My Tank - what's wrong now?

I have been doing daily water changes to get my water right. I have posted other messages to gain help in getting the levels right. After a spike in nitrates I added natural nitrate reducer and another live plant that I purchased from a local fish store. When I woke up today my tank was cloudy. However, I tested the ugly water and there was a drastic drop in nitrates a slight increase in ammonia and nitrites. My tank temperature is around 77° today. Fish seem to not be harmed by the drop in nitrates from yesterday (dark red) to today less than 40ppm. I am just disappointed by the current water condition. I did a another water change today and my water is still very cloudy. See attached photos. I did add some stress coat while changing water. Also, added API accu clear and a few hours later. See photo no change in clarity. I can barely see my babies. Before or after the water change. What's wrong now? It was getting clearer and now yuck. So sad

 

Algae Bloom, they'll burn themselves off soon.

 

Thank you, do you know how long it takes to typically clear out the blooms? Should I keep doing daily water changes is t he levels are better? I only started this hobby in June 2014. I am still trying for that perfect clear and beautiful tank to just lose myself in when sitting in the den. Have had some ups and downs. Have lost fish along the way and have had one who has stayed with me since the start of the journey. He has grown from a little guy under 3" to over 12" now. My pleco Moe is my baby and I want home to enjoy the rest of his life in a beautiful well kept tank. He is so special will even eat out of my hand. I don't do it often but he knows when his night time treat is coming and greets me when I approach the tank. Its almost like he knows it is 7pm.

As always I appreciate all advice and suggestions given by other fish families. Thank you all.

 

Are you certain that this 'de-nitrifying' product is intended for fresh water use?
Regardless if it caused an increase in ammonia and nitrite I think that's as bad as having high nitrates.

Can you tell us what your tank size is or fill out your profile.
And how much water are you changing daily?

I think if you have an overstocked tank, a temporary measure is to add purigen. It will remove organic waste before they break down into ammonia/nitrite/nitrate.

 

Are you certain that this 'de-nitrifying' product is intended for fresh water use?
Regardless if it caused an increase in ammonia and nitrite I think that's as bad as having high nitrates.

Can you tell us what your tank size is or fill out your profile.

And how much water are you changing daily?

I think if you have an overstocked tank, a temporary measure is to add purigen. It will remove organic waste before they break down into ammonia/nitrite/nitrate.

Instant Ocean Natural Nitrate remover can be used in both fresh and salt water tanks. Our tap water has very high nitrates, we have been using this product for a while now. It does not affect ammonia or nitrites. It does not work right away either, it takes a few weeks for it to kick in, but once it starts working, it keeps nitrates down.

 

@Jomolager thanks for the clarification.

@DEfish, I think your tank is cloudy due to the large piece of watermelon. That's a lot of food!

 

I have a 75 gallon tank. Not over stocked of at least I don't think so. I do have a decent amount of small fish and a 12" common pleco. My ammonia and nitrites were nearly zero and now are definitely both .25ppm. Not sure if the drop in nitrates stressed fish causing more waste and that slightly increased the nitrites and ammonia?

I always forget to add fish on my fish list.

1 common pleco 12" Moe
2 dwarf goumis (Brady&Grover)
5 guppies (tom, spot, dandy, trigger and bear)
5 tetras (identical so they are just the fabulous 5)
2 plattys ( sonny and max)
3 mollys (Chester, Pearl, and Betty)
8 catfish (2 Julis so Julian and JJ, 2 spotted Doc and Pepper, 4 peppered Castor, Pollock, Leo, and Orion/Ryan for short)





As for the watermelon Moe my pleco will eat that is less than 2hours and it is out of the tank. I have been giving him fruits and vegetation for months never had cloudy water like this. So watermelon is not the cause. He comes to the top of the tank as soon as he sees me coming and starts eating as soon as it touches the water, we starts before I place it on the bottom. Sometimes I will hold it just so he is used to me and I enjoy watching him and as soon as he leaves it for more then a few minutes I take it out. Yes, he really eats that triangle in about two hours.

 

HI DEfish:

I understand your frustration. It's maddening to solve one problem only to have others take its place.

It may be that the best thing to do for now is to stay hands off a bit and keep monitoring the ammonia and nitrite to ensure they're zeroing down consistently. The cloudiness is most likely a bacterial or algal bloom that will dissipate eventually and is unlikely to harm your fish. Water changes will help you keep the nitrate under control over time, and for now 40 ppm nitrate isn't as big a deal as the trace ammonia and nitrite you're getting, given that you have fish in the tank.

Every cycle I've ever done has gone differently from every other one. In general, my attempts to intervene in them have never worked out well; the ones where I've managed to stay out of it and let nature take its course have been the most successful.

-Yorg

I have been doing daily water changes to get my water right. I have posted other messages to gain help in getting the levels right. After a spike in nitrates I added natural nitrate reducer and another live plant that I purchased from a local fish store. When I woke up today my tank was cloudy. However, I tested the ugly water and there was a drastic drop in nitrates a slight increase in ammonia and nitrites. My tank temperature is around 77° today. Fish seem to not be harmed by the drop in nitrates from yesterday (dark red) to today less than 40ppm. I am just disappointed by the current water condition. I did a another water change today and my water is still very cloudy. See attached photos. I did add some stress coat while changing water. Also, added API accu clear and a few hours later. See photo no change in clarity. I can barely see my babies. Before or after the water change. What's wrong now? It was getting clearer and now yuck. So sad

 

Thank you. I checked my levels added some prime yesterday. Today I am just going to test the water and stay hands off. It was suggested by a friend to not feed for s day or two? I am not sure how I feel about not doing at least one feeding a day. I usually feed everyone in the morning. My pleco at 7pm and sprinkle a little bottom feeder food in around 10pm.

 

I think your friend's advice is quite good. Holding off on feeding might help your nitrifying bacteria deal with the slight spike in ammonia and nitrite. A day or two without food shouldn't stress your fish too much.

Keep us posted on your progress!

-Yorg

Thank you. I checked my levels added some prime yesterday. Today I am just going to test the water and stay hands off. It was suggested by a friend to not feed for s day or two? I am not sure how I feel about not doing at least one feeding a day. I usually feed everyone in the morning. My pleco at 7pm and sprinkle a little bottom feeder food in around 10pm.