Cant get clear water.

I am running a fluval 304 canister on my 56 gallon tank. I currently have 6 tetras black fin skirts and 6 corie cats. Have a sand substrate. Been running the tank for close to 2 months. Been performing 25% water changes weekly. My water is constantly cloudy. we do a water change and its clear for maybe two days. then it gets cloudy again. I am not sure the filter media is correct. I have bio balls carbon and polishing cloths. I had hoped with this filter I would have the clearest water but my old setups with hob filters where all ways clearer. I plan on adding some more tetra variates but I want the water to be clear first before I add more fish.

 

What color is the cloud.

 

white ish. looks like a light fog

 

Sounds like a bacteria bloom. Do you have a test kit and if so what are your water parameters.

 

Ill preform another test today. and post my last weeks ratings. I know my ammonia levels are dropping drastically and my nitirates where off the chart and nitrites where leveled off. the last two tests. I know the tank wasn't cycled when we added fish. The local breeder to me recommended a fish cycle said he did not like fishless cycling. I am know rethinking that thought for any tanks forward we setup. I have been doing water changes since my nitrates where off the chart. Give me roughly an hour and I will post the last few tests. My ph is around a 7.4 constant as well level with my tap.

 

clear water does not mean nice water. if it is white, bacterial bloom. let it go. if green, just use less light

 

The one problem with a fishless cycle its take longer. Did you add any cycle helper like TSS or Dr. Tim's.

 

Used Prime that's all.
ph ammonia Nitrites Nitrates Date
7.6 8.0 5.0 0 12/30
7.4 .50 5.0 160 1/9
7.4 .25 5.0 160 1/17
7.4 .50 0 20 1/20 water change done after each test.
Not sure the ammonia may be up cause we just lost a fish last night. had a tetra nip the tail off a cory. He was not schooling before hand and was a small albino became an easy target for the fin nippers.

 

Mine had a white cloud just under the surface for a few weeks, then one day it just disappeared. Frustrating isn't it though? I got told most new set ups do this, and it's just a bacterial bloom which will settle once the tank water has matured.

 

Are you dosing with Prime for the whole volume of water in aquarium.

 

Yes just as the instructions stated

 

removed
removed

 

Does it go clear when you turn the light off?

 

Okay good. I think its a bacteria bloom. How much food do you feed your fish. I say you almost cycle. With 0 nitrite and 20 nitrates but .50 ammonia something isn't break down the ammonia fast enough.

 

Yea our ammonia was .25 for a while then suddenly went up. We added some fish and that one died. I really feel that may be the change there in ammonia. I won't do anything but water changes and monitor and see if it clears. Light dose not seem to have any effect. I am working on my new spray bar to spread out the water currents as well. I appreciate the help. I thought it was a boom but it just seemed like it was going for ever.

 

Yea sometime it can take awhile. My dad's aquarium took almost 3 1/2 weeks to get back to clear. Sometime when adding too many fish at once can affect the ammonia level on a small aquarium. One at a time per week will help with the ammonia level. It lets the beneficial bacteria built up and not such a shock to the aquarium.

 

Maybe add live plants and driftwood? Its supposed to absorb the bad stuff out of the tank . I struggled with a tank that never got clear water no matter how many water changes. I got another tank with live plants and driftwood and I haven't had problems. The water with every water change goes back clear within an hour. Maybe research a little on driftwood and live plants. Try it and see if it works for you.

 

If everything seems to be fine maybe get a clear water solution. Not all work well. Jungle brand clear water did not work for my first tank. Acurel F solution worked ok. Supposed to be one of the best I read. With my larger live plant/driftwood tank I tried it once being in a hurry for a clear tank and it worked pretty fast.

 

Clear water solution just clumps it together, it doesn't actually cure it.Trust me I tried it.

 

If everything seems to be fine maybe get a clear water solution. Not all work well. Jungle brand clear water did not work for my first tank. Acurel F solution worked ok. Supposed to be one of the best I read. With my larger live plant/driftwood tank I tried it once being in a hurry for a clear tank and it worked pretty fast.

Doesn't work for a bacteria bloom. Plus its not a good idea to add a clear water solution. Usually there is a reason for the cloudy water.

 

Doesn't work for a bacteria bloom. Plus its not a good idea to add a clear water solution. Usually there is a reason for the cloudy water.

Possibly. .. maybe that's why my first tank didn't do so well with it. My second didn't have that big problem. Its always been clear. Just that one Time I wanted it clear, it cleared. But I only had to use it once because like I said for my second tank I didn't have that problem. Good luck though getting the problem taken care of.

 

Still I think the live plants and driftwood should be given a shot.

 

Well today I got home from work and amazingly its a ton clearer. I have a nice size piece of driftwoood in there. I don't really want to change much till its established.

 

Well today I got home from work and amazingly its a ton clearer. I have a nice size piece of driftwoood in there. I don't really want to change much till its established.

Great good luck with you aquarium

 

Great! I've had algae bloom and bacterial bloom, turn off your light for algae bloom, and DO NOT do water changes for bacterial bloom. It just makes it worse.