So for the last few days our water has become kinda cloudy (white-ish cloudy). I've seen it before after a large disurbance to the tank, such as when we cleaned it out to move it. But I dunno why now. Water parameters are fine - no ammonia, nitrite, pH is the normal 7.8-8 range (its weird, our tap is 7.4 but the tank is always higher, even though we have low KH).
The fish is acting fine (he had some issues last week, but since then has been normal). Water changes have been done at their normal rate. We switched to a different salt a couple weeks ago because the sea salt was raising pH according to trinket. Its a kosher salt that lists as 'pure and natural' and only lists the ingredient 'salt' (diamond crystal brand, if that means anything to anyone).
Its not incredibly cloudy, looks just a bit cloudy if you look from front to back, but looking the long way from side to side its somewhat cloudy. Doesn't seem to be bothering him. Any ideas?
Full Version: Cloudy Water
Hey Fred
"its weird, our tap is 7.4 but the tank is always higher, even though we have low KH"
This is most likely due to the dissipation of dissolved carbon dioxide (carbonic acid) in the mains supply which temporarily lowers PH. Once it evaporates the PH rises.
Was the previous salt marine salt? This is what I use for my brackish tank and it contains other minerals besides just sodium chloride, which do raise the PH.
I always notice that my brackish tank is quite cloudy after adding new water and salt - there seems to be quite a lot of particulate matter which takes time to dissolve/settle. I wonder if this new salt is also some type of sea salt?
"its weird, our tap is 7.4 but the tank is always higher, even though we have low KH"
This is most likely due to the dissipation of dissolved carbon dioxide (carbonic acid) in the mains supply which temporarily lowers PH. Once it evaporates the PH rises.
Was the previous salt marine salt? This is what I use for my brackish tank and it contains other minerals besides just sodium chloride, which do raise the PH.
I always notice that my brackish tank is quite cloudy after adding new water and salt - there seems to be quite a lot of particulate matter which takes time to dissolve/settle. I wonder if this new salt is also some type of sea salt?
I suppose its possible, although I was using this salt for about a week before the cloudiness started. Furthermore, the old 'sea salt' didn't cause any cloudiness, but this new 'kosher salt' is? It has also lasted several days by now. I'm wondering if it may have nothing to do with the salt. What else could it be?
I recently changed one of the filter cartridges too, but I've done that before, and even if it causes a small bump in the cycle/bacteria bloom, it usually goes away within a day, not 4-5 days like this has been so far.
I'll be changing out a couple gallons of water tonight like I usually do (a 'KH bump'), and then doing a bigger water change this weekend like usual. I'll start to lower the salt concentration since Fishie has been healthy (knock on fake-wood) this week.
FYI, this is the salt we use now:
http://www.cargillsalt.com/food/dc_salt_fo...t.htm#TopOfPage
I recently changed one of the filter cartridges too, but I've done that before, and even if it causes a small bump in the cycle/bacteria bloom, it usually goes away within a day, not 4-5 days like this has been so far.
I'll be changing out a couple gallons of water tonight like I usually do (a 'KH bump'), and then doing a bigger water change this weekend like usual. I'll start to lower the salt concentration since Fishie has been healthy (knock on fake-wood) this week.
FYI, this is the salt we use now:
http://www.cargillsalt.com/food/dc_salt_fo...t.htm#TopOfPage
Hmmm. Well the salt looks to be just 'good old' Kosher salt which should be fine.
So maybe if you have changed a filter and had a KH glitch, it could be a bloom following some bac die-off?
I wonder if Daryl would have some ideas?
So maybe if you have changed a filter and had a KH glitch, it could be a bloom following some bac die-off?
I wonder if Daryl would have some ideas?
