need help with cloudy water. no substrate, just fishes (pics attached)

**Avant-Garde** · 10th Nov 2010, 23:57

hi guys, my 100 gallon tank's water is constantly cloudy. after moving house in May, the water has always been blurry. residents of the tank are blood parrots and plecos. its using a surface skimmer(on the left) kind of filtration with 3 columns of separation. then it pumps water back through the surface skimmer (i know its confusing, you can refer to the pictures). there's also a wave maker(on the right) in the tank which i have no idea what its for.

pic 1: tank with blue light
pic 2: tank with white light (there's 2 tubes of different light)
pic 3: surface skimmer
pic 4: entire filtration tank
pic 5: end of surface skimmer and filter wool

what i am presuming: lack of substrate and insufficient filter media.
want to hear from fellow bros about your views and suggestions

**koolman** · 12th Nov 2010, 00:54

My guess is that you need more media and u may consider cutting down some of the fishes. I know that blood parrots have high rate of passing motion as it will contribute in the nitrate problem in your tank.. Just my advise..

Cheers
Koolman

**Avant-Garde** · 12th Nov 2010, 01:18

Originally Posted by koolman

My guess is that you need more media and u may consider cutting down some of the fishes. I know that blood parrots have high rate of passing motion as it will contribute in the nitrate problem in your tank.. Just my advise..

Cheers
Koolman

hi koolman, so other than the filter wool, i can add something above it? i have a netted bag of ceramic rings and coral chips in pic 4. does the CR and coral chips help?

**stormhawk** · 12th Nov 2010, 02:41

You have too many fishes for that tank, and it doesn't help that they are massive waste generators. Unless you increase your bio-filtration capability or reduce the number of fish, it will not help. The wave maker is to increase water currents around the tank and this prevents dead spots from forming in the tank. However, if you feel it is unnecessary you can remove it.

**Avant-Garde** · 12th Nov 2010, 17:16

Originally Posted by stormhawk

You have too many fishes for that tank, and it doesn't help that they are massive waste generators. Unless you increase your bio-filtration capability or reduce the number of fish, it will not help. The wave maker is to increase water currents around the tank and this prevents dead spots from forming in the tank. However, if you feel it is unnecessary you can remove it.

what's the ideal number of fishes i should have in the tank? and how do i increase the bio-filtration capability? my filtration tank at the bottom actually has a lot of space for adding filter media, but don't know how to set up. i once switched off the wave maker and the water became so cloudy i could barely see the fishes.

**koolman** · 12th Nov 2010, 23:43

Hi Ts

My advise is that you keep only 10 parrots for your 100 gallon tank.. Likewise, stormhawk have mention that wave maker doesnt help in maintaining the tank.. I use wave maker to create current so that my fishes wont fight.. Hope you could have a clearer tank.. I am facing this problem too but I am thinking of adding additional trays and media for my exsisting OHF setup..

Cheers
Koolman

**Avant-Garde** · 13th Nov 2010, 01:29

hi koolman. by OHF, i'm guessing its overhead filter? is it the same as mine? i have no idea what's mine. does adding substrate help? and for the additional media, (take a look at pic 5) how can i help with that part? do i add ALOT of ceramic rings into the bottom tank?

**koolman** · 13th Nov 2010, 17:21

From the picture of your tank, your filtration should be sump tank.. Unless your sump tank are big enough or else, u will have limited space for adding media. Unlike OHF, I could add extra trays but the height will be a danger. By adding ceramic rings might not solve the red parrots massive waste generators issues.. Unless, you are prepare to do 20-30 percent of water changing daily.. It will only helps if you cut down the livestocks.. Hope that I could have help u in anyway.. I am also an newbies.. Cheers

**Avant-Garde** · 13th Nov 2010, 17:35

Originally Posted by koolman

From the picture of your tank, your filtration should be sump tank.. Unless your sump tank are big enough or else, u will have limited space for adding media. Unlike OHF, I could add extra trays but the height will be a danger. By adding ceramic rings might not solve the red parrots massive waste generators issues.. Unless, you are prepare to do 20-30 percent of water changing daily.. It will only helps if you cut down the livestocks.. Hope that I could have help u in anyway.. I am also an newbies.. Cheers

hey koolman, of course you've helped! now that i know the cause is due to too many fishes, i will have to work on the numbers. thanks!

**stormhawk** · 15th Nov 2010, 04:24

Originally Posted by Avant-Garde

what's the ideal number of fishes i should have in the tank? and how do i increase the bio-filtration capability? my filtration tank at the bottom actually has a lot of space for adding filter media, but don't know how to set up. i once switched off the wave maker and the water became so cloudy i could barely see the fishes.

To answer your question, it is best to read this thread and use the calculator made by yhbae to see what is the optimal number of fish you can keep, based on tank size and filter size:

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ank+calculator

I agree with Koolman that 10 parrots is enough for your tank size. Your filter is a sump tank system. Basically you need to increase your bio-filtration, by adding some bags of bio-filter material like Ehfisubstrat, Biohome etc. to increase your filter bacteria numbers. You must do this carefully so your water flow through the sump tank is not impeded by extra filtration material.

If you are unable to cut down on your fish numbers, do not fret. Just reduce feedings to once a day, increase your tank maintenance routine by doing water changes once or twice a week and try to siphon out as much of the fish poop as you can. Don't overfeed and hope your fish don't grow too fast. Parrots are after all cichlids and they will still show aggression to conspecifics from time to time.

There is no need to add gravel to your tank since this way, it is easier to do tank maintenance with your numbers of parrots. To make them feel happy, perhaps some nicely positioned driftwood with Java ferns or Anubias attached will be sufficient as tank decor.

**Avant-Garde** · 16th Nov 2010, 03:30

thanks stormhawk for the advice. so what i can do now is add Biohome to my sump tank? any particular type of Biohome? cause i've seen a few different types.

**stormhawk** · 16th Nov 2010, 18:54

Biohome Standard should be sufficient for your purposes, or get some bags of Eheim Ehfisubstrat. There are so many choices out there for filter media. Just take note that BioHome can get quite expensive. Judging by the trust and faith some local hobbyists put in this product, it is probably worth the money. In any case, do a search for BioHome in the forum. I know there was a thread somewhere regarding the efficiency of this filter media in reducing nitrates.

**limz_777** · 17th Nov 2010, 05:30

try to add some aeration too since your bio load is high

**Sufianjamal** · 9th Dec 2010, 00:45

Buy ocean free crystal clear
My tank was worst then yours it was almost black till I use the crystal clear
Can buy frm qian hu I buy at 6$ very effective but nix wait 1hr with filtr at highest the the thing works

**stormhawk** · 10th Dec 2010, 18:26

These products only serve to cause the fine particles to form an aggregate, which eventually gets trapped in your filter. If the problem is caused by a bloom in bacteria due to excessive bio-load and/or overfeeding, the use of such products is not desired as a fix-it solution to the issue.