Cloudy water- nerite egg culprit?

[Knew tooth is]

There are 5 nerite snails and 3 Julii Cory's in my lightly planted 10-gallon tank. The water is always a hazy whitish. After a water change of 30%, the water is a bit clearer for an hour or two, and then becomes cloudy again. I've performed 25% water changes once a day for a week plus squeezing out the sponge filter in the to-be-discarded tank water, and still have cloudiness. Nitrates are 5-10, and nitrite and ammonia are 0. pH is 7.6 and the temperature is 75 degrees. Food is half an algae wafer per day plus about 4 sinking pellets. A month ago the tank had some stem plants (removed) which became covered in green algae hair. Could there still be a bacterial bloom? Could breakdown of the nerite eggs cause this cloudiness? There are numerous white eggs stuck to the plant leaves, aquarium glass, and filter. After stirring up the water with the syphon's plastic cylindrical end, in order to increase water removal of waste, etc., I can see bits of white floating in the water. The tank water was clear prior to the stem plant algae growth and addition of nerite snails. I'm considering removing the snails and seeing if there is an improvement. Thoughts? 

 

[gardenman]

It could be the nerite eggs. What we see as eggs are actually egg cases holding up to seventy very small eggs inside of them. I never noticed a white haze in my tanks with nerites, but it's possible.

[MDoc]

I have never once known nerite eggs to cause cloudy-looking water, but I'd love to hear if other people have different experiences. 

 

How long have you had your tank set up? 

[Colu]

It either it a bacterial bloom or it's free floating algae is your tank exposed to natural ligh how many hour a day your lights on

[Knew tooth is]

Thanks for the feedback. The tank has been set up for about 3 months. The fluorescent tank light is on for 20 hours. There is some daylight coming at an angle at the side of the tank. I realize this is a long light exposure. But I have to add that another tank is exposed to the same amount if light and the water is clear. This other tank has no snails and never had a hair algae growth. I read Cory's blog on the subject. If an algae bloom, then stop water changes and it will go away in a week or two. If particulate, then more syphoning of the gravel and more filtration. Whatever is causing the haziness is very persistent. Any further considerations to distinguish between the two, bacterial bloom versus particulate, or other? Have the nerites been falsely placed under suspicion? Thanks.

[MJV Aquatics]

Cloudy Aquarium Water

[Colu]

That your problem 20h of light is way to much it should be between 8-12hour a day maximum it not good for your fish as need a more than four hour of darkness to rest

Edited February 12, 2021 by Colu

[Knew tooth is]

Thank you gardenman, MDoc, Colu, and MJV Aquatics- for the blog and YouTube videos. After reviewing the material, my bet is placed on bacterial bloom. This diagnosis fits with the whitish haze (no evidence for green color) and the heavy biological load when the stem plants were home to a large infestation of green hair algae, which led to plan decomposition (I should have removed these plants sooner and cleaned them). Further, particulate as the culprit is unlikely because when the tank was set up, the tank was clear for at least a month, that is, at least until the hair algae invasion. As I understand, the recommended solution is patience, i.e., wait it out. In several weeks the water will clear as balance returns to the tank. In the meanwhile, the bacterial bloom would not be expected to negatively impact fish well-being. However, because it has been several weeks already, perhaps the load is so large as to overcome the natural process for removal, which would be anticipated to resolve in this duration. Therefore my thought is to continue the partial water changes, at least for the short term, and see if the problem is corrected. In terms of the extended light duration, which approaches the North Pole 6 months of sunlight scenario, I'll be step-wise decrease the light exposure period. Thanks again. I look forward to any further comment.