Let me lay out the time frame, because I've confused myself, nevermind you 
. For reference we do a 30-50% water change on Sundays, and I do two quick ~10-15% water changes during the week (usually Tues/Thurs - Wed/Fri if I'm busy) to keep the KH up. All water changes also include some AmQuel+ and NovAqua+. Please keep in mind that any detail I list below may be totally unrelated to the issue.
about 3 weeks ago: starting using new salt because old sea salt was raising pH
for next couple weeks: did normal water changes with only a bit of that salt, because if everything's okay I try to slowly lower the salt level, no cloudyness, PH not quite so high
~6 days ago: fish was bottom sitting, curved and on his side, didn't look well. Added more salt to up it from about 0.1% to about 0.2%, in the hopes it may help - by the evening, he was much better (don't know for sure that salt helped or not, improvement seemed to more corresponding with feeding, but who knows)
~ 5 days ago: did normal Sunday water change of about 50%. Discovered new way of using the siphon that was much more effective at getting gunk up from under the rocks
~4 days ago: water began looking cloudy
~2 days ago: did normal mid-week change, replaced cartridge in one of the filters due to the filter backing up a bit, flow was clearly weaker than normal - at the time I was wondering if this may help the cloudiness
now: water still looks cloudy, but measured parameters have been fine all along
tonight: will do another weekday water change - its a Wed/Fri week as it turns out
So, the cloudiness actually started before the filter change, but well after the new salt. New water going in looks crystal clear, but looks could be deceiving I guess.
To take the opposite mental approach, what about listing known causes of cloudiness and working backwards - what causes white cloudiness other than bacteria bloom? When I look up online, the other suggestions I can find are basically saying that with new rocks or new decorations that can lose particles, but nothing new has been added to the tank. Is there anything else that causes it?
. For reference we do a 30-50% water change on Sundays, and I do two quick ~10-15% water changes during the week (usually Tues/Thurs - Wed/Fri if I'm busy) to keep the KH up. All water changes also include some AmQuel+ and NovAqua+. Please keep in mind that any detail I list below may be totally unrelated to the issue.about 3 weeks ago: starting using new salt because old sea salt was raising pH
for next couple weeks: did normal water changes with only a bit of that salt, because if everything's okay I try to slowly lower the salt level, no cloudyness, PH not quite so high
~6 days ago: fish was bottom sitting, curved and on his side, didn't look well. Added more salt to up it from about 0.1% to about 0.2%, in the hopes it may help - by the evening, he was much better (don't know for sure that salt helped or not, improvement seemed to more corresponding with feeding, but who knows)
~ 5 days ago: did normal Sunday water change of about 50%. Discovered new way of using the siphon that was much more effective at getting gunk up from under the rocks
~4 days ago: water began looking cloudy
~2 days ago: did normal mid-week change, replaced cartridge in one of the filters due to the filter backing up a bit, flow was clearly weaker than normal - at the time I was wondering if this may help the cloudiness
now: water still looks cloudy, but measured parameters have been fine all along
tonight: will do another weekday water change - its a Wed/Fri week as it turns out
So, the cloudiness actually started before the filter change, but well after the new salt. New water going in looks crystal clear, but looks could be deceiving I guess.
To take the opposite mental approach, what about listing known causes of cloudiness and working backwards - what causes white cloudiness other than bacteria bloom? When I look up online, the other suggestions I can find are basically saying that with new rocks or new decorations that can lose particles, but nothing new has been added to the tank. Is there anything else that causes it?
My feeling is that this is most likely the result of a bacterial bloom caused by PH/KH adjustments. This is the most common cause of white cloudiness. Apparantly this can sometimes last a few weeks.
One other possibility is the food. Some pellets can cause cloudiness in the water. Have you introduced any new pellets/flakes recently?
Lastly - and I may be having a hallucination here, but... - I think there are some bacterial infections which can cause the water to cloud. I will need to check this with Daryl. Watch this space...............
One other possibility is the food. Some pellets can cause cloudiness in the water. Have you introduced any new pellets/flakes recently?
Lastly - and I may be having a hallucination here, but... - I think there are some bacterial infections which can cause the water to cloud. I will need to check this with Daryl. Watch this space...............
I am not positive that this is the direct cause, but I have noticed that some infections can, indeed, cloud the water.
Some other possibilities:
1. When you stirred up the gravel with the syphon when you figured out a more effective method of syphoning. Release of bacteria, other than the "normal" nitrifying bacteria that reside in your filter caused them to bloom. The fish - sleeping on the bottom of the tank may have been more exposed to that which was hiding in the gravel - you removed much of it, but in doing so, released it into the water, causing a bloom as it took off and grew.
