Cloudy water with no reason for it

So basically my 5g tank has been cloudy since I put it back up several weeks ago. The crazy thing is the 9g I set back up at the same time is crystal clear like my tanks always are.

5g and 9g both got new sand substrate installed on the same day. Rinsed the same amount. The 5g may have been rinsed better than the 9g sand.

5g got seeded stones from another tank added. Always wet, in with the fish. The 9g got brand new stones.

They both have very seeded 20g sponge filters The one in the 5g was in the 55g tank. The one in the 9g from the 9g.

The parameters have been 0/0/5 every time Ive checked. I change 50% water and its clear for a few hours. Then it looks like smoke is rolling around. Cloudy again.

The stock of the 5g is 2 Pygmy Cories, 2 Scarlet badis, 2 Rili shrimp and one RH snail about the size of a quarter. Plants are 2 Tiger lotus plants and a crypt of some sort, also from another tank so seeded also.

Usually you just let it sit and it goes away. Small bloom from moving stuff around. But this has been weeks now and wont clear up.

Anyone have an idea? I squeezed the sponge out in tank water last WC. This is a 5g tank with 7 medium size seeded stones and seeded plants. It should not be cloudy. The 9g should be if anything with new stones and substrate.

 

new tank syndrome?

 

new tank syndrome?

Shouldnt be with a very established filter and plants/deco. Its only 5g. The only new thing is the sand. Even the heater should have bacteria on it.

 

Any out of the box explanations? I'm stumped.

Did readings yesterday 0/0/5.

 

Came home from vacation to a clear tank. Did mt weekly WC and now its cloudy again.

 

You're so experienced, Star Girl, that I feel silly even offering a thought.

If your water source is treated tap, is it possible that the chemistry has changed - is there something new, or at a higher concentration than before, in your water? The 5 gal might be more susceptible to it simply because even at equal percentages that volume of water that stays in the tank is less than in the 9 g? It's a wild guess and I'm not a scientist, so take it for what it's worth.

 

I dont think so. It reads the same. It is driving me crazy though I know that. I have never had cloudy water issues before. Im sure it will go away.....but WHY is my issue....lol

 

Came home from vacation to a clear tank. Did mt weekly WC and now its cloudy again.

Well a couple things come to mind.
1. It's smaller volume and surface area in the 5g tank than the 9g tank, less dilution and more concentration with evaporation and of course also faster depletion.
2. Heterotropic bacteria colony. These guys take like 15 minutes to multiply, it "could" be they deplete resources and die off and settle and the tank goes clear, but when you water change it brings in new resources and kicks them up and then they rapidly multiply and cloud up until they burn up the new resources and settle back in again.

Are they both glass aquariums, or any different materials in the tank builds? Possible an answer might be there if the builds of the two tanks are different.

 

My municipality has a website where they list all of the water treatment strategies in use and it changes from time to time. Maybe yours is the same - something that our kits don't read?

As I said it's a totally nonscientific long shot! But it feels really good to offer a suggestion to someone who has helped me so much.

 

Well a couple things come to mind.
1. It's smaller volume and surface area in the 5g tank than the 9g tank, less dilution and more concentration with evaporation and of course also faster depletion.
2. Heterotropic bacteria colony. These guys take like 15 minutes to multiply, it "could" be they deplete resources and die off and settle and the tank goes clear, but when you water change it brings in new resources and kicks them up and then they rapidly multiply and cloud up until they burn up the new resources and settle back in again.

Are they both glass aquariums, or any different materials in the tank builds? Possible an answer might be there if the builds of the two tanks are different.

Both are glass. I have set this tank up with different substrates a bunch of different times with a seeded sponge and no issues. There is definitely something going on. IDK what it is though.

 

fish keeping, the fun never stops.

