# Cloudy tank... plz help



## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

Hello All, 

So I bought a Betta fish for my girlfriend a few months ago and everything was going fine with it. It lives in a Fluval Chi 5 gal tank. Things were going great with it. Until the winter hit and the water got to a relly cold 66 degrees so I bought a heater for it and its not anywhere b/w 76-78 at any given time. However soon after the heater the tank got really cloudy and I mean cloudy to the point where you couldn't see ANYTHING until the fish came right up the edge of the glass. I tried to correct it with daily water changes of like 10% and than a weekly 25-50% but honestly nothing had worked for it. 

SO yesterday I took the tank down completely. Removed the substrate and everything. Added new substrate (sand) and took the beta plant that I had grown from a bud and chopped it down in a bit. It needed to be trimmed anyways it was getting out of control. Added my water conditioner to the water, my cycle to the water and a little bit of water clarifier. Also I cleaned the rocks and the fake plant and than added them back to the tank. Yesterday the tank looked great water very very clear. But this morning the water I can tell is a little cloudier given that I can see the rays from light shinning down into the tank. I added my second day of cycle to get the tank started today as well like I'm suppose to do but my real fear is that the tank is going to get super cloudy again and I'm going to be stuck in the same boat that I was before where it just gets out of control.

So the tank is continuing to be cloudy. It been about a week of me doing 50% WCs everyday. The tank looks a lot better right after I do the water changes (first thing in the morning) and than by the evening its getting pretty cloudy and today I didn't have time to do it in the morning and when I came home it was cloudy to the point where if I let it go another day it would have been cloudy to the point where I couldn't see the fish. I am using a Fluval Chi and I cleaned the filter out and everything. I am just at a loss as to why its gotten so bad and won't resolve a little at the most. Does anyone have a Fluval Chi or know if you can put some bio ball things in the water reservoir above the filter (I wouldn't see why not). I am really concerned that it is my heater tho. It all sort of snowballed when I put it in because the tank was 66 degrees and I was fearing for my fishes life.

ANy thoughts? help? suggestions? would be great.


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## Busted (Dec 13, 2010)

What are your water parameters?


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## Akzeal (Nov 26, 2010)

Also, just my initial thought, it sounds like bacterial bloom, which is actually a good thing for cycling. I'd need the water parameters to be anything like sure, though.


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

So the tank is a 5 gal with a top filter. It is only mechanical with the coarse black foam pad and a filter pad which from the looks of it is only a filter pad not a chemical at all. So I went out today and got some BIO-MAX for biological filtration and some carbon filtration. I put them above the others where the water circulates hopefully they will get used some how. I am going to call hagen and ask their tech support if its a viable option since I don't think mechanical alone is good enough. So for my tank paramaters. I checked the water on the 16th and 21st of this month so far. Here are the results
12/16 12/21
Nitrate 0 0
Nitrite 0 - 0.5 0 - 0.5
Hardness 200 200
Chloride 0 0
Alkalinity 120 120
pH 7.8-8.4 7.2

My big thing is that I set the tank up in October and everything was perfectly fine the tank was crystal clear from the get go and remained that way till early december when it got really cold and I added the heater and than a week later BOOM I got the BLOOM!!! sorry I had to  So why take so long to get the bloom?

One question though I have. Every time I do the WCs which are daily at this point should I still be adding the cycle nutrient stuff. I only ask because it says I should when I do maintenance WCs. But this is like excessive maintenance that I am doing.

Thanks for your help.


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

Well that looks like poo
12/16 / 12/21
Nitrate 0 / 0
Nitrite 0 - 0.5 / 0 - 0.5
Hardness 200 / 200
Chloride 0 / 0
Alkalinity 120 / 120
pH 7.8-8.4 / 7.2


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

I think you may be having a bacterial bloom now, and the reason it started once the heater was put in was because perhaps the water was too cold for any cycling to start up. It should clear up on its own, but water changes are good too. Unless your cycle stuff is SafeStart, it doesnt work and wont do a thing for your cycle


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

I figured this much that its bacterial bloom given my water parameters but I just don't get why its not even dying down a little? I am using Nutrafin cycle... I have used it in the past with other tanks and I have never had a bacterial bloom EVER. So that is why I am extremely perplexed by this one and its persistance. Roughly how many weeks of me doing 50% daily WCs am I going to be doing before I do a WC and its gone?


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## fishman12 (Sep 1, 2010)

I don't know much about the bacterial bloom and water parameters and such, but the thing that hit me when I was reading was the sand. It might be having some wierd reaction to the new source of heat or such. If somebody more skilled comes along and agrees with me, I would suggest getting some gravel or something that isn't as loose and easily disturbed as sand. But, as I said, I'm no expert. If I were you, I would do more research online and check back here regularely, in the event that somebody more experienced than me comes by.


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

Thats a good point but I had this cloudiness with my tank when i had blue gravel in there and the heater was off the rocks.