2. The fish may be having loose stools - coming out in liquid form. Even a tiny bit of this can cloud the water, but you may not be able to diagnose it unless you actually see it happening.
3. Is your filter just exactly at the 10times turnover? some tank configurations and/or filter placements etc. make it so that 10times turnover per hour is really not enough. The water can get hazy - and simply needs a bit more mechanical filtration.
4. Did your filter cartridge have activated carbon in it? Did you rinse it first?
5. Finally - some infections do seem to cause the water to cloud. Much as what you can notice in a greenwater culture - the "green" becomes a different shade - that which is identified as a "sick green" - meaning that there is something going on in the tank that needs attention.
Having a fish curled on the bottom of the tank is VERY concerning. Is the fish up and behaving completely normally now - or is it just "better than it was" better?
Some other possibilities:
1. When you stirred up the gravel with the syphon when you figured out a more effective method of syphoning. Release of bacteria, other than the "normal" nitrifying bacteria that reside in your filter caused them to bloom. The fish - sleeping on the bottom of the tank may have been more exposed to that which was hiding in the gravel - you removed much of it, but in doing so, released it into the water, causing a bloom as it took off and grew.
2. The fish may be having loose stools - coming out in liquid form. Even a tiny bit of this can cloud the water, but you may not be able to diagnose it unless you actually see it happening.
3. Is your filter just exactly at the 10times turnover? some tank configurations and/or filter placements etc. make it so that 10times turnover per hour is really not enough. The water can get hazy - and simply needs a bit more mechanical filtration.
4. Did your filter cartridge have activated carbon in it? Did you rinse it first?
5. Finally - some infections do seem to cause the water to cloud. Much as what you can notice in a greenwater culture - the "green" becomes a different shade - that which is identified as a "sick green" - meaning that there is something going on in the tank that needs attention.
Having a fish curled on the bottom of the tank is VERY concerning. Is the fish up and behaving completely normally now - or is it just "better than it was" better?
Hey daryl, thanks for your thoughts. To address the last thing first, I understand its very concerning behavior. This is an old fish (over 11 years now), who has been through a lot and has a variety of issues. Since that time he has been behavior quite normally, but its not the first time he's had issues for a day and I doubt it'll be the last. There was a 911 thread about this and we're just doing all we can for him in his old age
Rather than going through 1 by 1, I'll say it seems most likely to me that it may be #2 - loose stools. Our fish's issues have been by and large digestive, so it wouldn't surprise me at all. I haven't seen anything I can diagnose as such, but his 'movements' do occassionally show one of any number of small issues, intersperced between more normal ones.
Thanks for the thoughts and i'll keep an eye out. In the meantime, the cloudiness is existant, but fairly minor.
Rather than going through 1 by 1, I'll say it seems most likely to me that it may be #2 - loose stools. Our fish's issues have been by and large digestive, so it wouldn't surprise me at all. I haven't seen anything I can diagnose as such, but his 'movements' do occassionally show one of any number of small issues, intersperced between more normal ones.
Thanks for the thoughts and i'll keep an eye out. In the meantime, the cloudiness is existant, but fairly minor.
Hi Fred. There is a test you can try.Brite and Clear by Mardel can be used as a sort of 'cloudy water diagnosis'. If, after use, the water clears, then the cause is only biofilter bacteria. If it continues to be cloudy then you can consider bacterial or parasitic possibilies. Diarrhoea very often creates a brownish tinge to the water.
Out of interest - has your fish ever had a course of anti bac or anti parasitic food?
So the tank still looks cloudy. We did a ~70-75% water change yesterday - it was never perfect, but its gotten a bit worse again. To answer your question, this fish was on a course of anti-bacterial food (medigold) a couple months ago, but the course was not completed because it caused a side effect of totally binding him up. Does that help anything?
So the reason you recommend the brite & clear is because its a diagnostic? I see several other water clearing conditioners too, but they mention a bunch of things about binding up small particles - such as API Accu-Clear - which the brite & clear does not seem to do. Perhaps I should pick up both - not for use together, but to try to Accu-Clear a few days later is the Brite & Clear doesn't work.
Thoughts? Thanks so much for your help.
