# Anyone had persistent (> 6 mos.) white cloudy water in FW tank?



## Yorg (Jan 10, 2015)

Dear Friends:

A little over six months ago my 55g FW abruptly developed a white, hazy cloudiness. It appears to be caused by tiny but visible white particles. The parameters have not changed (except for nitrate, which has actually gone down to about 30ppm) and the fishes don’t seem to be affected; in fact, they’re breeding.

I’ve been able to rule out blooms, substrate dust, microbubbles, and excessive organic matter. I do regular WCs and substrate vacuuming. I’ve tried running a combination of floss and 50-micron pads both in the regular filter and through a powerhead. A few weeks ago I even tried a flocculent, with no results.

I have well water and suspect that what I’m seeing is some kind of suspended inorganic particulate matter. I don’t want to switch to RO because my well water has very suitable ph and hardness for my African dwarf cichlids. I’m thinking of trying a diatom filter, but before I invest I wanted to see if any of you have encountered this same problem and, if so, whether you were able to resolve it. Thanks!

-Yorg


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## kedi (Dec 24, 2015)

That it has been going on for so many months is odd. But I suppose a system can settle into various states.
The nitrate drop might indicate an actual organism that is feeding on it.
When something like that happens, the reactions you take might keep on sidetracking the system from settling back down. Changing filter material, more water changes than you used to do, chemical additives.
Have you tried easing off on battling it for an extended period? Doing the minimum water changes/addition, no messing with the filter, no chemical treatments? If so, did it get worse?


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## Yorg (Jan 10, 2015)

Thanks, kedi. No, when I was doing just regular water changes and maintenance it didn't get any worse. The only times I've seen it get worse were shortly after I stopped running floss and 50-micron padding in the filters. I attribute the drop in nitrates to the more aggressive substrate cleaning and larger, more frequent water changes. 

-Yorg



kedi said:


> That it has been going on for so many months is odd. But I suppose a system can settle into various states.
> The nitrate drop might indicate an actual organism that is feeding on it.
> When something like that happens, the reactions you take might keep on sidetracking the system from settling back down. Changing filter material, more water changes than you used to do, chemical additives.
> Have you tried easing off on battling it for an extended period? Doing the minimum water changes/addition, no messing with the filter, no chemical treatments? If so, did it get worse?


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## Observer54 (Mar 6, 2016)

Is your well water cloudy when you draw a glass of water? Do you drink it? Well water is usually pretty clear unless it's not a good functioning well. You may need to filter your water for water changes (and for you!).

I've only had cloudiness when I've upset the substrate, but it clears in a day or two. Maybe you might stop disturbing the substrate as much. Do you have coarse gravel where excess food and fish waste gets trapped? If so, maybe you could add a finer substrate layer (or replace existing with finer) so as not to have trapped debris.

Are you sure you're not over feeding? 
Are you feeding a high quality fish food? A lot of fish foods use grain (and inferior fish meal) as a protein/binder and this results in more fish waste than is the case with higher quality foods.


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## kedi (Dec 24, 2015)

Have you tried saving a large clear container of the water that has the particles in it? See if they settle to the bottom. Do they disappear or change color as if they have died and rotted?
Run a whole bunch of the water through a coffee filter. Let it dry. Add vinegar and see if it foams up.
Take some of the water to a school with good microscopes and see if they can spot living matter?


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## Yorg (Jan 10, 2015)

Thanks, Observer54. Yes, when I draw a glass of water from one of the taps I see a similar, if less concentrated, haze. That's what leads me to believe that what I'm dealing with is some sort of suspended inorganic particles. I started filtering my water change water through 50-micron pads with no results.

There's a company nearby here that will do a full water test for a pretty reasonable price, so I've arranged for one. Our well water is extremely hard and alkaline (not unusual) but, as I wrote in my original post, it actually suits my African dwarf cichlids quite well so I'm reluctant to start RO again (which I haven't done in years).

Like you, I've often had a different and very temporary type of cloudiness after a deep substrate cleaning, but this is different in character and duration.

I typically use Omega One formulas supplemented by frozen single-items foods. I've never had a problem with Omega One products producing cloudiness, although a few months ago I did experiment with some other brands to see if by chance that was the problem (it turned out it wasn't).

I've tried varying (reducing) the amount and number of feedings to see if that was the problem, but it's produced no change either. I'm stumped!