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## kelly528 (Aug 31, 2009)

Definitely sounds like a bacterial bloom... the heater probably kick-started the bacteria growth. Keep an eye on the water stats and change the water religiously. Test the ammonia and make sure it doesn't rise above .25 ppm. The Chi is a great tank and I'm sure the filtration system will handle things well once the bacteria have settled down.

And yep, the bottled bacteria cycle starters are hit-and-miss. Unless they have to be refrigerated, they don't contain actual bacteria (just the digestive enzyme that the bacteria use to break down Nitrogen). You're almost out of the woods though... hang in there!


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## fishman12 (Sep 1, 2010)

Good luck!


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## Cravenne (Dec 20, 2010)

Unfortunately, you just have to be patient and kee up with the water changes. If it is a bacterial bloom(which it really does sound like) then it's annoying for you to look and and frustrating to wait it out but it isn't a bad thing at all. 

Also..removing the old substrate and switching it out for new stuff could have cause a mini cycle in your tank. I also read you cleaned your filter out..Showing Nitrite tells me your cycling again. Just have to be patient. 

Lastly..could you post some full tank shots? I'd like to see the Chi set up Betta style


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

Here is a picture of the tank and of my betta his name is popeye. Also I contacted Hagen about the Fluval Chi and the lady who responded to my email has one on her desk and mentioned that I could put a AquaClear small Bio bag above the filter where the motor is. That is what she does. I already did that but it was nice to know thats what the company recommends instead of having a solely mechanical filtration system.


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## Cravenne (Dec 20, 2010)

Looks great! (More plants..live plants..more, more, more!!!)

Doesn't look as cloudy as I had thought either. Great looking tank.


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

more plants? why so many? Yeah that picture was taken the day I redid the tank so it wasn't that cloudy. It got really cloudy the next day than I started the WCs and today its looking a little better.


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## Cravenne (Dec 20, 2010)

You can never have enough live plants..kinda like Bettas actually..lol.


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

I added a white ribbon plant and a peacock fern plant both 4'" and popeye loves them! have been sitting on my peacock fern non stop!


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

The peacock fern died i think because it was fragile and my 3 snails like to crawl all over the plants I have in there. So I had to go out of town for a week and a half and had to turn the filter off and only allow natural light to go to the tank for the plants and snails. Well I come back and the tank is crystal clear. Oh btw popeye was taken to his vacation home and than to a friends house to a bowl. I KNOW poor guy! So anyways, the tank was crystal clear but the fern was dead. So I had to go in and disrupt some stuff to get the fern and all its dead greenery out of the tank. I got a new plant a Wisteria sp? Its a sturdier plant so my snails can crawl on t and not kill it in one fowl swoop. Anyways, I picked up popeye from a friend and put him back in the tank and well since than the tank got a little murk-ish. Not nearly as cloudy as it was before when it was like looking through a hard water stained piece of glass. I can just tell its a little cloudy because you can see the rays of light coming off the LEDs in the middle. I assume its probably because I added the new plant and introduced new bacteria and allowed them to bloom having a heated water source. But I wanted to get your guys opinions on the matter. Oh also I just noticed right now as I am typing this that one of my snails a white shelled one is floating at the top of the tank  . I poked it and it fell to the bottom and air popped out of him. Its weird because literally an hr ago he was moving all over the tank! I read somewhere that snails will do this when they are feeling lazy and than sink and be alright. Is this true? He's never done it before...

Anyways! Happy New year everyone!


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## Cravenne (Dec 20, 2010)

I know nothing abotut he fern you mentioned....for some reason it popped to mind that it's not a true aquatic plant(which would explain why it died)..someone else has heard of it, I'm sure.
Wisteria is great. I'm not sure about the lighting in your tank, but in my 10G kit the Wisteria grows crazy fast with nothing added and just the stock lights that came with the 10. 

As for your snail, something they do float or let themselves drop. If you touch the door and it pulls in, snail is alive. If you sniff the snail and..well...it smells worse than a lot of things in life, snail is dead. 

As far as the cloudiness, could be your sand kicking up the dust when you're planting or messing around in there. A lot of people experience a bit of cloudy water when they use sand as a substrate.
I really wouldn't worry about it. Annoying for you, but not harmful for fishes(assuming you checked your paramaters and they are ok) continue with your regular water change schedule and take note the next time you're messing around in the substrate if the cloudiness happens again.


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

The snail is fine, hes cruising around the tank like normal again. The tank still looks a little cloudy to me but I just might be anal about wanting it crystal clear. And it might be the light shinning from the middle causing the effect. I just feel if i can see the outline of the light in the water its not clear enough. Anyways so my Wisteria technically there are 4 individual Wisteria plants and one of them at the base where the stalk comes out from the substrate looks like its eroding and thinning, but the plant is still standing up straight and thriving one part of the 10 leaves on the stalk half was black so i trimmed it and tossed it. Also the roots were still good, so I decided to just submerse the stalk into the substrate below where it is eroding.

As for my lighting I ordered 2 24cm LED waterproof strips that I am going to design a lighting scheme for the tank. I love the tank, I hate the lighting its junk! Can't see the awesome colors my betta is unless you get right up to the tank. 11 LEDs just doesn't do it!


