Pwc & Less Food Best Way To Clear Cloudy Water?

I believe I added too many fish too soon.
I have 2 platy, 2 Honey Gs and 3 Cories (in less than 2 weeks)
As of 2 days ago my levels were okay (only slight concern was Nitrate level of .5)
However, now my tank is cloudy. To the point that my guests say, "Your tank is pretty cloudy". That's super lame.

Am I assuming correctly that the way to clear it up is to:
A) stop feeding them so much (I've been feeding twice a day and it takes about 5 minutes for them to eat)
B) Do a 25% PWC

Also, I just learned about UV sterilizers. Those are expensive! Should I save up to buy one?
I also just learned about Fluval BioClear and Acurel F Water Clarifier. Are those products I should consider buying to help keep my tank water clear? If yes, which one?

(I have a 20 gallon tall tank w/ AquaClear 30 filter)

 

What is your substrate? How long since you first started this tank? Is it Nitrite level 0.5? Because I don’t think any test kit measure 0.5PPM Nitrate levels.

 

Topically in a feeding the general rule of thumb is fed what they will eat in 2-3 minutes. If it is taking five minutes then it is probably too much food. Also most fish are good at one feeding per day. (fish seem to act as if they are always hungry but that is normal and they aren't.) also if it was just a couple days after adding the fish it could be a nutrient boost I think it's called. One last thing, did you fully cycle said tank before adding the fish? Did u do a pwc right before adding them? I only probe to try and help. ️

 

What is your substrate? How long since you first started this tank? Is it Nitrite level 0.5? Because I don’t think any test kit measure 0.5PPM Nitrate levels.

Thank you!
Substrate is gravel.
Started tank Thanksgiving weekend.
I thought it was fully cycled a week later based on my readings from API Master Test Kit. The readings read A-0, Ni-0, Na-0, pH-7.6. So I started adding fish, but had a few die, so I took my water to PetSmart and they gave me a report that showed the same as my test kit, except the NI was "0.5".

Topically in a feeding the general rule of thumb is fed what they will eat in 2-3 minutes. If it is taking five minutes then it is probably too much food. Also most fish are good at one feeding per day. (fish seem to act as if they are always hungry but that is normal and they aren't.) also if it was just a couple days after adding the fish it could be a nutrient boost I think it's called. One last thing, did you fully cycle said tank before adding the fish? Did u do a pwc right before adding them? I only probe to try and help. ️

Thank you! I'll start feeding them once a day, and I'll give them a little less.
I believe I fully cycled the tank, but there's some debate about that.
I've only done one PWC and it was in the middle of adding fish (I added some a week before doing it, and I added some a couple days after doing it)

What is your substrate? How long since you first started this tank? Is it Nitrite level 0.5? Because I don’t think any test kit measure 0.5PPM Nitrate levels.

 

I believe I added too many fish too soon.
As of 2 days ago my levels were okay (only slight concern was Nitrate level of .5)

You mentioned Nitrate instead of Nitrite. That is why I said, no test kit I know of can detect 0.5ppm nitrate. Nitrite yes.

Thank you!
Substrate is gravel.
Started tank Thanksgiving weekend.
I thought it was fully cycled a week later based on my readings from API Master Test Kit. The readings read A-0, Ni-0, Na-0, pH-7.6. So I started adding fish, but had a few die, so I took my water to PetSmart and they gave me a report that showed the same as my test kit, except the NI was "0.5".
View attachment 386922

As you can see 0.5 in your case is Nitrite not Nitrate. By the way are these Test Strips or Liquid Test kits? Because my API Liquid test kit color coding and ranges are totally different.

Here is how it looks in my case, with liquids

 

You mentioned Nitrate instead of Nitrite. That is why I said, no test kit I know of can detect 0.5ppm nitrate. Nitrite yes.


As you can see 0.5 in your case is Nitrite not Nitrate. By the way are these Test Strips or Liquid Test kits? Because my API Liquid test kit color coding and ranges are totally different.

Here is how it looks in my case, with liquids
View attachment 386941

Sorry for the confusion.
My kit is exactly like yours.
The test that came back .5 was from PetSmart and they we’re suing strips

 

Sorry for the confusion.
My kit is exactly like yours.
The test that came back .5 was from PetSmart and they we’re suing strips

*were using

 

Sorry for the confusion.
My kit is exactly like yours.
The test that came back .5 was from PetSmart and they we’re suing strips

Test strips are not accurate. If you got all across 0 there is a high chance that your tank is not cycled or something else is wrong with ur test kit.

Because for a cycled tank you will have Nitrates.