So the reason you recommend the brite & clear is because its a diagnostic? I see several other water clearing conditioners too, but they mention a bunch of things about binding up small particles - such as API Accu-Clear - which the brite & clear does not seem to do. Perhaps I should pick up both - not for use together, but to try to Accu-Clear a few days later is the Brite & Clear doesn't work.
Thoughts? Thanks so much for your help.
Upon closer inspection, when taking out a couple gallons of water and holding it next to a same-sized container of tap water, the tank water has more of a greenish, maybe a little brownish, tinge to it, even though looking at the full tank the coloring looks more whitish. While this could back up a 'loose stools' theory, I'm also wondering if it might be a very light-ish green algae?
The tank is near a back window, although due to a line of trees and an overhang, it doesn't get a ton of direct sunlight (except for 30-40 minute in the evening when the sun comes right in on it), but it does get a good amount of indirect sunlight, plus 10.5 hours of tank lighting. For several months this had created nothing but brown algae, which Fishie enjoys snacking on, but maybe some green is trying to take hold. I just cut the light down to 9 hours and we'll see if it makes any difference. I think still I'll try to get some Brite & Clear and/or Accu-Clear, but wanted to give the color update.
The tank is near a back window, although due to a line of trees and an overhang, it doesn't get a ton of direct sunlight (except for 30-40 minute in the evening when the sun comes right in on it), but it does get a good amount of indirect sunlight, plus 10.5 hours of tank lighting. For several months this had created nothing but brown algae, which Fishie enjoys snacking on, but maybe some green is trying to take hold. I just cut the light down to 9 hours and we'll see if it makes any difference. I think still I'll try to get some Brite & Clear and/or Accu-Clear, but wanted to give the color update.
Fred..
I am having similar problems with my tank. The water started getting exceptionally cloudy right after I syphoned the gravel and did a 70% water change about 5 days ago. The water was cloudy during the day, but I didn't think anything of it.. usually it takes a day to get all the loose bits filtered out. But it never went away. One of my goldfish was behaving pretty eratically the last few days, either acting really sluggish at the bottom, or swimming crazy like he was trying to jump out of the tank. I found him dead this morning at the bottom, possibly due to the cloudiness. In an effort to save my other goldfish (who was behaving normally the whole time), I put him in a separate bowl with brand new water just to be safe, and did another 70% water change in the tank this morning. I also noticed when I emptied the water into a bucket, it was a light green tint. As of tonight, it's just as cloudy with the new water. My algae eater is still in the tank, he seems fine. I am just as confused.
I am having similar problems with my tank. The water started getting exceptionally cloudy right after I syphoned the gravel and did a 70% water change about 5 days ago. The water was cloudy during the day, but I didn't think anything of it.. usually it takes a day to get all the loose bits filtered out. But it never went away. One of my goldfish was behaving pretty eratically the last few days, either acting really sluggish at the bottom, or swimming crazy like he was trying to jump out of the tank. I found him dead this morning at the bottom, possibly due to the cloudiness. In an effort to save my other goldfish (who was behaving normally the whole time), I put him in a separate bowl with brand new water just to be safe, and did another 70% water change in the tank this morning. I also noticed when I emptied the water into a bucket, it was a light green tint. As of tonight, it's just as cloudy with the new water. My algae eater is still in the tank, he seems fine. I am just as confused.
Just wondering what is your KH in the tank and in the tap hun?
Asking me, koko? The tap is around 90-100 (5 degrees). I do small water changes during the week between the larger weekly changes to keep the tank KH at at least 70ish (4 degrees). Why do you ask? Could that have to do with cloudyness? Its been like that all along, but the cloudiness is new. The GH is high though (200-250), so I don't want to use coral which would raise GH as well as KH.
Hugity, sorry to hear about your story. Fortunately our fish has been behaving fairly normally during the cloudiness. That doesn't mean problem free, but 'normally' for him is occassional digestive/floaty issues. His scary-sick stint occured a good week or more before the cloudiness started.
I got some brite & clear and accu-clear, but my girlfriend is hesitant to put anything in the water, so I'm gonna try the lesser light theory for a few days first probably.
Hugity, sorry to hear about your story. Fortunately our fish has been behaving fairly normally during the cloudiness. That doesn't mean problem free, but 'normally' for him is occassional digestive/floaty issues. His scary-sick stint occured a good week or more before the cloudiness started.
