# My tank is always cloudy



## snow (Apr 21, 2010)

My tank has always been cloudy. First I thought it was because of it being new and still cycling. Then I thought it was my filter and after cleaning it and doing a water change it was clear for 2 days then went right back to being cloudy. A month ago I put in black sand but it's not cloudy b/c of that. It's not the bio load either b/c I have other tank that are much more overstocked. What's a good way to always keep my water crystal clear. I know there is a tablet you drop into your tank to make it clear but does that really work? Discuss.


----------



## ibenu (Apr 21, 2010)

when you fill a white bucket with water from the tank what colour is it?

A maxijet 1200 powerhead with an aquaclear quickfilter attachment using the micro filtration cover that goes over the tube! Great thing! Will polish out fine particulate, hence my question about what colour it is in a white bucket, will help determine what the clouding is.


----------



## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

Buy lots and lots and lots of carbon! =) that should keep it crystal clear! and expensive!


----------



## snow (Apr 21, 2010)

ibenu said:


> when you fill a white bucket with water from the tank what colour is it?
> 
> A maxijet 1200 powerhead with an aquaclear quickfilter attachment using the micro filtration cover that goes over the tube! Great thing! Will polish out fine particulate, hence my question about what colour it is in a white bucket, will help determine what the clouding is.


The water is clear. So it's not from the tap.


----------



## snow (Apr 21, 2010)

eternity302 said:


> Buy lots and lots and lots of carbon! =) that should keep it crystal clear! and expensive!


Expensive I'm trying to avoid.
Thanks though.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

One question that has not been asked is how wide is the tank front to back. Once you get bigger than 18" front to back, it's a lot more work to keep a tank looking clean. My 125 gallon looks crystal clear looking from the front, but looks a bit cloudy when viewed from the side, and I'm running 3 big canisters, Purigen, and it's also heavily planted, so there's not much more I can do to make it clearer besides having no plecos in it.


----------



## snow (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> One question that has not been asked is how wide is the tank front to back. Once you get bigger than 18" front to back, it's a lot more work to keep a tank looking clean. My 125 gallon looks crystal clear looking from the front, but looks a bit cloudy when viewed from the side, and I'm running 3 big canisters, Purigen, and it's also heavily planted, so there's not much more I can do to make it clearer besides having no plecos in it.


The tank is also 18",135g. It cloudy though from all sides.


----------



## JUICE (Jan 4, 2020)

what kind of filters are you running ? i can help ya ..


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

JUICE said:


> what kind of filters are you running ?


Yes, knowing that would help.


----------



## simont (Apr 21, 2010)

maybe its just cycling still.. need more bacteria?.. carbon?... polywool?... ummm yeah i used this aqua clear fast and it clears it up and stays clear.. if that'll help thats what i use


----------



## snow (Apr 21, 2010)

JUICE said:


> what kind of filters are you running ? i can help ya ..


 2 fx5's


2wheelsx2 said:


> Yes, knowing that would help.


2 Fx5's


simont said:


> maybe its just cycling still.. need more bacteria?.. carbon?... polywool?... ummm yeah i used this aqua clear fast and it clears it up and stays clear.. if that'll help thats what i use


The tank is custom and has a ledge so HOB aquaclears don't fit. The tank has been set-up for 1year. Before that it was set-up for 2years in another spot.


----------



## hondas3000 (Apr 22, 2010)

I think what your problem is as it happen to me before too, first you need to clean your tank as it sometime make the tank look dull due to algae build up on the surface. Go buy the polish path for fx5 from J&L it works like a charm but it will clog up your filter pretty fast as it clean out your water to crystal clear. You need more mechanical filtration or use a sponge filter with strong power head it will work too but slower then polish path for fx5.


----------



## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

Seachem Purigen is really good for clearing up water and its rechargeable!

ive been using it for over a year now, Ive only had to recharge it once.

if anyone is interested, u can read about it here: http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Purigen.html


----------



## marcincan (Apr 21, 2010)

I had the same problem... I found out it was a bacteria bloom I tried everything 50% water changes changing filter media, adding more filters (it's a 80 gallon with a 404,405 and a XP2) purigen helped a bit but what really fixed it was a UV sterilzer (i bought a turbo twist 6x 25 watt for up to 250 gallons for [email protected] JL aquatics) it took 24 hours and the tank is crystal clear with the added bonus of no algae and no ick on all my scaleless fish


----------



## ibenu (Apr 21, 2010)

I took all the corse sponge out and cut poret foam to size for my fX5 reduced flow but my water is always clearer than it was before, I also have quick fliters I have not changed out in a long time and one of those giant sponge filters from april with a powerhead driving it hidden in a corner. I struggled with the non polishing ways of fx5 as well as Aquaman, sponge filters driven with powerheads large ones have helped us both out


----------



## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Another very effective method is a UV sterilizer. This will definitely work if it is bacterial or algal in nature. If it is particulates you can also try using filter socks (fine material used to polish reef tanks) from J&L and use that as a polisher in one of your FX5's.

Good Luck on a resolution.

Best Regards,

Stuart


----------



## ibenu (Apr 21, 2010)

Forgot I also have a Uv in there too 24 watt~


----------



## Victor (Apr 21, 2010)

^ i agree, try to polishing pads made for FX5s, they're cheap too. If I remember correctly, it's about 5 bucks for 3 in a box


----------



## marcincan (Apr 21, 2010)

ibenu said:


> Forgot I also have a Uv in there too 24 watt~


Ok so i am stumped... Sorry


----------



## snow (Apr 21, 2010)

Victor said:


> ^ i agree, try to polishing pads made for FX5s, they're cheap too. If I remember correctly, it's about 5 bucks for 3 in a box


Then I will go with this root.


----------



## snow (Apr 21, 2010)

CRS Fan said:


> Another very effective method is a UV sterilizer. This will definitely work if it is bacterial or algal in nature. If it is particulates you can also try using filter socks (fine material used to polish reef tanks) from J&L and use that as a polisher in one of your FX5's.
> 
> Good Luck on a resolution.
> 
> ...


I would like to invest in one of these one day. They seem very useful. Just not enough funds right now.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yes, try the fine filter pads for now and see if that helps. It's fairly cheap, so if it doesn't work it doesn't hurt the wallet much. Also if you have some filter floss (or poly batting) lying around, try putting that in one of your FX5 baskets for a week. I say a week since it'll clog up pretty quickly and reduce flow. If it works, you have your answer, and if it doesn't work, it hardly cost anything, as you can buy a huge bag for $5 at Michael's.


----------



## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

How about the water parameters? What size aquarium is it? Long term cloudiness can be for a lot of reasons but normally falls back onto water quality.


----------

