the tank due to temperature variations.:blink:


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## Tracy (Aug 4, 2006)

Here's an idea: instead of using warm or hot 'tap' water when preparing your new water for the tank, use only cold water, then add boiling water to the cold water in the bucket, until you get the right temperature. I think that is better than adding water that has been heated by a hot water tank.  Another thing I did which made my water crystal clear, is using extra sponge material in your filter media.


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

I have been using warm water ~80f or so, certainly not hot! I did a ~40% water change last night and used colder water than usual (so that the water came out clear instead of full of bubbles, etc) and the water look sbetter today. I will change more again tomorrow. Thanks for the input!


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

so.... my water is cloudy again! I gravel vac's last night in hopes of clearing it up and now it is even worse today.....really don't know what is goin on here.....my only guess is my filter's aren't doing their job? I have:

1 Eheim 2213 rated for ~60 gallons
1 Fluval 204 rated for ~40 gallons

So I have ~100 gallons of filtration for a 90 gallon tank. I am thinking I should get a third filter now!


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

my guess is a bacterial bloom...that usually makes the water cloudy..


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

Close, I think it's an algae bloom since it is greenish and when I change the water, I can see in the sink that it is a pale green color. Looks like I will be getting an UV Sterilizer? Any recommendations (price/performance)?


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## JouteiMike (Oct 7, 2006)

Not too familiar with UV Steralizers, haven't used one, but maybe it could have something to do with your lights? How long do you keep them on? Maybe significantly lessen the amount you have them on for, or keep them off for a while.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

I am positive that it may have something to do with the following factors:
1. Overfeeding
2. Bacterial bloom
3. Carbon leaching out muck after being stuck in the filter longer than when it was supposed to be removed.
4. New gravel

UV Sterilizers and lighting have nothing to do with the cloudiness.

As for algal bloom, how many wattages does your light have? What about nitrates and phosphates? High level of phosphates and nitrates along with too much lighting can caused algal bloom. Exposure to sunlight is also another factor.


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## JouteiMike (Oct 7, 2006)

Yeah but he stated it was a greenish cloudiness, which points to an Algea Bloom. Reducing light, and reducing feedings will rid the tank of the green water. Be sure to increase oxygen levels by aerating the tank, as the algae will consume the oxygen and it can get to extrememly low, deadly levels at the night time.

You could also try covering the tank completely so no light what so ever penetrates the tank.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

JouteiMike said:


> Yeah but he stated it was a greenish cloudiness, which points to an Algea Bloom. Reducing light, and reducing feedings will rid the tank of the green water. Be sure to increase oxygen levels by aerating the tank, as the algae will consume the oxygen and it can get to extrememly low, deadly levels at the night time.
> 
> You could also try covering the tank completely so no light what so ever penetrates the tank.


I did skip accidentally to your post without looking at Josh's new post.:mrgreen: The UV sterilizer is supposed to be of help eliminating the floating green algae. Other than that, try what Mike has suggested.


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

but he may not need to go to the trouble of FINDING a small UV sterilizer for his tank if he just eliminates light to his tank for about 3 or 4 days, and minimizes the feedings as well...this is supposed to work, but i'm not sure about a planted tank...your plants might suffer w/o the light. 

bri


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

if it is indeed a algae bloom..have fun...cuz these can be very tricky to get rid of...my mother had one that lasted like...2 months! LOL it was awfull...and also, water changes make it worse (if its algae). and hers didnt respond to the elimination of light....turns out her gravel bed was not deep enough...and for some reason when she doubled her gravel bed, it all went away and is now crystal clear. 

bri


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## SKAustin (Aug 1, 2006)

OK, I'm going to reiterate llaustins question, as your condition looks very similar to what we had gone through.

Are the plants live plants?

are you providing the proper lighting/fertilizer/gravel/co2 for your plants?

Try removing the plants for 2 weeks, do a large water change, and see if your cloudy green water returns.

Check your tank nitrates before and after the water change, and your tap water nitrates.

Decaying plant matter from improperly cared for plants will boost your bacteria count and ammonia/nitrites/nitrates production on the tank. End result, rapid increase in nitrates. Algae feeds on this nitrates. 

