# foggy tank



## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

my 55 gallon is a little foggy could it be the glass needs cleaned or is it the water? how to get the foggyness out?


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

How long has tank been running with fish in it ? For new tanks,, foggyness you describe is not uncommon and will take care of itself as tank matures. Overfeeding can cause cloudiness as well along with clogging the filter material. If tank is new however ,and has not cycled, rinsing the filter material in old aquarium water that you take out during water changes and sticking it back in would be what I would do so as not to destroy beneficial bacteria that is developing. Cleaning the glass with a clean paper towel folded into fourths can be done on regular basis.


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

its a brakish tank and has ben up for 3 an half months


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

1077 had good suggestions, and while it wouldn't seem to be new tank syndrome after 3 months it could be similar. Were any new fish added recently? If yes, it could be a new round of cycling.
If not that, some other ideas:
2. Have you cleaned the filter recently and noticed the cloudiness immediately after (a day or 2)?
3. If none of the above, tell us what you did just before you noticed the cloudiness.


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

ok yes i did ad a few more mollies 3 of them. i did a 50 percent water chang and changed a filter cartrige it has 2 so i chang them every other time once a month each how long dose it stay cloudy? and the water looks brownish colord could that be from the drift wood i put that in bout 2 months ago!


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

mollies said:


> ok yes i did ad a few more mollies 3 of them. i did a 50 percent water chang and changed a filter cartrige it has 2 so i chang them every other time once a month each how long dose it stay cloudy? and the water looks brownish colord could that be from the drift wood i put that in bout 2 months ago!


You don`t say when all this was done, but if you added new fish, changed 50% of the water and cleaned the filter the same day, the cloudiness may be bacteria related. I do not clean the filter the same day as a water change. Cleaning the filter is removing the good bacteria that keeps your water biologically balanced. Until the good bacteria again multiply and colonize the filter, it`s like a mini-cycle (new tank syndrome) only not as severe. And adding new fish right after a filter cleaning is adding to the bioload at a time when the good bacteria have already been depleted, so that`s not advisable.

As long as the fish are not showing signs of stress, I would not fiddle with things and let it balance out. However, if fish are obviously having problems, a partial water change is OK--make sure you use a good conditioner. If you have any `Cycle`now would be a good time to add it according to the recommended dose on the label. This will assist the bacteria.

A thought on filter cleaning: don`t replace filter material like they tell you on the package. I think 1077 mentioned washing the filter media in aquarium water, that`s very good advice. Washing it in tapwater kills the bacteria on it, even if you replace th same media; the chlorine and other stuff in the water kills bacteria (that`s why its in the water). Rinsing the media and putting it back will remove the large stuff to keep it unclogged, but not the bacteria that you want. Many aquarists retain the same filter media until it literally falls apart. As long as its removing suspended matter and bacteria are colonizing it, that`s what it`s there for. Rinse the sludge off (with water from the same aquarium) and put it back to continue working.


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

that makes a lot of sence to me now. sorry bout so many threads im new and still trying to figure out the sight and i dont use computer very often. lol i realy apreciate all of the help.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

mollies said:


> that makes a lot of sence to me now. sorry bout so many threads im new and still trying to figure out the sight and i dont use computer very often. lol i realy apreciate all of the help.


We're all on here to help, we've all (most of us anyway) gone through these problems. Just know that they are not insurmountable, although some things take time. There are a number of aquarists with considerable knowledge on this forum, far more than I have, and they all want to help and see things work out for others.

I forgot to mention about the driftwood last post...yes, the "brown" tint to the water is probably from the wood. It doesn't look nice (depending upon your point of view, some like it as being natural) but it will do no harm. The tint is due to tannins in the wood that slowly leech out into the water. In south america there are streams and rivers referred to as blackwater, like the Rio *****...the water is the colour of very strong tea, but crystal clear; the tint is caused by dissolved nutrients from plants and wood. Fish will be fine in it, although it can make you think the water is "dirty" but its not. I've had some wood that takes a few months before the brown then yellowish tint is not noticeable. Boiling it for 20 (or is it 30?) minutes is supposed to get much of the tannin out, but not all of it. I did that once with a small piece; its not easy to find a pot big enough to submerse a large piece.


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

Ok its ben a couple day now, my tank is still foggy iv only lost one mollie. The rest of the fish are fine. Is there anything else it could be?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

mollies said:


> Ok its ben a couple day now, my tank is still foggy iv only lost one mollie. The rest of the fish are fine. Is there anything else it could be?


I'm going to start with a summary just to be sure I and others are on top of what's occuring; correct me if anything that follows is in error. 

The tank is a 55g brackish water and has been running 3.5 months, This tank houses 7 mollies, 1 pleco, 2 archerfish, 4 tetras and 2 clown loaches--I ascertained this from earlier posts in another thread, so correct me if this is a different tank. Your ammonia and nitrite readings are 0 (still). pH is 7.6 and reasonably steady (not fluctuating around).

The "cloudiness" is whitish, something different from the brownish tint you've mentioned which we assume is from the wood and will in time dissipate. So we're considering the cloudiness that only appeared recently and right after you changed part of the filter and added 3 mollies and did a 50% water change.

How much wood is in this tank, and for how long? Was the molly that died one of the new three? How thick is the cludiness--does it look like a fog that partly obscures the back of the tank, or is it just a light haze that looked at right up at the glass can be seen to be floating particles?

I'm still inclined to think this is resulting from the filter cleaning/adding fish/water change; I've had some cloudiness after filter cleanings, sometimes for several days. But others may think of something else, so could you just confirm the above and answer the questions, before we go further.

[By the way, the tetras should never be in brackish water, what type are they?]


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

Yes it is a brakish 55 tank. It only has 10 mollies 2 archers and 2 columbian sharks in it. The wood has ben in it since set up. I had the brown water for a month then went away. Then came back for a day now gone. Yes the foggyness is the water i cleand part of the glass to make sure, that wasnt it. It makes the back wall hard to see. The loachs, tetras, and plec are in the fresh now and alot more active. No the mollie that died was one of the first ones i got that was preg. No other fish died so i think it was do to being preg.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

mollies said:


> Yes it is a brakish 55 tank. It only has 10 mollies 2 archers and 2 columbian sharks in it. The wood has ben in it since set up. I had the brown water for a month then went away. Then came back for a day now gone. Yes the foggyness is the water i cleand part of the glass to make sure, that wasnt it. It makes the back wall hard to see. The loachs, tetras, and plec are in the fresh now and alot more active. No the mollie that died was one of the first ones i got that was preg. No other fish died so i think it was do to being preg.


From my experience with cloudy tanks, i think it is just due to too much happening at once. I would wait it out. I once had a tank that wouldn't clear and after three weeks I tried some of that clear stuff, but I can tell you the fish were very stressed, to the point I did an immediate partial water change. I suggest waiting this out. If this was a bacteria problem you would probably see it affecting the fish; as its not, it is probably suspended matter in the water, common after filter cleanings and even water changes, and that won't hurt the fish. I'm not a chemist or a biologist, so if other members have more experience in this and can help out, I'm sure they'll jump in.

One last thing occurs to me--have you noticed your tap water being cloudy? That's happened here a few times, usually after very heavy rains wash sediment into the water reservoirs. In 2002 or 2003 we had it bad, and it took almost the full week for the tank to clear after each partial water change.


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