caymansarah

Hi - after a number of problems I finally have my water under control - now I have a pH of 7-7.5, hardness around 4, ammonia at 0....but I am now experiencing a barterial bloom...the water is very cloudy and dispite my doing 20% water changes daily and clearing it a little, over night it gets super cloudy again. I am not wildly concerned because I read the posts re bacterial bloom so have just waited for it to clear but we are coming on a week now...how long should it take?

Also I read several times not to introduce fish until 1 week after the water clears but my logic wants to argue (Bear in mind this is coming from an inexperienced fish owner but I would love to understand it) my head keeps saying that if there is more bacteria than required, wouldn't that be the perfect time to introduce more fish rather than waiting for it to settle down to the perfect bacterial levels for my 4 fish and then add more so that the bacteria needs to increase again (and risk ammonia toxic poisoning to all the fish and another bloom)? Surely adding fish when the levels are too high would mean that it would settle down to the correct leels for the increased number of fish without anyone getting exposed to ammonia.....sorry if I am not making any sense.....thats how my mind works.

Lucy

Luckily I've never had one, I only know that it'll clear up on it's own.
Along with the ammonia being 0, do you know your readings for nitrite and nitrate?

Shawnie

getting a test kit so you know ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates , will help let you know where you stand....bacteria blooms happen throughout a cycle and can be at the beginning, middle, or even end...hence why the kit is important..an API liquid master kit is the best IMO as it has EVERYTHING you need to test....and its very reliable...as far as adding fish, you dont want to add anymore than you already have until the cycle completes...then wait at least 1-2 weeks of constant ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and under 20 nitrates...then add 2-4 fish (unless they are huge fish or big waste producers) at a time..then wait another 2 weeks of good readings and so on...goodluck!

agabr123

your water can clear or remain cloudy at pretty much any point during the cycle, so it's not an accurate indicator as to whether or not you're actually finished cycling.

is the tank near a window or natural lighting?

aquarist48

Good morning. As mentioned above it is an algae bloom and it will go away on its own. Be patient. I suggest you not add any chemicals to try and clear it (like algae be gone blah blah blah) Hard to say how long it will take. One morning you'll wake up and it will be crystal clear

caymansarah

Thanks everyone - I do test regularly for the last 2 weeks am has been 0, ni has been 0 and na has been 5.0 so the tank has def cycled - the cloudiness happened after the cycle was complete.

If it was an algea bloom would there be algea on the glass and plants? It seems to only be in the water itself. but one thing I did notice is that there is a place on the underside of the lid that always has condensation on it and there is algea in the condensation patch....so perhaps you are right - OK so I will leave it to nature to fix...it ain't pretty though!

It is not in direct sunlight - or at least the first thing in the morning when it would be I keep the blinds closed so that the direct sunlight doesn't land on it (trying to get my husband to remember that is another matter though) but it does get some natural light. Also my tank should have a dawn dusk bulb and then a daylight bulb - the dawn dusk one died and the pet shop don't have any so its either moonlight or daylight for the tank - I wonder if that might contribute....anyway - I will be patient and wait.

The only other thing is my tank always runs a little hot - between 81 and 84 - I don't have a heater - its just hot here. The fish are ok with it (right now I just have platys but maybe that contributes to the bloom.

caymansarah

Will it definitely clear? It has been nearly 2 weeks now and I am strarting to feel tempted to buy chems.....even though my good sense says no.

Also could I have triggered it by putting plant food in? Would that have provided the right conditions for the algae bloom?

AlyeskaGirl

What filter are you using? Somtimes insufficient filtering can make it harder to clear up. Do you have an airstone in there to help with circulation?

namehater

your temps are pretty high for any fish ive researched, you might want to try finding a way to cool it down a few degrees. not sure if that has anything to do with your cloudy water problem, but its something that might need addressed for your fish's sake

Speedy

What kind of plant food are you using? What kind of live plants do you have? You could try using Carbon in your filter but there is different opinions on that about using Carbon with live plants. Some say not too but others say it is fine. I had no problem when I used it with my java ferns and my sword plants. But as far as anything else go's I couldn't tell ya by experience. I don't use any co2 either. I also didn't use the Carbon all the time just to take out medications and to clear water. It could also be in your water supply. That is why it happens sometimes in my tanks. Good luck I hope your water clears up soon.

caymansarah

My filter is the inbuilt one for the biocube - it is an intergrated wet/dry system and I think that the filter part has carbon in it - there are certainly little black pebbly bits contained in the filter cartridge.

I put "Laguna Plant Grow" in - only twice now.

Re the temp - not very much I can do but I have got fish that have been bred here and raised in these temps so they are hopefully adapted - they seem quite healthy and happy....and don't really mind living in pea soup...it just isn't very pretty and I feel a bit embarrassed when people come round - it looks like I never clean the tank but I am actually doing about 25% every day more or less...

I have a range of plants includiong Amazon Swords, Wisteria, Dwarf Sword Plant (I think), and maybe narrow leaf Ludwigia....

Speedy

Oh o.k. didn't know you had a biocube. When was the last time you replaced the cartridge? I have never used Laguna Plant Grow so I don't know if it will make the water cloudy or not. I do know that some bacteria supplements will make the water cloudy if used to soon after adding chlorine remover. I sure hope the water clears up soon for you. Nice selection of live plants you have there.

caymansarah

Oh that's interesting Speedy about the use after dechlorinater...handy to know - I probably would have done them right on top of each other....

OK you are all going to kill me but I couldn't take it any more....someone loaned me a product called "Algaefix" I put 50 drops in (slightly smaller dose than called for on the label) and within an hour it was much clearer and by this morning it is clear as a bell - absolutely chrystal! So then I thought ok - now I bet my cycle is shot...always the cynic but no - ammonia levels are fine today still 0 and I tested PH too in case it impacted that and that is still resting a a very comfy 7.0 - 7.5...I am a happy bunny...and I am almost embarrassed to say that when I look at my beautiful clear tank and healthy happy fish I get a little surge of pride/joy? I don't know which but my heart swells a little - am I just the cheesiest?

AlyeskaGirl

Oh, that's great! I've never used any chemical to get rid of cloudy water. Glad it all worked out. But just to point out that if your water is crystal clear doesn't mean it is safe, so good job at testing the water after to make sure.

Also, in your aquarium info can you put the date the tank was setup. It makes it so much easier to know how old your tank is and is nice so you don't have to keep updating it.