# Foggy tank water, HELP PLEASE.



## Ahriman (Nov 22, 2012)

Hey guys Im needing help with my tank. Im getting the green water build up. I do regular 25% water changes every week, but Im still getting the foggy water. Im looking at UV sterilizers but I just dont have the money to buy one right now with Christmas around the corner as all my money has gone to that. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can fix this? I cant get a UV sterilizer till the new year  I dont want anything to happen to my fish. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You


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## er201 (Apr 21, 2010)

How many times are you feeding a day? Sometimes over feeding leads to bacteria bloom (cloudy water) try increasing water changes and feeding less?


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## Danw (Feb 26, 2011)

larger water changes and more of them should help.


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## Ahriman (Nov 22, 2012)

i feed once a day, at night. I feed them flakes, but I try and feed them brine shrimp instead


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## Immus21 (Jun 14, 2010)

Does the cloudiness happen quickly after a waterchange or constant? I don't know why but sometimes a day after I do a w/c on my 120G the water clouds up but then goes away the next day. If it's constantly cloudy I would up the % you change or do an extra one for a few weeks. Certain foods can cause you water to become cloudy too. What brand and types of food do you use?


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## Ahriman (Nov 22, 2012)

im feeding flakes and the brand is Nutrafin Max


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

Do a large water change in the evening. Don't feed the fish! I think you'll be surprised to see how clear the water is in the morning.


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## Ahriman (Nov 22, 2012)

would it be bad if i did a complete change on the water?


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## Immus21 (Jun 14, 2010)

Ahriman said:


> would it be bad if i did a complete change on the water?


With my tanks I would only do about 80% max water changes.


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## Ahriman (Nov 22, 2012)

oh so I can drain off 80% without any harm to losing the good bacteria?


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

The bacteria isn't in the water column. However make sure to treat your water if you are doing massive wc. In my tanks I only do around 25 to 35% and I don't bother adding Prime unless I have particularly sensitive young fish present.


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

Ahriman said:


> oh so I can drain off 80% without any harm to losing the good bacteria?


 80% is OK. Rinse the filter in the tank water.


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## Ahriman (Nov 22, 2012)

well i have ballas. angels, gouramis, in my tank so i think they are pretty hardy, they arent young either


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## Ahriman (Nov 22, 2012)

My tank went from this








to this in 2 weeks


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## hi-revs (Nov 3, 2010)

Its either an algae or bacteria bloom.

More frequent water changes should help.
SOmething like 50% every other day for a week or 2. Turn the lights off sooner. And feed less should help things clear up again very soon.


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## Jasonator (Jul 12, 2011)

Try a large water change, late in the day/night, then decrease the time the lights are on by at least half.
This is the only thing that helped me a year ago - until I got ahold of a vortex diatom filter. Running this on your 55gal for an hour or two will permanently solve your problem.
Good luck!!


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Turn the lights off and keep them off. Do a large water change after feeding, ensuring the temperature is close to what's in the tank. Use the proper amount of dechlorinator. During the change, wipe down the glass with a paper towel, algae scraper, etc. so that the debris is taken out. Do a fravel vac then also. Refrain from feeding and keep the lights off, doing a large water change every night until this clears. Then resume light feedings and turn the lights back on. How long are the lights on per day?

How many hours are those lights on a day? How big is that tank and what kind of light/watts is on that fixture? Is that a standard old stye T8 fluorescent?


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

if it was cloudy white it might be a nitrite spike. but it defiantly looks like a algae bloom.


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## Ahriman (Nov 22, 2012)

it was an algae bloom, check it out now.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

may be you can consider also cleaning up your filter media if you have not done so in a long time? I had this happened to me once and I noticed the flow rate was also very slow so I took the filter apart and the floss was all plugged with mulm and was very dirty. A lot of those dirty stuff were being pumped back inside the tank, it was disgusting.


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## Ahriman (Nov 22, 2012)

Tank is looking great guys thanks for your help


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Ahriman,
Algae blooms are common if you are not buffering your water. Our tap water conditions are ideal for this condition. If lack of buffering is the cause the algae will likely come back if not corrected. Also the duration of your lighting heavily contributes to this problem. If you are not home to enjoy the aquarium then dont have your lights on, unless you have live plants of course.


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## Vman (Jan 20, 2011)

Wouldn't hurt to have a UV sterilizer handy.ive got a good one for cheap. Check it out in the classifieds.


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