I got some brite & clear and accu-clear, but my girlfriend is hesitant to put anything in the water, so I'm gonna try the lesser light theory for a few days first probably.
It could be a problem, if the KH gets to low and starts to move down it can cause cloudiness. Do me a fave just before you do a water change check the KH and ph and see if it moved then check it the next morning let me know the numbers. Just to make sure we dont have a problem 
Koko, I'll do that. Just to let you know though, typically the pH drops a bit during water changes because our tank is naturally around 7.8-8, and the tap is more like 7.6. So typically the tank drops by a little bit after a water change. And the KH rises slightly, although not always perceptibly. If I can ask, what KH/pH action typically causes cloudiness? In other words, what am I looking for?
Well sometimes a tank when KH and PH drops it will use all the minerals in the tank causing cloudy water and loosing cycle in a tank. I learned this the hard way, reason I think we should tank a look at your water parameters before and after to see if there is a spike and a fall in the water.
If not then it would be something else to take a look at but at least we can rule out KH and PH problems
If not then it would be something else to take a look at but at least we can rule out KH and PH problems
So I did the tests before and after the ~15% change tonight. I actually saved the pre-change water and did the test when i had both sets, so I could compare side-by-side. The pre-change had a pH of just a smidge under 8, while the post-change was just a smidge over 7.8. So that'd be something like a 7.95 to 7.85, no more than 8 to 7.8.
The KH both before and after measured at 4 degrees, but after 3 drops i could see the before was starting to change (it was a lighter blue) while the after had not yet. So we're looking at maybe a KH increase of 60 to 70 ppm, give or take.
You wanted a measurement in the morning too?
The KH both before and after measured at 4 degrees, but after 3 drops i could see the before was starting to change (it was a lighter blue) while the after had not yet. So we're looking at maybe a KH increase of 60 to 70 ppm, give or take.
You wanted a measurement in the morning too?
Okay the PH is doing okay.
Can you give me the exact numbers of your KH before and then the water change. I think it would be good to test it 24 hours later to see how the numbers look. When you changed the water did it go back to cloudy after a while?
Can you give me the exact numbers of your KH before and then the water change. I think it would be good to test it 24 hours later to see how the numbers look. When you changed the water did it go back to cloudy after a while?
Bump... so I'm pretty darn sure at this point that its the new kosher salt. I stopped adding it and after a few days the water cleared up significantly. I didn't know at that point if it was the salt or the lesser light that had also started a few days earlier, or something else entirely. But then last Thursday Fishie had a digestive episode that was really effecting his balance, so I added some salt to maybe help him out (he improved within a few hours, whether it was the salt or not), but then by Friday, and continuing through today, the water has been foggy again. I didn't add much either, probably 7 or 8 teaspoons total for a 20 gallon tank.
I'll start removing the salt today again with our regular water changes, and it'll probably clear up. What about kosher salt could possibly make the water cloudy? Especially a greenish/brownish cloudy? Could it encourage some kind've agae through or something? I guess it's not 100% for sure that the salt is doing it, but it sure seems like it thus far.
Seems our salt choices are currently between sea salt which raises the pH and a kosher salt that causes coudiness. Maybe I'll stop trying to save money and find an aquarium salt (although many of those are sea salt it looks, right? do they affect pH too?)
I'll start removing the salt today again with our regular water changes, and it'll probably clear up. What about kosher salt could possibly make the water cloudy? Especially a greenish/brownish cloudy? Could it encourage some kind've agae through or something? I guess it's not 100% for sure that the salt is doing it, but it sure seems like it thus far.
Seems our salt choices are currently between sea salt which raises the pH and a kosher salt that causes coudiness. Maybe I'll stop trying to save money and find an aquarium salt (although many of those are sea salt it looks, right? do they affect pH too?)
Hiya Fred
I use Morton's canning and pickling salt.
The box is the same size as the box of kosher. My kosher salt has anti-caking agents in it too, so I'd never use it.
Did you ever check your KH before and after the water change - per Koko's request?
I'm glad the cloudiness went away though. I don't know why salt would make the water cloudy, unless other chemicals got leached into it. It happened in another thread - the poor Dear lost one of her fish. 
