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Thread: Cloudy-water, urgent help needed

  1. #1

    Cloudy-water, urgent help needed

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    The water in my 3 feet tank started to turn cloudy after i remove the activated carbon and put in some anti-fungus medicine. As the water condition turn worse, i then change about 70% of the water and also clean up my filter and then replace the activated carbon back to the canister. However, the condition of the water in my tank still did not improve, in fact it seem to get worse. Can somebody please help me, i am really at a lost now.
    Can you guys tell me what might be the causes of it and what should i do immediately as i am afraid that all the fishes in my tank may die soon if the condition persist. One more thing, the normally healthy growing plants also started to turn black and eventually dis-integrate.
    Please help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. #2
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    well, green water is caused by overfeeding or too much fertilizer.

    make sure your substrate isn't being disturbed causing your base fert to enter the water column.

    make sure you aren't using any ph down stuff. (phosphoric acid usually).

    don't use zeolite, its useless for planted tanks. in fact bad for planted tanks.

    the only thing inside your filter should be the bio ceramic stuff and filter pads/wool. no zeolite, no carbon.

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    btw, loupgarou ... how do you know it's greenwater? I thought greenwater means the water is greenish?

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    greenwater is cause by excessive light (natural or unnatural), excessive nutrients in the water.. one good way is UV filter, the other is blackout method... i think in yr case its the overloading of yr bio... give it sometime

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    the last (and first) time I had greenwater, I had too much lighting and also inserted ADA bacter balls (supposed to be nitrifying bateria) in the filter. Two days later, the original slightly cloudy water (its a new tank) turn green.

    Changed 50% water, no effect.

    The next day, cleaned out the filter, removed the bacter balls, did an 80% change. After that, greenwater went away, and so did the cloudiness.

    I am still not sure why.
    why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
    hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica

  6. #6
    So i guess the only thing i can do now is to wait for the water to clear up by itself then. Is there any thing i can do if it does not clear up in a few days time?

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    I do not advise putting activated carbon pads into filtrational systems. I suggest you to take out the carbon pad and put in the blue peice. Change 25% every 3-4 days it will help to clear up sooner.

    normal 3ft tank should have lighting wattage of 144 to get 3w/g.
    Dun overfeed.
    dun over fertilise
    Cheers!

    Benetay

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    benny, considering that his plants are dying so quickly there must be something seriously bad about the anti-fungus stuff.

    aqua-novice:
    I would suggest changing as close to 100% water as possible (assuming your tap water is OK, else make sure to have dechlorinator) and flushing out the filter (and yes remove the carbon). I once used an anti-algae stuff and while it didn't harm any of the fishes, the plants mostly started going down hill. So you may have to be prepared to replace all your plants.
    why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
    hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica

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    Juz to confirm,

    Your cloudy is white or green? Anyway, changing would be the best way to go. As hwchoy mentioned, it could be becos of the medication. Leave the carbon in to absorb the medication. But I wouldn't want to try changing water at very high volume. 50% would be safer but do it more often, if possible do it daily.
    Cheers!!

    Sherwin Choo
    [email protected]

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    ----------------
    On 3/31/2002 10:10:09 PM

    The water in my 3 feet tank started to turn cloudy after i remove the activated carbon and put in some anti-fungus medicine. As the water condition turn worse, i then change about 70% of the water and also clean up my filter and then replace the activated carbon back to the canister. However, the condition of the water in my tank still did not improve, in fact it seem to get worse. Can somebody please help me, i am really at a lost now.
    Can you guys tell me what might be the causes of it and what should i do immediately as i am afraid that all the fishes in my tank may die soon if the condition persist. One more thing, the normally healthy growing plants also started to turn black and eventually dis-integrate.
    Please help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    ----------------
    Hi there
    As sherchoo mentioned, i think u shld put back the activated carbon & do frequent water change of abt 50%. It'd be gd for us to know if the cloudiness is white or green.

    As for the disintegrating plants, do you know what plants are those? It may or may not be related to the cloudy water. Perhaps you can give a bit more detail of your tank's setup? Hopefully by now some of the cloudiness has gone.

    Nizz

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    ----------------
    don't use zeolite, its useless for planted tanks. in fact bad for planted tanks.

    the only thing inside your filter should be the bio ceramic stuff and filter pads/wool. no zeolite, no carbon.

