Can't get tank clean or clear

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cityhunter

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I've had my axie about 2 months now and within days the tank was cloudy. i thought maybe the sponge filter just wasnt fully cycled so i've been testing parameters (all good) and doing frequent water changes but it hasnt helped out. the siphon i have doesnt seem to produce enough suction to clear the gunk at the bottom of the tank, which is covered in large glass pebbles glued down with aquarium sealant. i even tried a home made gravel vac that has worked well in the past on fish tanks but even that just seems to kick the filaments of gunk around and not suck it up. it's not anything huge, it's just wispy and see through it shouldn't be this hard to get it out of the tank but i am at a loss.

any ideas on something that is going to be powerful enough to suck up the debris?
 
Re: Cant get tank clean or clear

Can you post pics of the tank?
What substrate do you have? If it's sand and wasn't washed thoroughly it can leave you with cloudy water.
My other thought is that it could be a bacterial bloom.
Once you post a photo we will be able to tell better :)
 
the substrate is glass pebbles, glued down with aquarium sealant, unfortunately i can't get pics to post. the cloudiness just gets thicker and thicker until you can't see anything at all and at that point you have to change all/ most of the water.

i am positive a bacterial bloom is at least part of the problem. the biggest issue i'm having is that nothing seems to sucking up enough gunk to keep the bacteria in check. i have a small siphon and a gravel vac pulling off a air pump rated up to 30 gallons.
 
Personally, I suction all of the waste/leftover food out with a turkey baster. I find that cleaning my tank out with that every day after feeding works really well, but it's a lot of work. Maybe you need stronger/larger filters?
 
we had a HOB rated for 30 gallons (it's a 20 gallon tank) and that didnt seem to be working, (well, it was working it just wasnt keeping the water clean,

didnt want a bigger filter b/c i was concerned about too much current so we took it out and put in a sponge filter.

i will try the turkey baster and see if that helps.
 
What are your water parameters?
 
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