Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

Cloudy tank water?

Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
122
Reaction score
3
Location
North Carolina
Hello everyone. I have been having problems with my tank water recently. It's been getting very foggy and brown colored. The pet store people told me it was a bacteria bloom and it would go away in a few days, but after leaving it for a few weeks it just got worse. I've done 100% water changes, 50% water changes, etc. but every time I clear it up with new water, it comes back a few days later. I have washed all the tank accessories and cleaned the filter but it hasn't changed anything yet. What do you guys suggest? Should I buy a new filter? My tank is 29 gallons, but not filled to the top. Here are some pictures of my water.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3949.jpg
    IMG_3949.jpg
    424.9 KB · Views: 1,065
  • IMG_3948.jpg
    IMG_3948.jpg
    445.1 KB · Views: 289
  • IMG_3945.jpg
    IMG_3945.jpg
    434.3 KB · Views: 302

Hayleyy

New member
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
1,240
Reaction score
17
Location
NSW
What do you have in your tank? A sand substrate can do this if not washed properly, or dark coloured woods can too.
Also careful cleaning tank accessories and filter media, you don't want to lose all of your beneficial bacteria!
 
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
122
Reaction score
3
Location
North Carolina
I removed my sand a while ago when it first started getting foggy. I don't have any wood in my tank, just some caves and plastic plants. I'm thinking of feeding my axies separate from the tank and see if it helps at all. I also found a product called algone and I was wondering if it is safe for axolotls? It's supossed to be all natural and chemical free, but I don't want anything to happen to my axolotls so I wanted to check if it was safe first. It is for clearing up the water. And yes, I have been carful in washing as to not to lose my bacteria :)
 

Hayleyy

New member
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
1,240
Reaction score
17
Location
NSW
Could just be a bacterial bloom then. Keeping temps low should help or maybe try some live plants? I'm always wary of adding bottled things to the tank so wait until someone else says yay or nay :)
What are your water parameters? Your cycle could be crashing?
 

tundrabadger

New member
Joined
May 2, 2018
Messages
148
Reaction score
2
Location
Ottawa
It certainly looks like a bacterial bloom...I had something similar when I was keeping fish a few years back. The fish were unperturbed. ...that being said, it went away a lot faster than this.



How are the little guys doing with it?
 
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
122
Reaction score
3
Location
North Carolina
So I did a 100% water change today which helped a lot... my axies were not at all happy with my cloudy water. The weird thing is that it looks just like a bacteria bloom when it starts, but as it progresses it becomes so cloudy I can't even see my axolotls. And if I leave it more than a week it makes the walls, decor and filter super slimy. I can't seem to figure it out. I could try changing the filter but it was working perfectly before. I spent quite a few hours these past few weeks looking up the different reasons it could be happening. It also seems that when it happens, the oxygen levels in the water decrees because my axies will come up for big gulps of air. The also float quite a bit, which I know is not from constipation because they are pooping regularly, and they won't float when the water is clear. It's so unusual. Everything in my tank is clean. My ph and ammonia are fine at the moment, but I will test them again when the water gets foggy which I know will happen in a few days.
 

Hayleyy

New member
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
1,240
Reaction score
17
Location
NSW
Maybe try a sponge filter in addition to your normal filter to get more oxygen in the water?
 
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
122
Reaction score
3
Location
North Carolina
I changed some of the water so it's fine now, and feeding them outside of the tank seems to help. I'll wait and see if it gets cloudy again.
 

Kedreeva

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2018
Messages
12
Reaction score
1
In case you want to know more information about this kind of bacterial bloom, there's a really interesting (lengthy and in-depth) article about it here. It's really long, but there's a ton of really good information about causes and treatment and prevention and the general sciences behind bacterial balances. It's for fish tanks, so the treatment and prevention section may or may not be useful for axolotls, but the biological information on bacteria and life cycles and stuff is relevant.

Hope your water stays cleared up :)
 

NoemiMedina

New member
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Hi Isabella,
What type of filter do you have running? I had cloudy water for about a day with no signs of it clearing- until I made the filter flow faster. I have a control valve on a DIY filter I made for my axolotls that helps me change the flow for these situations. A day passed and it cleared the water with the help of a 30% water change and spot cleaning. I hope this helps! How are they doing now?
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top