Basically, its both a bacterial bloom and an algea bloom. your tankwater goes from clear after the water change, to a milky color, then to a milky green color.

so My suggestion is, remove the live plants and store them in a QT, do a 75% water change with a thourough gravel vac (all broken off roots need to be removed from the gravel) then wait two weeks. you may also want to do another water change after the first week. If your conditions improve, then youve found your problem. The solution, either go to fake plants, or research proper care for the species of plants you have. ensure proper lighting, food and substrate.

Also note that an air pump/bubbler in the tank is a bad idea with live plants. Oxygen bubbles will carry the Co2 in the water to the surface and disperse it into the air. This will rob the plants of necessary Co2


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

Thanks for all the responses! I don't think this is a bacterial bloom - I am pretty sure its algae (if you could see the tank, you would too). I just order the 9w sterilizer:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=7999&N=2004+113778

This is supposed to take care of algae by destroying the cells so they bind together and get trapped in the filter. My lights are currently on for 12 hours a day so I may shorten that some. I will let you know how the sterilizer works out!


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

So I just got back from a business trip (overnight) in Philla. and the tank is completly green! It's pretty awesome. Did a ~40% water change and will continue to do so until the UV sterilizer arrives on Tuesday. Hopefully it will do what it is supposed to do. The fish seem fine though.


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

installed the uv sterilizer this evening, cross your fingers. will report back!


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

I have great news to report! I installed the UV Sterilizer on Monday evening, it is now Friday evening and what a difference!

Before:









After:









You now literally can not tell that there is water in the tank (other than the happy, swimming fishies)! If you don't have one of these, get one!


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## SKAustin (Aug 1, 2006)

Great Jsm! So glad it worked out for you. Keep us posted on the long term results. If you dont mind me asking, where did you get the UV, what brand is it, and how much did it run you?


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

Not at all, I got the 9w Turbo Twist (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=7999&N=2004+113778) for $80 + s/h. Best fishy investment so far!


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

A bacterial bloom can give the green appearance to water when it's removed from the tank just as can an algae bloom. From your photo, it appears to be a bacterial bloom, and from reading this thread from start to finish, I still say bacterial bloom. The best thing for you to do to fix it.... STOP doing the water changes and give it a chance to clear up on its own. There is no treatment for such a thing other than time for it to stabalize. If you feel you must do water changes, then do SMALL ones, no more than 10% every day to every other day. With your water quality reading 0 for everything, algae bloom wouldn't make sense because it would have nothing to feed on. So, either your test results are inaccurate, or you're dealing with bacterial bloom that will clear once you let it be. Bacterial blooms will not hurt the fish so long as the water quality is good. Ease up on feedings, make sure only once every other day and what the fish can completely finish within one minute. With 0 everything for water quality, your tank will cycle again, which the fish may or may not be sensitive to. You'll want to keep a close eye on your water quality readings for a little while, until you know the tank is safely cycled again. If you keep doing large and frequent water changes, it may never clear up.


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## jsm11482 (Aug 8, 2006)

Thanks for that info! My water is crystal clear now (thanks to the UV Sterilizer) and I did stop doing water changes (haven't done one in maybe 5 days). I will test it again tonight and maybe to a water change since the bloom is gone. My tank never cycled, it has a bunch on plants in there and I never picked up readings for ammonia, nitrite nitrate. It has been running for over 2 months now. Also, on an unrelated note, as soon as the water became clear and the bloom was gone, one of my plant groups (don't remember the species) shot up a couple inches in one day!


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

jsm11482 said:


> Also, on an unrelated note, as soon as the water became clear and the bloom was gone, one of my plant groups (don't remember the species) shot up a couple inches in one day!


:shock2: Impressive record. :shock2: I, too, had my stellata shot to 3 inches in one day once.:roll: Since then, I've been eager to get rid of it as it's becoming a nuisance.:mrgreen: But you know I have my heart set on making portions of my tank shaded so I'll just move it in the corner(it's in the middle) as it's shading out the middle(bad idea apparently).


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

jsm11482 said:


> I have great news to report! I installed the UV Sterilizer on Monday evening, it is now Friday evening and what a difference!
> 
> Before:
> 
> ...


HOLY CRAP!!! That's some massive GW! I take it you have it inline with your canister filter. Keep in mind, this will reduce the output flow of the filter. If you use any fertilizers, especially iron, it's best to turn off the UV for a day or 2 when dosing with iron. The UV is suppose to nuetralize, break-off, (can't think of the proper word) with iron, so it's useless to your plants.


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