Debbie
I use Morton's canning and pickling salt.
The box is the same size as the box of kosher. My kosher salt has anti-caking agents in it too, so I'd never use it.
Did you ever check your KH before and after the water change - per Koko's request?
I'm glad the cloudiness went away though. I don't know why salt would make the water cloudy, unless other chemicals got leached into it.
It happened in another thread - the poor Dear lost one of her fish. Debbie
Arg!!! So I've been moving back to the sea salt and yet the cloudiness has not gone away and is even worse! It seemed to go away when I was using no salt at all last time, but it seems Fishie needs some salt - it helps out greatly with his balance in his old age. I tried some of the Brite and Clear last night, but it made the cloudiness distinctly worse! I waited a few hours to see if it would start improving, but it did not. Before bed I just had to give him a couple fresh gallons to improve the clarity, but still 80% plus of the dose was in there. By this afternoon - nearly 24 hours later - its still not any better. I've done some serious water changes in the past couple days. 7.5 gallons yesterday, plus the exta 2.5 in the evening, and then another 5 gallons today (this in a 20 gallon tank).
I may try some accu-clear, but I'm really beginning to get annoyed!! While doing my water change today I noticed that the HOB filter was backing up a bit, so I changed the filter cartridge (I had rinsed it off thoroughly in tank water yesterday, but it was backing up by today - so i guess its had it). I've noticed that that filter has been making a mild grinding noise for a while after it's been started up recently. It didn't used to do that. I don't *think* its slower, but I really can't tell. I tried scrubbing it out some once, but I don't want to bump my cycle. Is there any way I can really tell if its weaker?
I may just buy a new, bigger filter anyway, but I'm not convinced it'll do it because this only started a few weeks ago. I may also just try a new impeller before that - but the bigger filter is only about 2 or 3 times the cost of a replacement impeller.
Btw, while I originally stated that this was a white cloudiness - and it does look white under the tank lights - when I bring it out to the bowl to dump it out, its quite clear that its a greenish cloudy with maybe a hint of brown. I've attached a picture below showing a 2.5 gallon fish bowl of tank water next to a 2.5 gallon bowl of water fresh from the tap. We do feed him a lot of green food - peas, seaweed, etc - but that's not new either.
Lastly, here are the water measurements before the 5 gallon change today:
ph: between 7.4 and 7.8 - it was hard to tell, but I think closer to 7.4 - that's a bit lower than usual but i've done a lot of changes lately
kh: 4 degrees (low as usual, but not very)
gh: 12 degrees (normal)
and after:
ph: still a bit over 7.4 I think
kh: what I call a 'low 5'. Turns green after 4 and actually yellow after 5
gh (didn't do)
amm: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5-6 ppm
I may try some accu-clear, but I'm really beginning to get annoyed!! While doing my water change today I noticed that the HOB filter was backing up a bit, so I changed the filter cartridge (I had rinsed it off thoroughly in tank water yesterday, but it was backing up by today - so i guess its had it). I've noticed that that filter has been making a mild grinding noise for a while after it's been started up recently. It didn't used to do that. I don't *think* its slower, but I really can't tell. I tried scrubbing it out some once, but I don't want to bump my cycle. Is there any way I can really tell if its weaker?
I may just buy a new, bigger filter anyway, but I'm not convinced it'll do it because this only started a few weeks ago. I may also just try a new impeller before that - but the bigger filter is only about 2 or 3 times the cost of a replacement impeller.
Btw, while I originally stated that this was a white cloudiness - and it does look white under the tank lights - when I bring it out to the bowl to dump it out, its quite clear that its a greenish cloudy with maybe a hint of brown. I've attached a picture below showing a 2.5 gallon fish bowl of tank water next to a 2.5 gallon bowl of water fresh from the tap. We do feed him a lot of green food - peas, seaweed, etc - but that's not new either.
Lastly, here are the water measurements before the 5 gallon change today:
ph: between 7.4 and 7.8 - it was hard to tell, but I think closer to 7.4 - that's a bit lower than usual but i've done a lot of changes lately
kh: 4 degrees (low as usual, but not very)
gh: 12 degrees (normal)
and after:
ph: still a bit over 7.4 I think
kh: what I call a 'low 5'. Turns green after 4 and actually yellow after 5
gh (didn't do)
amm: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5-6 ppm
Do you have a UV filter on the tank hun?
