# cloudy tank



## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

i have my 50g setup and it was clear a few hours after setup i followed up by adding prime and stress zyme. The tank ran for a day before i retested the water and my levels where all perfect except my ph was high so i decided to add proper ph 7.0. ever since then the tank is extremly cloudy but my levels are fine...all of them. I don't know what to do i have my rainbow shark and 5 barbs all in the tank


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

most likely because you put too much junk in the tank...all you needed was dechlor.usually when a tank clouds up there is a bacteria bloom


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Maybe replace the carbon in your filter. Stuff as much as you can in a nylon sack in there and it should clear up over night. At least that's what I've always done. Good luck.


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

@lochata how could i fix this simple small water changes or just allow the tank to continue as is and my filter will handle it?


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

How long have you had the tank set up? Is it cycled? Or it it just newly set up?


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

this is what i did. I filled it, did the stress zyme quick start and prime to start out with it was cloudly at first cause it was new but it cleared up literally a few hours later it stayed clear for a entire week filter heater and air stone running still clear so the night before i tested the water and my ph was high, so i added the proper ph 7.0 by API. This is when my problem started my tank the next morning was cloudy with a milky white color no bad smell or nothing. I didnt think much of it because i simply thought it was the product taking effect so i went and purchased fishes at my local FM. I added them to my tank properly and they are still alive after a few hours. I added water clarifer(clarity by searchem) afterward out of advice from another person several hours ago. this is where im at now.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Hmm, I have Delt with this problem before. What I used to clear up my water from cloudy water was 1 I refilled the carbon. (I didn't expect it to help but that's what a breeder told me to do) so I filled up small sacks put that in and also used "jungle clear water" and "tetra algae control" that all cleared my tank great. After a few weeks do a 50% water change.


For new tanks I always use a bunch of minnows let them live in the tank for about a week, get rid of them then do 50% change then I add fish. 

Another thing if you put rocks in your tank did you wash them before hand? I added rocks to my 10g and the water still looks like crap. But I don't plan on adding fish for another week or so to that tank


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

no rocks its sand


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

the more crap you put into a tank ; the more problems you create for yourself...most likely what is happening is a bacteria bloom...part of the cycling process...
my suggestion..................start doing 25-30% water changes daily...only use a simple dechlorinating agent such as dechlor by weco..you want to get rid all the stuff you dumped into the tank....
i don't know what your PH was but you really don't need the chemical to adjust it...to a degree it will adjust on it's own......if it is 8.0 when first set up it will soon come down without you using chemicals...
the cloudiness should go away fairly soon.......leave all the crazy chemicals at the store and you can have more money for fish..


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

k so just do small water changes over the course of a few weeks then it shud be fine? just wanna make sure i read the course of action right. then as for future reference avoid the whole bunch of chemicals and keep it simple


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

> proper ph 7.0


 This is the culprit. It happens a lot, it won't hurt fish, but if you use in the next water change it will happen again.

This product drops the hardness and pH but by taking carbonate ions out of solution as a white/off-white precipitate. As long as this insoluble powder is in your tank, it will either cause cloudiness or sit on decor and substrate like it snowed in your tank. To get it out, change water, gravel-wash, or use "micron" filtration to trap the white crud.


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## Bryan619 (Apr 21, 2012)

My water started lookin milky after a month without changing the filter cartridges. I cleaned them once a week but when the carbon ran out the water became cloudy. I replaced the cartridges and the water was crystal clear 2 days later.


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

I just did the first water change to remove the culprit. I removed a quarter of the old water and replaced with new treated water that simply had prime in it. The ph is at 8.2 but as i was reading it seems to be ph even tho important shouldnt be messed with the tank is still cloudy i presume it wont be clear until a few more water changes but i have to take it slow. I have a micron prefilter on the filter so it will help trap alot of it. I turned the filter off when i did the water change to rinse the prefilter in conditioned water, i hope thats ok it already has been turned back on id say about 5min after. I need to add one more bucket of preconditioned water before im done.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i don't know where you live but i live in cleveland ohio.....if i am doing 30% or less water change i do not dechlorinate..only on 40% and up.


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

i live in miami,florida. The water isnt great here


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

It should be pretty easy to prove guilt. Put a little in tap water in a glass and watch it. I once got a cloudy tank by mixing SeaChem neurtral regulator with alkaline regulator, but it cleared up overnight.


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