ely

my 10 gallon zebra danio glofish tank water is VERY cloudy. i think i'd call it a white cloudy... it's very hard to see thru the tank now. the tank has been up for 2 months, and it grows diatom like crazy. each water change i take out one of the plants and clean it in the used tank water bucket. the api test kit results are:
pH 7.8
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 20
it has an aquatech filter with one of those blue carbon pouch cartridges in it. i havent changed the filter since the third week from setup (cuz since i had no idea what i was doing, i killed four of my fish!) so now i'm a little gun-shy on the changing the filter thing.

but the cloudy water has got to go! i've been trying to do a 20% water change every other day with prime. but it just doesnt seem to make a difference. the tank does get almost 2 hours of sun everyday... will the water always be cloudy?

what do you guys suggest to help get rid of the cloudy water? bigger water changes? filter change? how do i do that safely?

and thank you so much! this place is awesome!!
-ely

susitna-flower

I am not familiar with aquatech filters. HOB filters need to move 10 X the # of gallons of water every hour...a 10 gallon tank needs a filter that will process 100 gallons per hour - gph If it isn't doing that then I would suggest getting an aquaclear filter, of the correct size and place it on the tank in addition to what you currently have.

I also don't use carbon in a tank unless I am removing medications, then only for 24 hours then discard it.....This is one reason I suggest the change in filter...it is hard to find appropriate filter cartridges for filters not made to use anything except "their" filter.......Aquaclear filters are designed to use bio media, and filter floss.....much easier to deal with.....

My experience with cloudy water, is that just as with the diatoms, it will clear in time.....just use patients...

Lucy

I have aqua-techs on both my tanks. Walmart sells them.
One came with my 10g kit. My daughter has one also.
We've never had a problem with them.
I swish the cartride in tank water when I do a water change.
and only replace it if it looks really super bad. The other thing I do is slice it and remove the carbon before putting a new one in.