cloudy water after water change?

[Mari]

Hi guys

I just did like a 40-45% water change (done using gravel vac) after not having done anything to the tank for about a month or so other than feeding the fishlets because I haven't had much time lately. anyhow I thought something might have been up as the fish don't seem as active as they usually are, so I knew something had to be done.

I also rinsed the filter...I have a whisper...so I simply took out the filter bag and rinsed it under water... didn't remove carbon or anything.

the trouble is after doing this my water seems to be very cloudy, and its been a couple days and it hasn't changed. The fish also seem to have continued acting the same way as before...not actively swimming, though not any other abnormal behavior...

what can I do? I have heard something about it possibly being a mini cycle or something with the bioload in the tank...what can I do if this is the case? is there any way to do anything without having to go out and buy biospira or anything of the sort?

thanks

[harif87]

First of all, although its not your fault, you should know that Bio-Spira isnt miracle medicine.........that is to say it doesnt cure all once you put it in your tank. Even if your going through with cycling your tank your not supposed to put it in right away due to the fact that it oxidizes NITRITE... it does NOTHING with AMMONIA an without nitrite it will die, so for all thoes who are begging on cycling your tank, being that its only ONE strain of bacteria, DONT count on Bio-Spira o take care of the whole cycle.....

About your problem, i think you should do frequent 25% water changes being that you havent maintained your tank in a while. If you rinsed your filter you are probably going through a mini-cycle, which is another reason i reccommend frequent water changes.

Fish react to bad water conditions in the way you mentioned, so keep an eye out. If you see what your doing is helping them out continue doing what your doing, and theyll be better in no time

By the way, even if your water conditions are fine, it normals for the water to get cloudy after a water change due to loosened substrate and/or plant sheddings and stuff like that. But who said that your case is one or the other....could be both

[Mari]

thanks for the reply

I am not cycling this tank, nor have I gone out to buy the bio-spira just yet....

I just remember someone mentioning that to a person with a similar problem not to long ago.

It has been cloudy for about 2 days now so I don't think that its the tank settling...

I will try the water changes...hopefully I can get that water cleared up.
The fish seem to be ok...they didn't change their actions before or after the water change...They are still just kind of sitting there lol. not swimming as actively as they should, particularly being the tiger barbs and gourami that they are...which Is why I began to worry in the first place...

I do have a lot of algae in the tank as I lost my pleco and haven't gotten the chance to replace him with anything...I wonder if this is playing a role?

[harif87]

Alge is actually good for a tank as it abosrbs ammonia. Its when you have the crash of an alge bloom, you will have a problem due to the fact that you dont have all that alge sucking up the ammonia as there used to be. This being the case the tank would probably go into a mini-cycle. But alge doesnt hurt fish.

[Mari]

thanks again. I got home pretty late last night so I was unable to do a water change, however this morning the tank appears a lot clearer than it was yesterday...though still just a bit cloudy. I let it be, as the problem seems to be resolving itself, however the fish are still not acting normally...any suggestions as to why this might be? should I still do those water changes, or will it do the fish more harm than good?

thanks

[Vermifugert]

I don’t have much experience with this but this my understanding. Water changes using tap / well water will introduces a lot of minerals and other components that can cause a bacterial / algae. In fact this s has been my experience. Every time I change about 10% of the water I will get a slightly milky white haze that lasts about 36 hours. The fish are otherwise happy.

You could avoid this using distilled water but I heard that this is a worse idea. Because fish can use / need a lot of those minerals and other components found in the tap / ground water.

I have found a product called “clarity” to work very well. If my water gets milky I’ll add some to the tank and it will help it clear up in a matter of a few hours.

[harif87]

That mily stuff is the maganese and calcium from your water source. These dont help the production of alge at all. They only contribute to water hardness.

[Vermifugert]

Originally Posted by harif87

That mily stuff is the maganese and calcium from your water source. These dont help the production of alge at all. They only contribute to water hardness.

well it clears up in a few hours. sadly i don't have many water options.

[Mari]

I use water right from the tap and use various brands of dechlorinator... right now I think I'm using something called start right?

it says it removes chloramines and chlorine etc....

I usually have used aqua clear and the chlorine remover from the brand aquarium pharmaceuticals before too.

Never had too much of a problem.

I am still worried about the fish though...they really should be more active than they are. They are all still eating and everything but they are not actively swimming. I don't want to lose any more fish as I have already due to various diseases... Ich, and cottonmouth to be precise. that's what I get for getting fish from petsmart, petco and overall chain stores as opposed to from the local LFS.

Currently I have only 4 tiger barbs, 1 red minor tetra, and 1 opaline gourami in a 20 gal.

I don't wish to add any more fish until all is clear and running smooth.

[railinsp]

i had the same thing happen to me when i had goldies. after a water change and cleaning filters my water got cloudy. never did get back to crstel clear. did water changes often. water test were fine. took the same tank added a heater cause i changed over to trops after i put goldies in a friends pond . I added a 9w uv sterlilizers tubo twist and my tank crsytal clear now. water test still the same . it took about 3 days to get clear

[book_em_danio]

Originally Posted by Mari

I am still worried about the fish though...they really should be more active than they are. They are all still eating and everything but they are not actively swimming. I don't want to lose any more fish as I have already due to various diseases... Ich, and cottonmouth to be precise. that's what I get for getting fish from petsmart, petco and overall chain stores as opposed to from the local LFS.

