Cloudy Water

[thomas]

How is your tank? Have to found the cause of cloudy water? My planted tank is so cloudy every time I turn on the light. Is it b/c too much oxygen (I don't have CO2) or too much CO2?

[wvgdiscus]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

Just plain old water changing is all I did to get rid of the cloudy water.

[thomas]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

That is True. But then the cloudness come right back after 7 days.

[Tiapan]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

how much water are you changing and when did you do your last water test, could be ammonia, because my planted tanks are almost always spotlessly clear unless i shift the substrate around. then they settle down in a few hours. cloudy water almost never happens unless i dont rinse the sand enough and then major water changes are the only way to go for a little while. or filter aid in the hang on the back filter for a couple days/ or if you have on somewhere a diotamatic filter (those things rock, and you can get the power for cheap from a pool supply store, saw it there when i got sand there)

[Tiapan]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

Oh and Ek Potasium permangenate (i know i probably mispelled it) is used in all sorts of things from snake bite kits, to lots of highexplosives, just dont mic it with gasoline in a glas container, make a big badda boom (10 points to whoever gets the movie reference)

[Zulaab]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

make a big badda boom (10 points to whoever gets the movie reference)

The Fifth Element

[Tiapan]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

and ten points goes to Jesper, iguess i will have to keep tabs of who gets my movie quotes, and then they get discounts whenever ihave anything they want for trade.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

Maybe the it's all the turtles in your tank thomas?

[Mzungu]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

Ek could be right. The turtles could be adding to the bioload, causing cloudiness. If the tank is relatively new and you're doing substantial water changes, it could also be a bacterial bloom, which is normal for a cycling tank.

But, for any of the possible causes, I'd advise to test the water (for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate) and post your results. Could lead to the root of the problem.  :)

[thomas]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

thanks for the info,

I use the test strip from Jungle:

Ammonia: Slight yelow  0-.25 ppm   -----------------according to chart: somewhere bw Ideal and safe
Nitrate:     Pink   80ppm (mg/L)        ----------------- according to chart:  Unsafe
Nitrite:      White  0 ppm                  ------------------according to chart: Safe
Total Hardness: Orange bwn 300ppm------------------according to chart: Very Hard
ToTal Alkalinity:kind of blue (>300ppm) --------------according to chart: Very high
pH: red pink (8.4)                            -----------------according to chart: Alkaline

The first 5 tests, is unquestionable, but for pH test, I doubt it b/c I also use the litmus paper from my Chemistry Lab, and it show neutral at 7.0pH

[eklikewhoa]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

How old are the test strips? they have expiration dates on them.


With the ammonia that is not safe and would either mean that your tank is going through a mini-cycle or the turtles are just overloading the crap out of it which is what I am leaning towards since your Nitrates(Nitrogen end cycle) seem to be really high as well.

[thomas]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

The testing strip is still effective, bought it new from Walmart.

So, any conclusion or I must do water change 2 times a week. I still looking for turtle tank though.

[Tiapan]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

i would get  a separate tank for the turtles, or add a separate filter for bioload only, but yeah im with ek and saying its the turtles fault because if you werent cycled then the nitrate shouldnt be that high. also how often are you feeding the turtles, because overfeeding might cause this too. either way, having more filtration for bio load, or a lot more fast growing plants, would be the easier solution in the long run then 2x week water changes, also he turtles will probably eat some of the fast growing plants making them a natural prunning system, i would try najas, and anacharis.

[Mzungu]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

I'd say more water changes are a good idea.

I know you've probably posted this before, but what kind of filtration are you using? Just to make sure it's efficient enough for the bioload you currently have.

And like Ek said, your nitrate is pretty up-there. Water changes will help that, though.

Were you using neutral litmus paper?

Edit: Tiapan-sorry to repeat what you said, I guess you posted while I was typing!

[thomas]

Re: my 180 planted discus tank

I have my own feeding style. I take turtle one-by-one to a small plastid bucket and feed them 5-10 stick (depend on their size), and then put them back. Feed them every other day. So, I think ammonia and nitrate came from their waste only, not from the food.

What is bio-loads filter?Right now, I am trying to buy and set up the Wet/Dry filter system. Will it help? I also have Eheim 2262 running. When I first buy it, the guy did not used sponge but carbon, and bio-ball only