# Cloudy white water, never clears



## MantisX (Sep 2, 2004)

My water never clears up any further than a milky tint. I have to buff it with diatom powder to get it very clear and even then, a few days later itll be milky again. What is the cause of this? My tank has been setup about a month now. Its a 10 gallon. I have a 30 gallon set up next to it and it doesnt do that at all. Both of them have eco complete as the substrate. 

Thanks

MantisX


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

My guess would be bacteria. I've had such problems in 3 tanks now, all of them established. It takes quite a long time for that kind of bacteria to die off. In one of the tanks the diatom filter couldn't even clear the water. I learned to just let the bacteria die but it's a painful 10 or so days long process.

--Nikolay


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## |squee| (Feb 3, 2005)

I used to have the same experience as you. It just appeared after I stupidly changed the filter for a brand new one (newbie back then) and the white haze came over, and didn't go away for weeks. I got frustrated, and I changed *100%* of the water.

It never came back.


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## eddtango (Mar 18, 2005)

*Cure for cloudy water*

Use Accuclear by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. The water in my tank suddenly turned hazy and milky,but after 3-4 hours of putting a teaspoon of Accuclear, the water of my tank is now crystal clear. Try it,its effective.


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## timdz (Mar 31, 2005)

The idea behind Accuclear, is that it will make the particulate matter in your tank group together and become 'sticky'. Therefore I would expect white deposits in your filter or in the tank.

Using an Aquaclear filter plus a micron prefilter seems to do the job nicely while using the Accuclear, especially when you are impatient =P~ 

From many sources I have read the white cloud (like noted above) is a bacteria bloom that will run its course... sometimes it takes up to 2 weeks but eventually your glass box ecosystem will become stable and will no longer be cloudy.

The only thing I would watch out for with the white cloudiness is a precursor to an algae bloom. Be aware of your light cycle and your NO3 adn PO4 levels as to not encourage nuisance green water.

Best Regards,
Tim


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## MantisX (Sep 2, 2004)

Tim, you almost hit the nail on the head. I thought it would go away after 2 weeks or so too but it never does. If I leave it too long without buffing it, usually within 2-3 weeks, green water comes in. It seems to stay clear as long as I dont change my water which I find very weird. Thanks to a member here, I now have enough diatom to buff my tanks for 20 years lol, but I figure this bacteria bloom may be bad for fish and some of the weaker species of plants. Is this true?

Thanks for your replies all

MantisX


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## MiamiAG (Jan 13, 2004)

Mantis,

Please read the post on the problems some bags of eco-complete have. Have you checked your GH or PO4?


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Also, green water from a wc *might* mean you are creating ammonia, which can come for either insufficient cleaning/ maintance (stirring up lots of mulm but not vacing good, etc) or your are treating for chlor-AMINE which breaks down into ammonia. If your plants/ boifilter can process the ammonia quick enough, you need to make sure you threat witha product that also neutralizes the ammonia. Just an idea, I don't know if this is your problem or not, but something to consider.

Also, a bacteria bloom oftne indicates that are lots of nasties in the water for the bacteria to feed on. These nasties will be broken down by the bacteria into ammomnia which GW and other algaes ofen use as a signal to "bloom" and take advantage of the good conditions.

HTH


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## MantisX (Sep 2, 2004)

Would me not having any fish in my 10 gallon add on to this problem any? I read the post on the ecocomplete but my p04 is sitting at about 2ppm. GH is and has always been 1 here(at least thats what my test kit says). I did buy the ecocomplete for the 10 gallon more recently than the 30 gallon though. This 10 gallon has been running for about a month and a half. The plants are growing great, just have to buff to see them good. Also another thing I noticed thats weird is when I get green water, the plants do some of the best growing ever! I can leave it green for about a week and buff it. Stem plants are at the top of the water and hairgrass sprouts run into all parts of the tank. How about DIY c02? Would it cloud any? 

Dennis, whats the best thing to do to lower ammonia? I hope my tap water isnt full of it 

Thanks!

MantisX


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