By the photo you have you got a algae bloom going on in there, nothing really can change that water coloring and cloudiness but a UV filter. I still think your KH is to low but your PH is staying up there so keep an eye out it can crash on you
By the photo you have you got a algae bloom going on in there, nothing really can change that water coloring and cloudiness but a UV filter. I still think your KH is to low but your PH is staying up there so keep an eye out it can crash on you
I don't have a UV filter. Would cutting down the light not even do it? I could turn off the light entirely, or almost entirely, for a few days, and shut the blinds as far as they'll go. It wouldn't stop all light, but it'd stop a lot of it. I could even block off the edge of the blinds with a blanket or something. Wouldn't that cause the algae to die off or is it really that hardy? How many hours of light can algae blooms survive with?
I think I know someone at work who has a UV filter, I wonder if its portable enough for me to borrow.
I know the KH is low, but our pH has been pretty stable for months. I do keep an eye on it though, but the NovAqua+ has some buffering capability and I haven't seen any crashes. I do a couple modest changes during the week, plus a big weekend water change - each with NovAqua+ - to keep the levels reasonable. I don't want to use coral because that's calcium so it hardens the water too and we already have pretty hard water.
I think I know someone at work who has a UV filter, I wonder if its portable enough for me to borrow.
I know the KH is low, but our pH has been pretty stable for months. I do keep an eye on it though, but the NovAqua+ has some buffering capability and I haven't seen any crashes. I do a couple modest changes during the week, plus a big weekend water change - each with NovAqua+ - to keep the levels reasonable. I don't want to use coral because that's calcium so it hardens the water too and we already have pretty hard water.
Actually what you will need is a UV or maybe might work is Phosorb it will remove the dimatons in the water this is not a true algae its actually in your water. It causes the green brown hue
It makes me feel better knowing it algae, and not some evil parasite or bacteria (at least probably). I still don't like it, but at least its good to know its something that probably actually good for him, and not bad.
So for now I'm working on a 'double-double' pronged approach which I will describe momentarily. In the meantime I am ordering a phosphate test to see if that's my issue. If it is, I'll pick up some PhosZorb and give that a try. If that still fails I'll get a UV filter - maybe that ~$50 internal combined sterilizer & pump at Petty*mart or something - I'll look into more details on UV if I get that far. But if I can do it without a modest hardware investment, I'd prefer that
So, in the meantime, this is what I'm doing... first prong, light. First sub-prong: tank light. I've cut back another hour off the tank light. That's 2.5 hours less than when this started. Second sub-prong: sun light. I'm leaving the blinds closed and I put a pillow to the side of the tank to block more direct sunlight. In our place the blinds don't reach all the way to the side of the windows, so some light still gets in. I haven't blocked all of that, but I *have* blocked the direct bright sunlight that hits the tank for an hour every evening.
Second prong: water quality. Sub-prong 1: I'm going to keep up 5 gallon daily changes. At the very least it makes me feel better about the way the tank looks, and on the small hope that it may be effective. More importantly, is sub-prong 2. I've read up on phosphate and they say it can either come from the water source or from decomposing stuff on the bottom of the tank. If its the water source, I'll find that our when I get the test. For now, I'm assuming it may be from all the gunk I suck up from under the rocks. So my daily 5 gallon water changes will be done by siphon - instead of my cupping it out in a large cup like I usually do during the week - where every day I've been finding spots with some nice source of gunk.
So we'll see if less tank light, less sun light, lots of fresh water, and daily gunk clean up might help. If not, I'll check out the phosphate test when I get it and proceed from there.
So for now I'm working on a 'double-double' pronged approach which I will describe momentarily. In the meantime I am ordering a phosphate test to see if that's my issue. If it is, I'll pick up some PhosZorb and give that a try. If that still fails I'll get a UV filter - maybe that ~$50 internal combined sterilizer & pump at Petty*mart or something - I'll look into more details on UV if I get that far. But if I can do it without a modest hardware investment, I'd prefer that
So, in the meantime, this is what I'm doing... first prong, light. First sub-prong: tank light. I've cut back another hour off the tank light. That's 2.5 hours less than when this started. Second sub-prong: sun light. I'm leaving the blinds closed and I put a pillow to the side of the tank to block more direct sunlight. In our place the blinds don't reach all the way to the side of the windows, so some light still gets in. I haven't blocked all of that, but I *have* blocked the direct bright sunlight that hits the tank for an hour every evening.