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## luvem (Dec 27, 2010)

I got a 5 gal. Fluval Chi for Christmas and have a problem with cloudiness, too. It got really bad when I turned the heater to 80 degrees. Guess I started a bloom going. I did a 50% change and lowered the heater back to 78. It's still a little cloudy and I always have a problem getting the filter fountain to start back up after a water change. It just keeps making sucking noises no matter how many times I tilt it like the instructions say. Do you have that problem? I am attaching a picture of my Chi tank.


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

Yeah I don't think the filter is really adequate for the tank. Occasionally I have the same problem with it starting back up. I usually just turn the power off and than lift it up and set it back down and it kicks back on and takes like a min or two before all the air bubbles are pushed through it. However I went out today and bought a Marina i25 (its a 6.6GPH filter to put in the tank in the corner). Hopefully it will help with the cloudiness. I don't know why but when I have the filter off and let it sit for 2 wks the tank is crystal clear than I turn it back on when I get back from vacation it starts to get cloudy again. No, I don't leave popeye in there with no filtration, he's got a vacation home. But I religiously have been doing 50% WC for almost 1.5 months now and checking my water parameters and nothing ever spikes or get anywhere near it. Also I have ceramic biomax balls above the filter that Hagen said I should do to create a beneficial biological colony. and I have a carbon bag in with the regular filter section. I bought a fluval edge bag and cut it open and emptied out have the carbon and saved it and put it in.

Is that a little Cory in there to clean the bottom? How does your betta get along with him? I have 3 snails an Apple, White and Tropical Blue. They clean the sides pretty darn well but the bottom of my tank sometimes looks like Poo since I have white sand. 

I ordered a Mountain waterfall ornament for the top of the Chi and it comes in Tuesday I can't wait! I am going to put a grass plant in that is semi aquatic. Also I ordered 2 24cm White waterproof LED strips that I am going to make a DIY lighting expansion since I think the lighting in the Chi w/o a well lit room is kind bad.


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## luvem (Dec 27, 2010)

Yeah, there are *two* peppered corys. Uno is playing "tag" with the other one but the picture is so big that he didn't show up. They get along fine and are fun to watch.

I used to have a beautiful yellow snail with green streaks but he didn't survive.  I was going to replace him but read somewhere in another forum that snails make a lot of pooh. Having three of them might be part of the cloudy problem....don't know.

Great idea about the mountain waterfall. I love waterfalls! When you get it, take a picture so I can see it, o.k.?


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

I don't think its the snails. I am pretty diligent about cleaning the tank. I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the filter that came with the Fluval Chi. With that marina i25 I am already seeing a little bit of a difference its clearing the tank up. Its just that the Chi has only mechanical filtration as opposed to a mechanical and chemical and biological system. I only say its my filter because I left for 2 wks to go out of town, moved popeye to another tank and turned off the filter on the chi because I feared the water lvl dropping too much and blowing the motor (which it would have) and I cam home and the tank was crystal clear. I put popeye back in and turned on the filter and 2 days later cloudy. 

Of course I'll take a picture of the tank once I get it on Tuesday! and I am going to look into a tiny cory to clean the bottom a little more!


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## luvem (Dec 27, 2010)

The corys, Mutt and Jeff, are a lot of fun to watch. They basically stay out of Uno's way. Sometimes he chases them but has never nipped. I've included a couple of pics of my Fluval Chi. :-D


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## luvem (Dec 27, 2010)

*oops*

Oops. Not the two pics I wanted. Do you know how to scale 
down the pics and text. Some of the info you gave me on 
what you did extra to your Fluval's filtration was cut off. I
am trying to stop typing before the end of the page...

















I tried cropping the pics. Let's see if that works!


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## luvem (Dec 27, 2010)

Yay!! It worked!!!


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

I just got an albino cory and a sterba's cory. The Albino is named Frosty and the Sterba's is named Pokey. I wanted an Agassizi, but nobody in town had one and I don't like ordering fish offline. Anyways Frosty is going crazy running everywhere in the tank (at the store he was on the floor and now hes up and down and up and down the walls) and Pokey is just chillin on the floor. I didn't notice till I got home with Pokey that his tail fin was nipped at but the guy at the store said he's been in the tank for over a month and he was the last one. I hope he becomes more active and moves around. 

What plants do you have in your tank? I just piked up a Kyoto grass plant for when my ornament comes in.


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## luvem (Dec 27, 2010)

The small one is artificial but the corys like to hide/rest in it. The ribbony plant is real but I don't remember it's name. I bought it at Petsmart. Their plants looked a lot better than at LFS. The round thing is real and is a moss ball; also from Petsmart. The guy said it was good for keeping algae away.


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## lostmyz (Nov 18, 2010)

FINALLY!!!!! Its clear! Went to bed it was cloudy and woke up and it was like crystal! Oh here are a few pics of the tank and of the new top piece


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## luvem (Dec 27, 2010)

Wow! What an awesome set-up. I love what you did with the top! And the water is crystal clear. Amazing..... Congrats!


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