 

I tend to agree it is something in the water from the supplier.
While you are probably using the same water in all tanks I will guess the 5 is the smallest?
Whether the test shows it or not cloudy water has ammonia in it in most cases.
My guess is there is enough of whatever to overwhelm the 5g in the water but not your other tanks.
My thinking is the bacteria in the 5g are a smaller colony not able to handle what your other tanks can?
Maybe add a little more dechlor or prime[ what ever you use].
Another fun 'safe' test might be to add 3ml 3% hydrogen peroxide per gallon to tank and see if that does anything?
I'll add the supplier may not be doing anything but the water may seasonally be different?

 

Another fun 'safe' test might be to add 3ml 3% hydrogen peroxide per gallon to tank and see if that does anything?

What will that do? Make it clear fast or cloudy then clear?

I think I may try switching sponge filters around tomorrow and see if that helps.

 

It will likely do nothing but add O2?
I used it to clear Potassium Permanganate and just wondered if it might do the same thing.
See how moving sponges works.
My guess is it will clear eitherway like it did when you were away?

 

If it's the source water I wonder why it's only affecting one tank? Especially the 2 new tanks which are essentially identical.

Maybe try using another source of water for that tank and see what happens.

 

If it's the source water I wonder why it's only affecting one tank? Especially the 2 new tanks which are essentially identical.

Maybe try using another source of water for that tank and see what happens.

I was thinking it was the source water, but that's a correct question to ask, "who only that aquarium?"

Honestly I think it was contaminated with heterotrophs when it was being set up, maybe an interruption between the set ups, dishes washed and a sponge touched, who knows exactly, bacteria is everywhere really and something you wouldn't think of being the catalyst. creating the difference between the 5g and 9g set up and introduced some heterotrophs that are just currently capitalizing on their position but will be out competed further along as the tank progresses.

All things being equal, the only variances are volume, or a possible inadvertent introduction of a bacteria you didn't really want that is taking off with new water being added until they exhaust the new resources.

There's probably a difference in lighting or filtration between them also, but it was earlier noted the tank was set up before without this happening, So I don't think it's an equipment cause. I think it's just the wrong bacteria colony is currently winning the battle for resources and real estate.

 

Not a clue why, but what if you boiled the water and let it cool before adding it to the tank? It would tell us if it was in the tank or water.

 

I switched sponges and put a bigger pump on the filter. We will see if that does anything. The pump I was using was bubbling really good but it was the smallest pump you can get. Maybe it wasnt pulling enough through the sponge?

 

Are you feeding the 5g at all? If so, stop feeding and what happens?

 

Are you feeding the 5g at all? If so, stop feeding and what happens?

Feeding the fish? Yes the same foods they were eating before. Never made the water cloudy.

 

Well every tank is a bit different, and 5g is a pretty small volume of water. Pause feeding for a bit and I think the cloudiness should go away

 

The lame and lazy version I use on empty tanks if they precipitate buffers is a extra layer of floss and double dose of acuclear flocculant. Throw away the extra floss the next morning when the waters clear. I don't know that yours has any reason to precipitate minerals unless there's a hot stone or two but it's worth a try. I never really use flocculant on a stocked healthy tank but it sure does speed up the set up clouds I stir up sometimes.

 

The lame and lazy version I use on empty tanks if they precipitate buffers is a extra layer of floss and double dose of acuclear flocculant. Throw away the extra floss the next morning when the waters clear. I don't know that yours has any reason to precipitate minerals unless there's a hot stone or two but it's worth a try. I never really use flocculant on a stocked healthy tank but it sure does speed up the set up clouds I stir up sometimes.

Its a sponge filter so no floss. It is a lot clearer this morning. I think that pump was just too small for that sponge filter. Im going to just let it rip until its clear then put the air control valve on it to tame it down.

Well every tank is a bit different, and 5g is a pretty small volume of water. Pause feeding for a bit and I think the cloudiness should go away

I have had a 5g or 2 going for over 4 years now. Im very sure its not from food.