    ----------------
    I didn't know zeolite was bad for planted tanks. In this case, what other alternative is there ? I'm going to set up a new tank soon and will be buying my filter next weekend. Thanks !

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    anyway, you said cloudy water. (cos got another post on green water).

    DID you wash your zeolite first?? heh.

    also, I hope you didn't use kitty litter as substrate.

    -------------------

    the only things you need in filter for a planted tank is
    bio ceramic, coarse filter pads, fine filter pad/wool

    zeolite absorbs ammonia, so unless you are cycling in the initial stage of tank setup, you don't need it and it will starve your plants. carbon i believe absorbs trace elements so your plants will also undergo some nutrient dificiency.

    some people put peat in their filters. but in my experience, the peat disintegrates and clogs up the fine filter pad really fast. so I rather use ketapang leaves or black water solutions.

  13. #13
    The water is actually more like whitish in colour and it did look like it is clearing up today. I neither feed my fish and nor switch on the lights today.
    As for the plants that i have, i am sorry to say that i really dunno their names( hehe, just started on planted tank not too long ago lah).

    Do any one have any ideas does all these anti- somethings medicine cause the water too become extremely acidic or alkaline? It seem to be burning my plants too a slow death man, and on the day i add it my water temperature seems to increase too.

    hope to get more advice from u guys soon.

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    *kabong kabong*

    ok aqua, first thing to do, take a deep breath and relax
    stop adding this or that anti anything to your tank
    when your tank ecobalance is screwed, adding more things will never make it right
    just screw it up even more

    if you can, do small frequent water changes thruout the day
    if not, a 40% water change everyday will solve your problem
    just have patience

    ok now, what's the original story?
    you mentioned your plants dying and you adding antifungus? what brand of antifungus, and why were you adding it?
    this will help us pinpoint where the problem cropped up

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    Ya, better don add any anti this and that. i don't dare to add any of that except fertiliser. i was introduced a kind of liquid fertiliser from sam yick (simei), taiwan brand... 3 types... nutri booster...fertiliser and forgotten the last one...added them ever since on first day...thankfully no problem for such a mistake... after i cleaned out my algae i don find anymore, my otos and Sae are doing their jobs. for one thing is i noticed cloudy water after 3 or 4 days after i changed my water. will it be that i am adding overdosage of fertiliser? my plants are starting to grow well. i added charcoal (carbon) in my external filter at first but took it out yesterday. the filter medium can;t do much, is it possible to add another layer of those normal aquarium filter wool and another layer of bio filter? what's the function of the biofilter in planted tanks? please advise

  16. #16
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    Well, green water is usually caused by excess nutrients in the water.

    My guess is that the activated carbon was probably getting rid of some of your excess nutrients until you removed it and the eco-balance got screwed up. The anti-fungus is probably the culprit thats killing your plants.

    What you need to do is to re-establish the eco-balance. Change out your water as suggested by DEA and reinstall the carbon as suggested by SherChoo. It should get rid of the anti-fungus. After that replant your tank, heavily if possible. Reduce the light duration to about 4 - 6 hours per day.

    Keep us updated.
    Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
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  17. #17
    The anti-fungus medicine i added was by interpret(is the spelling rite?)I added this in because of the fin-rot observed on a few of my fishes. Maybe i had added the wrong amount of the medicine, that's why the big screw up. Can any one advise me on what else can i do to treat my fishes in the future if I am not to use any of the medicine?

    By the way, should i remove the carbon in the next few days, will the ecosystem of my tank screw up again? Will the extra base fertilizer(if there is any) cause the water to be cloudy all over again. And should i remove the carbon before or after i replant my tank as i am afraid that when planting i might disturb the sand gravel and cause the base fertilizers to be release into the water.

    Hope to hear from u guys again.
    Thank you so much for the past advice, it really helps me a lot and my tank water is all clear up now, so what should i do next?

    Cheers

  18. #18
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    You may/should remove the carbon pads later. The key is not to do too much at one go. If everything is cleared, remove just the carbon, don't add medication. Let the system balance up again naturally before doing anything else. Do more frequent water change to help out filtration.
    Cheers!!

    Sherwin Choo
    [email protected]

  19. #19
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    I prefer medication by waterlife

    eg: myxaxin , octozin

    I've had very good results with them and myxaxin doesn't screw up bio filter.

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