Second prong: water quality. Sub-prong 1: I'm going to keep up 5 gallon daily changes. At the very least it makes me feel better about the way the tank looks
, and on the small hope that it may be effective. More importantly, is sub-prong 2. I've read up on phosphate and they say it can either come from the water source or from decomposing stuff on the bottom of the tank. If its the water source, I'll find that our when I get the test. For now, I'm assuming it may be from all the gunk I suck up from under the rocks. So my daily 5 gallon water changes will be done by siphon - instead of my cupping it out in a large cup like I usually do during the week - where every day I've been finding spots with some nice source of gunk.So we'll see if less tank light, less sun light, lots of fresh water, and daily gunk clean up might help. If not, I'll check out the phosphate test when I get it and proceed from there.
Let me know how it goes hun. Like to see if any of your ideas work
Hey Fred - just as an after thought on your grinding filter......
I wanted to say that hard water can cause a build up of limescale in the impeller shaft which will make that grinding sound as it turns. This happened to one of my filters ages ago. It was only a few months old and ended up blowing; I was so mad as if I'd thought to dunk it in a solution of citric acid it would have been fine.
Another cause of that noise can be baby snails climbing inside the filter housing - do you have pest snails?
I wanted to say that hard water can cause a build up of limescale in the impeller shaft which will make that grinding sound as it turns. This happened to one of my filters ages ago. It was only a few months old and ended up blowing; I was so mad as if I'd thought to dunk it in a solution of citric acid it would have been fine.
Another cause of that noise can be baby snails climbing inside the filter housing - do you have pest snails?
So we added one more thing to the mix, and that was some Accu-Clear. Only once.
Everything put together and we've seen a definite improvement. Not perfect, but definitely much better. I've moved the water changes down to every other day or so and it still stays much better.
So I just got the phosphate test today and ran it on our tap and tank. Interestingly, our tap does have some level of phosphate, but the tank shows less - I assume because the algae are consuming it. So its interesting to know that *too* much water changing might feed the algae more. The level in the tap is right around 0.5 ppm, while the tank shows up as between 0 and 0.25 ppm. I'm not sure if that's a level that really calls for PhosZorb or not, I'll keep monitoring the situation and see how the algae growth goes. If anyone has any thoughts on if you'd go with the PhosZorb or similar product if you were me, feel free to chime in. Btw, PhosZorb is not a rechargable thing right? You just use it and toss it? I only ask because ideally like something rechargeable, but not by salt because we keep a low level of salt.
Pixie, thanks for your thoughts on the filter. Its actually been a bit better lately too, I have tried cleaning it off but that didn't help much at the time. But I only cleaned it mechanically, not chemically. If it gets worse again I may try citric acid thanks to your suggestion. Can I find that in drugstores?
Everything put together and we've seen a definite improvement. Not perfect, but definitely much better. I've moved the water changes down to every other day or so and it still stays much better.
So I just got the phosphate test today and ran it on our tap and tank. Interestingly, our tap does have some level of phosphate, but the tank shows less - I assume because the algae are consuming it. So its interesting to know that *too* much water changing might feed the algae more. The level in the tap is right around 0.5 ppm, while the tank shows up as between 0 and 0.25 ppm. I'm not sure if that's a level that really calls for PhosZorb or not, I'll keep monitoring the situation and see how the algae growth goes. If anyone has any thoughts on if you'd go with the PhosZorb or similar product if you were me, feel free to chime in. Btw, PhosZorb is not a rechargable thing right? You just use it and toss it? I only ask because ideally like something rechargeable, but not by salt because we keep a low level of salt.
Pixie, thanks for your thoughts on the filter. Its actually been a bit better lately too, I have tried cleaning it off but that didn't help much at the time. But I only cleaned it mechanically, not chemically. If it gets worse again I may try citric acid thanks to your suggestion. Can I find that in drugstores?
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