 

Well you said the appearance is like a smoke rolling around? That's almost certainly heterotrophic microorganisms and not particulates or dust. Theyre feeding on something, and your 5g happened to have the right conditions for them

Theyre usually not a big deal, just like pausing feeding. The point is to tinker the environment slightly and theyll disappear as fast as they appear

 

Well you said the appearance is like a smoke rolling around? That's almost certainly heterotrophic microorganisms and not particulates or dust. Theyre feeding on something, and your 5g happened to have the right conditions for them

Theyre usually not a big deal, just like pausing feeding. The point is to tinker the environment slightly and theyll disappear as fast as they appear

I know what you mean, but I think its either the sponge wasnt as seeded as I thought it was, or the pump was too small for a 20g sponge filter. It was a 10g pump that only should run a airstone or 2. Its getting less cloudy as the day goes on. There has never been an ammonia reading at all. It got cloudier whenever I changed water. So that leads me more to the sponge which I changed out with the one in the 55g. Or the pump.

Just out of curiosity wouldnt food cloudy water clear with a water change? I have not dealt with anything like this in years so Im just trying too put all the pieces together.

 

I know this isn't of much help, more consolation, but I've recently struggled with the same thing in my 150 gallon. I changed my source water, upgraded my filtration (doubled it), tried more water changes, less water changes, reduced my stocking levels, reduced feeding, added fine filter floss, changed my lighting, and otherwise tried everything I could think of. This, like you, all while my other tanks had no issues. Still, the problem persisted. Finally, after several months, the tank's water is clearing up. I don't know why.

My guess is that sometimes, for whatever reason, the microbiology of our tanks get upset. And, there's not much to be done but wait for it to sort itself out.

 

I know this isn't of much help, more consolation, but I've recently struggled with the same thing in my 150 gallon. I changed my source water, upgraded my filtration (doubled it), tried more water changes, less water changes, reduced my stocking levels, reduced feeding, added fine filter floss, changed my lighting, and otherwise tried everything I could think of. This, like you, all while my other tanks had no issues. Still, the problem persisted. Finally, after several months, the tank's water is clearing up. I don't know why.

My guess is that sometimes, for whatever reason, the microbiology of our tanks get upset. And, there's not much to be done but wait for it to sort itself out.

O M G thank you for this! Im not crazy.......lol

 

O M G thank you for this! Im not crazy.......lol

Oh you are...for other reasons

 

Is the water clearer shortly before the lights turn on and more cloudy when the lights were on for a few hours?

 

All the time. Its not usual.

 

I exhausted my ideas already. Haven't had to deal with it for long time myself, as well.

 

Okay, so it's definitely not algae.

I would either not change water for 3-4 weeks if possible or use a UVC.
Seems like there is an established colony that you're feeding whenever you're doing a water change.

 

Okay, so it's definitely not algae.

I would either not change water for 3-4 weeks if possible or use a UVC.
Seems like there is an established colony that you're feeding whenever you're doing a water change.

So I followed this advise and have not done a water change yet. It got clear over the weekend but yesterday it started getting cloudy again. I havent touched it.

 

Okay now you got me confused.

So after a water change it clouds up, then it gets gradually better ... and then clouds up again?



On the other hand ... can you look into the water veeeeeeeeery closely if the second bloom now is actually very very tiny white dots? Kinda like camera noise rather than a few drips of milk in water? A magnifying glass might help if you have one.

 

This is happening in my most established tank as well! I’ve never dealt with this throughout fishkeeping and all my other tanks are perfect, it’s frustrating

 

very very tiny white dots?

Possibly? Its hard to tell with the film on the glass. I really cant see through from the side angle right now.

 

Hey,

bacterial blooms, as soon as the bacteria die off, are sometimes / often followed by an infusoria bloom. Hence why I ask if it's rather white dots. They can look almost the same if you don't check it from very close.

 

I know we already talked about source water...

You mentioned that when it was clear and then you did a water change it got cloudy again. Would it make sense to try a WC with distilled water from the store just to see what happens and maybe rule things out?

 

I know we already talked about source water...

You mentioned that when it was clear and then you did a water change it got cloudy again. Would it make sense to try a WC with distilled water from the store just to see what happens and maybe rule things out?

It would be worth a try, but why only one tank? I just set up my 15g over the weekend and it's crystal clear.

 

I'm grasping at straws just like you.