Hello, all!
So, I have my adult leucistic axolotl, Axel, in a 15 gallon tank that has been cycled and established for over a year. This July while I was out of town I was informed that my tank was starting to look cloudy, and when I got back the same week there was a massive bacterial bloom going on. I did a few partial water changes and made sure the filter wasn't clogged, and after about two weeks the tank became crystal clear again overnight, but only stayed that way for about a week before becoming ridiculously cloudy again. It's now been over a month and the tank is still a nasty-looking, bacterial cloud. In that time my HOB filter stopped working entirely so I had to replace it, and I've also added another Java fern, moss ball, and Indian almond leaf in hopes that it would clear. I made the mistake of doing a 80% water change last month (I got so fed up with the cloudyness), which I'm sure only made it worse, and from there I've been doing 20-25% water changes whenever I detect any traces of ammonia, and dosing with a biological booster.
I have a 55 gallon tank I plan to move Axel into once I move up to Idaho, but that won't be for another several weeks and even then it'll take at least 2 months to cycle the tank before I can move him. So my question is: what on earth am I doing wrong, and is there any way I can get the tank to clear up before too long?
My current tank parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10 nitrate, alkalinity at approx. 180 ppm, pH of 7.8, and the temperature is sitting at about 65 degrees.
Here's a photo below what the tank looks like. Just a big, nasty cloud.
So, I have my adult leucistic axolotl, Axel, in a 15 gallon tank that has been cycled and established for over a year. This July while I was out of town I was informed that my tank was starting to look cloudy, and when I got back the same week there was a massive bacterial bloom going on. I did a few partial water changes and made sure the filter wasn't clogged, and after about two weeks the tank became crystal clear again overnight, but only stayed that way for about a week before becoming ridiculously cloudy again. It's now been over a month and the tank is still a nasty-looking, bacterial cloud. In that time my HOB filter stopped working entirely so I had to replace it, and I've also added another Java fern, moss ball, and Indian almond leaf in hopes that it would clear. I made the mistake of doing a 80% water change last month (I got so fed up with the cloudyness), which I'm sure only made it worse, and from there I've been doing 20-25% water changes whenever I detect any traces of ammonia, and dosing with a biological booster.
I have a 55 gallon tank I plan to move Axel into once I move up to Idaho, but that won't be for another several weeks and even then it'll take at least 2 months to cycle the tank before I can move him. So my question is: what on earth am I doing wrong, and is there any way I can get the tank to clear up before too long?
My current tank parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10 nitrate, alkalinity at approx. 180 ppm, pH of 7.8, and the temperature is sitting at about 65 degrees.
Here's a photo below what the tank looks like. Just a big, nasty cloud.
