What am I doing wronggggg - Perpetually cloudy water

[omgitsmogo]

I set up and cycled my 10 gallon tank a few months back when I was getting ready to get Zazu. Everything was all good and I initially had a bare bottom with an over the back filter.

Fast forward to about a month ago and I decided that bare bottom tank was boring and I added very rinsed out play sand. It was fine after a few days and clear but for some reason now the tank water is cloudy NO MATTER WHAT I DO. I got a brand new over the back filter (a tetra power filter 10) and do water changes twice weekly but even directly after a water change I can barely see through the back of the tank!!!

What am I doing wrong here. For water changes I do about 25-50 percent using a gravel cleaner type siphon - I generally skim the surface of the sand then dig down and move it around a little. The water I'm adding is clear... so whats the issue here?!

Please help

 

[Azhael]

Those water changes are too large, you risk killing off the bacterial biofilm. Persistent cloudy water is sometimes caused by bacterial blooms. Does the cloudiness vary from day to day and how long has it been happening?

 

[omgitsmogo]

It's been happening for about 2 weeks and it gets worse as it gets later on in the week (further away from water change = more cloudy) which is why i just figured it was from debris.

How do I get rid of a bacterial bloom? Do I need to completely re-cycle the tank?

 

[Alkylhalide]

Also to add to above i would not move around the sand when you do a water change.

But other then that i agree with above.
Have you tested your water? Ammonia nitrite nitrate ph and temperature?
Is your axolotl in the tank?

 

[omgitsmogo]

He's in the tank and I don't have a kit here to test unfortunately - but I will next week. Anything I can do in the short term to make sure it doesnt get worse? Other than making sure food isn't laying around/waste.

I've tried to research how to clear up bacterial blooms but the answers aren't very clear (haha get it.... but really not that funny )

 

[LJay]

I dont know how to clear up the bacterial blooms, but i had this problem once when i changed to sand. I rinsed the sand out for nearly a hour in the bath with a shower. Then what i did was put a smaller fish tank lid i had (plastic) on top of the sand in tank then poured water into the tank which the plastic protected the sand from being disturbed and ever since ive had clear looking water i do this every time i do water changes. I only do about 35% water change. Have you tried adding anything like aqua safe which promotes clear water?

 

[knyptozoologist]

Bacterial blooms (if that's what it is) should clear themselves up after a few weeks (4-6) once the tank stabilizes. I have a small betta tank that was cloudy for almost two months before it balanced out and now it's clear all the time.

I'm also on the "don't stir up the sand" bandwagon as it's not necessary and it won't help the cloudiness.

But yeah, get your water tested because that should be the biggest indicator of what could be going on.

 

[10fenny]

yep just like others have said. sometimes overly cleaning will keep killing of your natural bacteria. also idk what you are going to keep in your tank.. but i always double or triple filter size for the tank. that way you have plenty of natural bacteria when the tank is cycled. i mean i have a fluvel fx5 rated for a 400 gal tank on my 75 gal. drastic changes will typically ofset your tanks ability to compensate. anyways. im blabbin.. be patient

 

[shock]

yep just like others have said. sometimes overly cleaning will keep killing of your natural bacteria. also idk what you are going to keep in your tank.. but i always double or triple filter size for the tank. that way you have plenty of natural bacteria when the tank is cycled. i mean i have a fluvel fx5 rated for a 400 gal tank on my 75 gal. drastic changes will typically ofset your tanks ability to compensate. anyways. im blabbin.. be patient

And your axies are not crazy from that water flow? Sounds like u have river there

 

[Alkylhalide]

I have a 25gallon tank with a hob filter for 40gallons and a sponge filter for 30gallons together and i set it up and there is 0water flow effecting the axies at the bottom. I just used a tuperwRe lid tied to the hob filter and it breaks theflow i was desperate and it works. Now duckweed took over the lid so i guess its permanent

 

[omgitsmogo]

I felt bad for Zazu with any over the back filter since the flow is pretty strong but I have a little cube hide for him and I've realize that by putting it right under the filter it hits the top of the hide and disperses the water a little. He doesn't seem to mind and freely explores!

I am moving out of college in a week so I will have to drain some of the tank water and transfer him to a temporary tupperware for the 3 hour drive.... I am thinking that maybe it would be best to just start the tank over when I get home =/

I'm also thinking of getting a bigger tank since the 10 gallon seems super small for him and it makes me sad.... I'm torn about making anything permanent though because I am a bio teacher and when I move into my classroom in September I will (hopefully) be inheriting a ready-to-go 60 gallon!

 

[omgitsmogo]

Also thank you for everyones help so far... here are some pictures of the water so you could get an idea of what im talking about:





and sorry i have NO idea why these pics are upside down lol

 

[Petersgirl]

Hmmm...I had this problem once before, and I found that thoroughly rinsing my new sand with warm water, kneading it as though I was making dough and then carrying on rinsing until it came up clear rectified the problem. I know this may also sound like shameless advertising, but I bought a block of PolyFilter today and that is already helping to keep ammonia, etc out of my tank. The only downside is that it's a little expensive - my large rectangle cost me £15 - but it does apparently help to get water clean if it's a persistent problem. You can cut it to size to fit one of your filters or simply cut a bit off and leave it in your water. It'll even show you what it's absorbed by changing colour. I can suggest this if it's any help.

Also, if the flow from your in-tank filter ever becomes troublesome, I can heartily recommend sticking a shower puff in front of it. It's eliminated the flow from my filters completely!

Hope your tank clears up soon! :happy:

 

[10fenny]

as far as my tank being a river.. i have the output directed high up and lots of plants and drift wood keep the tank very calm actually

 

[Bubilog]

Try doing a pre filter like this
DIY - Water Bottle Power Filter for Saltwater - YouTube

 

[omgitsmogo]

Bubilog that looks awesome! Thanks for the tip.

Update for everyone who has been helping me: I just moved Zazu, tank and all from Boston to NY yesterday which was a very stressful ride. I set up the tank again in his new home but still the same cloudiness (which would be expected considering I removed water, re-added, etc.)

I'm headed to petco today to get some testing kits and to get their opinion! At this point I am really considering re-cycling the tank with some goldfish

 

[Alkylhalide]

ReAlly you cant go wrong starting over again if its getting to be stressful trying to fix it. Really whenever something goes wrong and im pulling my hair out trying to fix it i just put my axies in a tuperware container and that way i can take my time tryin to rectify the problem. Its less stress on me and probably my axies to know 100% that te water they are in is clean and fresh everyday then to continuously do water changes in their tank because the levels are high or what not. Or im not sure what the problem is etc.. Like everytime my 10gallon would crash id just take them out and just add their waste to the tank daily until the levels went down.. I didnt need to worry about water changes because there was no axies in it.

 

[omgitsmogo]

Sounds like a good idea but i always feel bad putting zazu in a little tupperware :'(

Had a nice chat with the guy at petco who suggested more sand could be helpful to host bacteria and he also suggested ammo-chips since he thinks it could be an ammonia problem. And apparently petco has free water testing! So i'll be headed back tomorrow

 

[layna]

I had this problem before and i just carried on doing weekly water changes and after about 3 months, i looked in the tank one day and the water was crystal clear
I had about 4 days previous bought a new filter and i put it down to that

 

[omgitsmogo]

I have been blaming it on my lame over the back filter (tetra whisper)

But today when I went back to petco and tested my water I had 0 ammonia, but SUPER high nitrites and nitrates. I bought myself some prime and hopefully this will remedy the problem along with water changes