-Yorg




Observer54 said:


> Is your well water cloudy when you draw a glass of water? Do you drink it? Well water is usually pretty clear unless it's not a good functioning well. You may need to filter your water for water changes (and for you!).
> 
> I've only had cloudiness when I've upset the substrate, but it clears in a day or two. Maybe you might stop disturbing the substrate as much. Do you have coarse gravel where excess food and fish waste gets trapped? If so, maybe you could add a finer substrate layer (or replace existing with finer) so as not to have trapped debris.
> 
> ...


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## Yorg (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi kedi:

That's a really good idea. In fact, as I told Observer54 above, I'm going to have a professional water analysis done by this company here in the area. One of the things they apparently check for is dissolved organics and microorganisms, so if that turns out to be the problem at least I'll know what I'm dealing with!

-Yorg



kedi said:


> Have you tried saving a large clear container of the water that has the particles in it? See if they settle to the bottom. Do they disappear or change color as if they have died and rotted?
> Run a whole bunch of the water through a coffee filter. Let it dry. Add vinegar and see if it foams up.
> Take some of the water to a school with good microscopes and see if they can spot living matter?


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## Observer54 (Mar 6, 2016)

It would seem that your problem is with your well water, not the aquarium. I hope you're not drinking that water?! Assuming the contaminants are non-toxic, it sounds like you need a home filtering system or a new well. In the meantime, you'd want another source for water changes. Perhaps something like an API Tap (Aquairium) water filter is what you need?...
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=API+Tap+Water+Filter



Yorg said:


> Thanks, Observer54. Yes, when I draw a glass of water from one of the taps I see a similar, if less concentrated, haze. That's what leads me to believe that what I'm dealing with is some sort of suspended inorganic particles. I started filtering my water change water through 50-micron pads with no results.
> 
> There's a company nearby here that will do a full water test for a pretty reasonable price, so I've arranged for one. Our well water is extremely hard and alkaline (not unusual) but, as I wrote in my original post, it actually suits my African dwarf cichlids quite well so I'm reluctant to start RO again (which I haven't done in years).
> 
> ...


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## kedi (Dec 24, 2015)

Well water can change over time. So it is possible that it is now harder. Water can only dissolve so much of a particular item. The excess may now be floating around solid. Even if you filter out the excess before putting it in the tank, the ecology of the tank might somehow produce some of that item, so it is again in excess of what the water can dissolve. Testing the water with most home kits probably won't reveal the excess, as it is in solid form and might not react with the test method.
You might end up having to get distilled water, that you will mix with your well water before putting it in the tank.
I always refill two 5 gallon pails immediately after doing a water change. I let them sit open until the next change. Just to let chlorine gas off, in my case. But you could use this to settle out the solids, then not use the bottom of the pail. Save filtering the solids out. Then add a portion of the distilled water.
The municipal tap water in my city is at the mid point of what Cichlids like, but not so hard as to cause problems like you are having.
Just a few more thoughts, that might be useful. Still just guessing though.

Had another thought.
Get some distilled water. Add your cloudy water, say 50% and see if the particles dissolve. It might take some time. Put it in a bottle you can shake up easily now and then.


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## Observer54 (Mar 6, 2016)

+1 on Omega One fish food - it's one of the best....Almost Natural is another.



Yorg said:


> I typically use Omega One formulas supplemented by frozen single-items foods. I've never had a problem with Omega One products producing cloudiness, although a few months ago I did experiment with some other brands to see if by chance that was the problem (it turned out it wasn't).
> -Yorg


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## beaslbob (Oct 17, 2012)

pre first (LOL) kill you lights and suspend feeding (well once per week anyway) and see if it clears up.

First of all regardless of your well water, a planted tank would clear up that cloudiness. You might try a partition to separate live plants from your fish.

Secondly, the diatom (vortex) will clear the water in a few hours. But they are a pain to setup.

Thirdly, there are combination sponge/mechanical in tank filters with a small (10" or so) uv section. Cost about $30 or so on ebay. After doing the lights out, and diatom on the wife's reef tank, our maintenance guy added one of the uv filters and the tank has remained absolutely crystal clear. It is in our sump/refugium and the sump's plant life (macro algae) really started growing as well. So the uv has killed the suspended algae/phyto and that is feeding the plant life.

my thoughts
worth at most .02


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