Please help!! Cloudy water established tank

Hi everyone,

I've been trying to solve this problem for months now and no one, not even staff at aquarium stores, have been able to completely solve it. I've had a 15 gal aquarium for about 4 months now. I have all live plants. I never had a cloudy water issue up until about 2 months ago. I do ~25% water changes every 2 weeks when i gravel vacuum. At first, there were never any issues. I know how to do the water conditioner (i use prime), letting the water sit for a few minutes, pouring it in slowly, matching the temperature, checking ph, all that. At some point along the way, this phenomena started happening where every time I either change the water, or add ANY water at all the water clouds and the fish become extremely distressed or die. I want to reiterate that it's not from kicking up the substrate - the water is 100% CLEAR for the first 24 hours after i gravel vac, and this happened after topping it off with just a few cups of water this week. Then, at around the 24 hour mark, it begins to cloud. The fish gasp for air all day. I check and recheck water parameters like a crazy person, pH, KH, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia all within normal limits and they don't change. at 48 hours, they no longer gasp but are still glass surfing and the cloudiness worsens. It's not dark or green, more of a whitish color. After day 2, the water seems to resolve and the fish eventually calm down. However, i've lost countless fish over this problem and I keep consulting people who provide what I think is a solution, then I let the tank stabilize, get a couple new fish, and it happens again. The fish do not appear ill, and my betta fish in the tank is the only one who is unphased by this entire thing. He has remained healthy and never gets stressed like the others. I'm scared to add any water or clean the tank at all at this point. Does ANYONE know what water parameters could be causing this that are not commonly tested that I may not have thought of? I thought about the fact that it could be the tap water in my apartment building, but why would the water be so clear for months with water changes before this began happening?

Sorry for the long post, I appreciate any advice I can get. Pictures attached are from recently just topping off the tank, no water change/gravel vac (think they posted in reverse - one furthest right is day 1, middle is day 2, left is day 3).

 

What are your parameters right out of the tap? Cities change what they use in the water sometimes. This could be why it changed.

What are your exact tank readings?

 

Looks like a bacteral bloom, common in new setups, often a result of unstable water parameters.

 

What are your parameters right out of the tap? Cities change what they use in the water sometimes. This could be why it changed.

What are your exact tank readings?

ph 7.5, KH 3, nitrite/nitrate 0, ammonia 0. That's all I'm able to test with what I have, not sure if there's other parameters I should look at. I had an acid issue awhile back where the ph dropped but that's since resolved with a buffer and those parameters have remained stable before and after I topped off the water 3 days ago and the water clouded. Could there be another random thing in the water causing this that I haven't tested for?

 

ph 7.5, KH 3, nitrite/nitrate 0, ammonia 0. That's all I'm able to test with what I have, not sure if there's other parameters I should look at. I had an acid issue awhile back where the ph dropped but that's since resolved with a buffer and those parameters have remained stable before and after I topped off the water 3 days ago and the water clouded. Could there be another random thing in the water causing this that I haven't tested for?

Is that tank or tap?

 

Looks like a bacteral bloom, common in new setups, often a result of unstable water parameters.

My only confusion is (correct me if I'm wrong, there's a lot I don't know), from what I've read, bacterial blooms are harmless to fish and resolve on their own. My fish have been gasping for air/dying every time this happens (besides the betta) and I hadn't come across anything online explaining that.

Is that tank or tap?

Tank! I have not tested the tap water directly, but I can.

 

Something is different in the tap if they are gasping after adding water. Are you on city or well water?

 

Please check your tap water for oxygen.

What you describe sounds like low oxygen source water.
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Something is different in the tap if they are gasping after adding water. Are you on city or well water?

City water. I know we're not known for having the best water here. It would take a lot of time and money to use distilled water for all the water changes, I'm wondering if maybe I could try filtering it through my brita filter in the future? Not sure what else to do.

Please check your tap water for oxygen.

What you describe sounds like low oxygen source water.
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Thanks - If the tap water is low in oxygen, how can I fix the issue going forward with adding water?

 

In the mean time, you need to aerate your tap water for 24 hours BEFORE using it to change your aquariums.

OP, I have to do this for my 8 tanks. My water comes out of the tap with 2-4 pmm oxygen. I put it in big 50 gallon barrels and aerate it. Then I use a pump to add to my tanks.

 

Another thing I am curious on, What is your pH dipping to that made you add the regulator?

 

In the mean time, you need to aerate your tap water for 24 hours BEFORE using it to change your aquariums.

OP, I have to do this for my 8 tanks. My water comes out of the tap with 2-4 pmm oxygen. I put it in big 5 0 gallon barrels and aerate it. Then I use a pump to add to my tanks.

Thank you! Forgive the stupid question... for aerating, do you simply let the water sit out in the barrels for 24 hours?

Another thing I am curious on, What is your pH dipping to that made you add the regulator?

So, when all this cloudy nonsense started I went to get advice and get my water tested. The pH went all the way down to 5.5. I was told it was probably slowly dropping over time (even though I was doing everything correctly), and then eventually the KH crashed. So, i slowly added the alkaline buffer and got my water tested again and it was resolved. I was told the acid was causing the cloudy water, and to let the tank settle a few weeks before changing the water again, so I haven't changed it, but then topping it off caused the same issue all over again. This is different than the acid cloudiness though, that caused a white film on everything and this is just more murky water. But I made sure the pH didn't drop after adding water this time, and it didn't.

 

Heterotrophic bacteria use oxygen, so it isn't strange at all you fosh gasp.or even fie. A betta has a second breathingsystem which allows it to take air / oxygen from the surface. Aeration could solve this . Also the extra oxygen could help to solve the bacterial bloom.

 

Thank you! Forgive the stupid question... for aerating, do you simply let the water sit out in the barrels for 24 hours?

You need to use an air stone and air pump. Agitate the water so the surface is frothy.

This aeration process will also raise the pH up to be in equilibrium with the air. The low pH is also due to the gas imbalance in your water.

But the low oxygen is what kills your tank. Good aeration will make it fish-ready. Use the oxygen test to be sure.

Low oxygen is a very common situation for well water or from city water that is sourced from underground (as opposed to rivers).
You need good aeration in your aquarium as well to keep oxygen from getting used up.