How to clear up cloudy water

[Pacers94]

Hi everyone. I'm having a really hard time clearing up my water in my new 55 gallon. Fluval dirt substrate, i let the tank cycle for about a week before adding fish. I currently have 8 corydoras, 1 rainbow cichlid, 2 gourami. In terms of water parameter benchmarks, all the levels are pretty much perfect. The local fish store told me to put purigen in the filter, which i did and it seemed to help a little but the pack got very dirty. Any helpful advice?

[Duke Silver]

To me it sounds like your tank is still cycling if it's only been a week and it's more than likely a bacterial bloom. To try to better help I have a couple questions

1. What color is the cloudiness? Cory mentions in a couple of his videos about getting a white container and using it to examine the water color.

2.when you say what is pretty much perfect, can you give us the exact water parameters? 

3. Do you have any live plants in your tank? 

[Pacers94]

Thanks for your reply! It's actually been about 2 weeks at this point. 

1. At its worst it was kind of a light orange-light green color. now it's a little more white-light orange. I'm not sure if the light off the substrate is affecting the color.

2. Ph 7.2, nitrates 10 ppm, ammonia 0, nitrites 0

3. yes i have 3 batches of amazon swords and 4 batches of vallisneria

 

[ARMYVET]

This sounds like a bacterial bloom...they usualy clear themselves up in a couple of weeks.  When you "cycled" you tank did you use any "bottled bacteria" in the process?

 

What type of filtration are you using?  

You said you used purigen and it helped a little but then turned dark....when purigen turns dark brown it means it is exhausted.  For it to turn so quickly means you have alot of biomatter it is removing.

[Duke Silver]

I would get a white sour cream container or something and pull some water out of the tank and look at it. If it is orangish it would definitely show, also do you have any driftwood in your tank? If so the orange you talk about could be tannins. Another question, do you dose your tank with any ferts? 

[Pacers94]

@ARMYVET i did use the safestart bacteria for the tank when starting it. i have a fluval 70 and fluval 50 hang on backs as well as a large sponge filter.

 

@Duke Silver i did use 5 squirts of the coop fertilizer. no driftwood

[Duke Silver]

Easy green does contain nitrates, so that 10ppm nitrates is more than likely coming from the fertz and not actually the nitrogen cycle, which still makes me think bacterial bloom. Best bet is to just let it run it's course and it should clear up here in a couple weeks. 

[Pacers94]

@Duke Silver Ok thanks! Is there anything i could do to help the process? and also should i do any water changes or clean the filter sponges while it's cycling?

[ARMYVET]

Okie dokie....if this were me and hjust my opinion....I would get some fine filter floss....the white stuff ....this is what I am using 

This is an ultra fine filter medium that will remove the smallest particulate from the water. It turns brown/black when you need to replace it. I couple this with the purigen because purigen remove organic waste which can also cause cloudy water it will also remove tannins from driftwood but may need to be replaced more often in the beginning because the wood is still leeching tannins. It will eventually stop.  The purigen too will turn brown /black when it is time to replace but purigen can be reused.  I use this on all my aquariums because I always like clear water.

If you also are experiencing a bacterial bloom then that will clear up on its own once the bacterial cycle builds up.

[ARMYVET]

DO NOT! do any water changes while the cycle is going on...that just inhibits the process. 

[Pacers94]

Thank you so much for the help! I'll update if there are any further issues.

[Duke Silver]

@Pacers94best thing to do is just be patient. I know cloudy water isnt pretty to look at, but water changing and cleaning the filter is going to just restart the cycle process and more than likely make the bloom worse. The white cloudiness is free floating bacteria the needs to establish in the filter, on the substrate, etc. Just monitor you water parameters and keep an eye on your fish. I wouldn't do a water change unless you get an ammonia/nitrite spike and your fish are struggling. 

[ARMYVET]

Yes please let us know how its going.  Also submit a pic...pics always helps us spot problems sometimes better than a description.  That and we are always looking for new ideas for our own tanks...LOL

Good luck!

[Pacers94]

Yes the worse picture is about a week ago, the clearer picture is two days ago. But it's a little cloudier than that now

[Pacers94]

also the clearer picture is before the 4 vallisneria plants, rainbow cichlid and 2 gourami

[gardenman]

Add my voice to the give it time group. Tanks tend to cloud up and clear up on their own given enough time. 

[ARMYVET]

Nice tank..... I would stop the ferts....you dont need them yet.  Let things run for a bit and add the filter floss to your filters like mentioned above....I would bet by this time next week it will be amazing!

[Guppysnail]

On 7/11/2021 at 8:41 AM, Duke Silver said:

Easy green does contain nitrates, so that 10ppm nitrates is more than likely coming from the fertz and not actually the nitrogen cycle, which still makes me think bacterial bloom. Best bet is to just let it run it's course and it should clear up here in a couple weeks. 

Agree let it do it’s thing and watch. It actually fascinated me when I first started to watch and see what would appen next. It’s lost it’s fun now but you can learn so much by not interfering. It will be gorgeous you did a nice job. The day you look and realize it is crystal clear you will feel so proud. 

[Johannes]

I agree with all the above but I would possibily add more plants my 68 gallon has crystal clear water but is overloaded  with plants 

[lefty o]

as mentioned by everyone else, time is your friend. you are setting up a new environment, it takes time for things to settle down and work in harmony. be patient, dont go crazy with water changing, and i promise this thing will turn around for you.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

You could throw in some floating plants or fast growing stems to help - dwarf water lettuce, red root floaters, water wisteria, water sprite, hornwort or guppy grass to help. Otherwise all the advice above is bang on and you’ll need patience. Cycling a tank takes weeks to months, seasoning a tank takes months to years. Have fun!

[Pacers94]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback! it is much appreciated. ordered some of that filter material to clear the water, gonna buy more plants this weekend, other than that i'll just be waiting. I'll update when the tank looks gorgeous lol

[Pacers94]

I wanted to get everyone's opinion on this. I haven't done anything extra so don't freak-out lol. But I've kind if been reading and trying to educate myself more, and one thing i've read is small water changes like 10% won't affect the cycle or slow it down as bacteria is growing on the surfaces and n the filters, but obviously if it is a bacterial bloom there is some in the direct floating water. I added some more plants, plan on adding a little more this weekend. But would a 10-20% water change once a week just taking from the top of the water affect the cycle? not touching the substrate or the filters, just taking direct water

[Duke Silver]

@Pacers94 did you do the trick with the white container? after your posted pics that top shot looks like it might be a little bit green to me. Also, is there a reason your wanting to do a water change? 

Edited July 14, 2021 by Duke Silver

[Pacers94]

@Duke Silver I did and it was a little green and cloudy. I didn't know if doing that little bit of a water change every couple of days would help take some of the cloudiness away or not. Water parameters are still fine with nitrates still around 10 ppm