cloudy water after WC

[enhanzed]

did a 30% WC change and added a few plants ...today saw that the water is very cloudy ...but flora/fauna seems to be doing fine

my tank setup

Tank : 60x30x40 (2 ft ? )
filter : eihiem 2213 classic with 300g ? biohome
flora : assorted plants including java ferns etc ( don't know the names of the plants )
fauna : 20+ cardinals , 4 otos , 5 cherries , 7 guppies
lighting : 2 x 18w dymax
temp : 26-28 celcius
No Co2
substrate : custom soil (some japanese brand i bought from sea view)

PH : 6.5 +-
GH : 60
KH : 0
Nitrile : 1
Nitrate : 20-30 ppm
Above test using API 5 in 1 test strips

Question : (1) even after WC nitrate/GH level did not drop , don't know why
(2) any cheaper version of test strips ? API test strips cost almost $1/test ( bought at C328 @ $22)
(3) where to get API tap water filter ? will those OSIM one do ?
(4) can i use PH up to increase KH ?

*sigh* i thought fish keeping supposed to be de-stressing , instead its the other way round

[taygu]

Hi,

How old is the tank at the point when you did the water change?

[dwgi32]

Hi,

One of the reason for the high nitrate could be due to the new water that you have introduced to the tank. Did you set aside the water for 24 hrs before pouring it into the tank? Even if you have completed this step, our tap water still contain a reasonable amount of nitrate so suggest that you pre-treat the water by adding some solution which you can get from LFS that reduce the nitrate level. Hope this will be helpful.

[enhanzed]

the tank is about 1 month old ...i added chlorine/chloramine remover before i added into the tank ...last time also same way but no problems .

today 2 cherries died ..sad...

[Aquaculture]

Its probably still cycling. Or did you disturb the substrate too much during WC?

Use KH up to increase the level. Alternatively, you can use coral chip but it'll also increase your ph level. I've read that would also add calcium to your water parameter which is good for the fauna.

[enhanzed]

thanks all for advise ...i suspect it could be bacteria boom ..

any help with regards to my test strip & api tap water filter query ?

[craps]

last time my tank oso cloudy after water change, didn't settle down even after a few days. then got this bacteria solution in a bottle that the fish shop auntie recommended, cleared up within a day. think it could be coz too much fine waste particles being stirred up, then kenot sink back?