Cloudy Water Update

[Naulafein]

Alright so rather than respond to each person helping me before I thought I’d post an update here. Long story short, customer of mine has had white cloudy water for 3 months. We’ve tried water changes, intake sponge, coarse sponges, filter floss, more water changes, fast days on fish, leaving it be, and so on but nothing seems to work. No ammonia or nitrites, nitrates is usually about 20ppm five or take, ph 7.8. Water from her tap isn’t cloudy but we tested the ph, her tap water has 6.0 ph. She has city water, just like me, my tap is 7.6ish, no water softener, no additives, just same city water as me. So somehow her tap is 6.0 (which is very weird) and when she adds Prime and then it goes into the tank her water is somehow 7.8ph in the tanks she has plastic decor, standard aquarium gravel, HOB filter, no calcium blocks, no aragonite, no crushed coral, nothing that would raise the ph like that and yet it’s shooting up and the water has been cloudy for months.

We’re in Iowa, we’ve got hard water, lots of calcium so it’s weird that her tap ph is so low. Also someone mentioned possible excess phosphate, I haven’t tested for that but I know phosphate binds to calcium so???

idk guys I’m at a loss, something is certainly weird about her tap but I feel like something is also wrong within her rank to cause ph spike like that

Edited May 20, 2021 by Naulafein

[Fish Folk]

1 hour ago, Naulafein said:

Alright so rather than respond to each person helping me before I thought I’d post an update here. Long story short, customer of mine has had white cloudy water for 3 months. We’ve tried water changes, intake sponge, coarse sponges, filter floss, more water changes, fast days on fish, leaving it be, and so on but nothing seems to work. No ammonia or nitrites, nitrates is usually about 20ppm five or take, ph 7.8. Water from her tap isn’t cloudy but we tested the ph, her tap water has 6.0 ph. She has city water, just like me, my tap is 7.6ish, no water softener, no additives, just same city water as me. So somehow her tap is 6.0 (which is very weird) and when she adds Prime and then it goes into the tank her water is somehow 7.8ph in the tanks she has plastic decor, standard aquarium gravel, HOB filter, no calcium blocks, no aragonite, no crushed coral, nothing that would raise the ph like that and yet it’s shooting up and the water has been cloudy for months.

We’re in Iowa, we’ve got hard water, lots of calcium so it’s weird that her tap ph is so low. Also someone mentioned possible excess phosphate, I haven’t tested for that but I know phosphate binds to calcium so???

idk guys I’m at a loss, something is certainly weird about her tap but I feel like something is also wrong within her rank to cause ph spike like that

I mean this very respectfully, but with judicial candor: have _you_ personally gone there and done the testing yourself? Or is your customer bringing in samples and a narrative?  

[Naulafein]

8 hours ago, Fish Folk said:

I mean this very respectfully, but with judicial candor: have _you_ personally gone there and done the testing yourself? Or is your customer bringing in samples and a narrative?  

Have I gone to her house? No. The water has been brought to me and tested, bottles have been labeled for where they came from. What’re you thinking? I’ve had her send me photos and videos (we message on Facebook) but I wasn’t sure if she’d want me sharing her tank on here. But no I physically haven’t been at the house doing things but she’s recorded things for me and keeps me updated 

[Fish Folk]

1 hour ago, Naulafein said:

Have I gone to her house? No. The water has been brought to me and tested, bottles have been labeled for where they came from. What’re you thinking? I’ve had her send me photos and videos (we message on Facebook) but I wasn’t sure if she’d want me sharing her tank on here. But no I physically haven’t been at the house doing things but she’s recorded things for me and keeps me updated 

I definitely don’t want to imply willful error. But it comes to mind that perhaps a direct, personal chain of reference would help verify or falsify theories. Maybe that’s just not going to be appropriate. If you’re invited, take a colleague along with you just to be professional.