Currently I have only 4 tiger barbs, 1 red minor tetra, and 1 opaline gourami in a 20 gal.

I don't wish to add any more fish until all is clear and running smooth.

Believe it or not, many LFS's get their fish from the same source as Petsmart/Petco or even Wal-Mart.
Many stores buy from these guys...
http://www.segrestfarms.com/highband.html

My LFS doesn't buy from here, they buy from this wholesaler:
http://www.fishmartinc.com/ who supplies PA/NJ/NY/CT/MA/RI and beyond. They deliver by truck instead of UPS or FedEx. Other LFS's in the region buy from other mail order sources that are in OH. In all honesty, the delivered fish cost more, but are not necessarily better than the big box stores.
Some LFS's take great care of their fish. Others do not. I have a great marine store about 65 minutes away. He's really not into freshwater, but has some common fish as an afterthought. His freshwater tanks are as scuzzy as Wal-Mart. His marine tanks are excellent.
I wouldn't be too quick to blame the store. It can happen to anyone. My local Petco used to be wonderful. Then the aquatic manager quit and moved away. It went into the toilet. Petsmart has a OK aquatic manager locally. She rarely has staff that's more than half witted 17-20 year olds.
I know the manager of the Pet department of a Wal-Mart about 45 miles north of me. Five years ago, before that Wal-Mart was built, he managed a local pet store that had a great aquatic department. Their fish are the stock I've been breeding. They opened this Wal-Mart in 2002. His employer went under less than a year later. Needing a job, he went to the people who ruined his last job, even though I'm certain he earns less. I'd be suprised if his department wasn't one of the best run pet departments in the chain however.

[Mari]

true. I have lost fish that I can't blame on the stores too..so I am aware of how its not only their fault, and not always their fault.

When I say LFS, I mean this great store we have here that's calle "The living sea aquarium"

they have the fish in exellent condition, and there hasn't been one time that I go in there that they aren't cleaning out one tank or another. They have small sharks and sting rays there that they put on a small feeding show on weekends, and it really is the best place. They refuse to sell you a fish unless you bring in a water sample and it tests clear.

[Vermifugert]

Originally Posted by Mari

They refuse to sell you a fish unless you bring in a water sample and it tests clear.

Curius, what tests do they do?

[harif87]

Originally Posted by Vermifugert

Curius, what tests do they do?

Test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate....possibly GH and KH........But a person can just bring in a sample of dechlorinated tap water........

[Cichlid Man]

A tip for new fishkeepers:
You should never clean your filter sponges under tap water.

It will kill all the established bacteria.
Doing water changes with pure raw tap water can cause many problems. That's why I always use RO water in all of my tanks. You can't go wrong with RO water. I'll reccomend it to all fishkeepers.

[Vermifugert]

Originally Posted by Cichlid Man

A tip for new fishkeepers:
You should never clean your filter sponges under tap water.

It will kill all the established bacteria.
Doing water changes with pure raw tap water can cause many problems. That's why I always use RO water in all of my tanks. You can't go wrong with RO water. I'll reccomend it to all fishkeepers.

You know a lot of people have told me that but I continue to do it any way. My understanding is the bio-max contains a lot of the bacteria I’ll need to keep my tank healthy. I never let that near the tap water. Just the sponges that do the filtering (I’m using a fluval 304 BTW) touch the tap water. There’s also an ample amount of bacteria in the substrate, right?

I was told it would kill the bacteria or cause a mini cycle but I have yet to see this behavior. Am I setting myself up for disaster? Perhaps my bioload is low for the size of the tank / filter?

[Mari]

RO water? sorry..kind of lost with that one...

as far as what tests they do, I am not sure...they do it the chemical way though, and I am sure they wouldn't sell you a fish if you just took in a sample of dechlorinated water. I took in a sample once ( a while ago) and they refused to sell me fish until I got the nitrates(i think that was it) at a good level...

they also charge for the test...just like a dollar I think.

That's interesting about the rinsing with tap water... I have always just done it as that's how my dad used to do it when he had fish. But if Its a bad thing I won't do it. Thanks for the replies everyone

[Mari]

alrigthty... I treated the tank for columnaris after my water cleared with malachite green (some medicine I bought containing that...and it seemed to work well as the symptoms diminished (the tetra looked like it had some on its lip, and one of my barbs had a spot on his nose)

however, the instructions were to do a water change and replace the carbon in the filter as soon as 48 hours were up. I did so, and once again I have cloudy water.

I don't know where the cotton mouth came from...I haven't brought in any new fish, nor is my tank overcrowded, so I am at a bit of a loss, and am wondering where I should go from here...I was hoping to be able to get my water conditions running smoothly so I could add an algae eater, but now I get this? ugh...its kind of driving me up the wall