# Tetra Algae Control caused water to be white & cloudy



## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

OK, so not exactly a planted tank, but it will be soon, but this is the best forum I know of for freshwater.

OK, so here I go...

I service aquariums, three 125 gal freshwater tanks at an office building. I go once a month, and do a 35-40% water change using tap water. The water is not the best water, but doing that much water it is the easiest I can get. I use API Extra Strength Water Conditioner. I see wispy webs forming (assuming it is the stuff working)

The tank has two 20gal high tanks below the stands, with drip trays and filter pad, and bio balls, then a bag of carbon.

A bunch of tetras in each tank with black sand and Malaysian drift wood. The lighting is just standard t12 lighting.

Here is the problem, I had some algae blooms in a tank I fixed the last month, I went last night, and everything was fine. I did normal routine (40% water change, change filter pad, sucked up debris off sand, and added new water and water conditioner) I kept the carbon out and added tetra algae control as a preventative. (later to discover form calling the company it is not good to be used as a preventative)

The water almost instantly turned cloudy after adding the tetra algae control. So clearly some reaction happened. I just tried it in a test tank I set up, adding the conditioner and tetra algae control and crystal clear, i added more, crystal clear, more, still clear.

Now I called tetra back, they sad this.. "do not use tetra algae control as a preventative. It works by bonding to the smallest celled organisms (algae) and killing it. In these established tanks with not much algae, there was nothing to bond to so it bonded to bacteria and killed it. The cloudiness was probably a bacteria bloom."

I am surprised because it turned cloudy within 5-20 seconds. I called back later that night like 3 hours later, still cloudy, this morning still cloudy (carbon added), and today at 12 still cloudy.

I am heading there tomorrow to see how they look.

This has happened to me, but a little different before. Used tetra algae control as a preventative and then overnight the tank turned cloudy, lasted about 2 weeks. Did not occur to me that the tetra algae control was the reason for it.

Please let me know what people think and what is going on. I want to figure this out so I do not cause the same problem again.

Thanks.


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## NeonFlux (May 15, 2008)

What are your water parameters? It could be your tap water.


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## Jeffww (May 25, 2010)

In my experience Algaecide + dechlorinator creates a very cloudy greenish solution.


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## killacross (Apr 29, 2010)

if the water is milky white or slightly brown
theyre right, a bacteria bloom...

if its green...algae bloom

only solution is to 1) weekly water changes 2) wait it out or 3)get UV filters...

1 and 2 solve the problem....3 hides the symptoms


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