# I Want Crystal Clear Water!



## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

I have a 32 gallon aquarium stocked with 10 tiger barbs, 4 mollies, a GBR and a pleco. Lately the water has been really murky with a sort of white tint to it. I also noticed that the plastic pieces in my aquarium such as the air pump hose and hob filter intake has a slimy feel to it. I'm not sure what that could be, maybe a sort of bacteria? I've had the aquarium setup close to a month. Could this be the ending of the nitrogen cycle? I do weekly water changes and siphon all the fish excretements whenever it builds up. 

I'm currently running an Aquaclear 70 filter with a Tetra whisper air pump hooked up to a sponge filter and a maxijet 600. 

Any tips on what to do? Because I've changed the water and everything but my water still isn't crystal clear like the way I see it at the fish stores  I guess it's just a big head and heart ache to see such murky water...


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

Did you get any cycle bacteria from anyone? 10 tiger barbs, 4 mollies, a GBR and a pleco sounds like a lot for a 1 week old tank.

I cycled my 32G with 8 Danios and then I got bored and put about 20 feeder livebearers inside.


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## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

Sorry I mean't to say 1 month 

Before putting fish into the aquarium at the start, I added some Nutrafin Cycle.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

The white stuff is bacteria. They have to be eating something, and my guess is that you're overfeeding, a very common error for beginners. Fish need a lot less food than you think. A lot of the stuff you're vacuuming off the bottom is probably rotting food.

Try feeding no more than the fish will eat in a minute or two. Step up your vacuuming and water changes, and clean your filter, too. While a little cloudiness in the water is common in new setups, slime over everything usually means an overgrowth of bacteria. Your tank should settle down and the water will clear up.


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## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

How often should I change the water? I did a 25% water change 2 days ago but the water still looks really cloudy.


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

Bio-Gold said:


> How often should I change the water? I did a 25% water change 2 days ago but the water still looks really cloudy.


You will have to change 25% every 2 days for as long as you want crystal clear water. You will have to make sure you are not over feeding. Have 2 filters on your system and clean one every week. Changing carbon and filter floss every time. Carbon will take out any tint to your water and filter floss will help polish the water. Lighting also makes a big difference.

I personally find this too much work so i have some nice low light plants in my tank (Amazon swords) and mosses and do about 35 - 50 % water changes every week. I stock lightly and feed lightly and have a cannister and sponge filter with my tank. It also takes a year before the tank is mature and clears up well. I have really noticed the clean glass with Nerite snails and limiting my light to 6 hours or less a day.


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## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

I have a sponge filter hooked up to a tetra air pump and a aquaclear 70 loaded with 3 sponge media block things. Should I swap out 2 of the sponges and replace them with carbon and filter floss? What exactly is filter floss?


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

Bae has the right idea...

Also, I would do an ammonia/nitrite test if I were you. Cloudy water is usually associated with a cycling tank, or a mini-cycle.

Did you cycle your filter properly? Have you recently increased your stock?

It doesn't take 1 year for a tank to clear up, and you certainly don't need filter floss to have clear water. As long as your tank is cycled, your stock limit stays steady, and you aren't overfeeding, your water will clear up in a couple months at the very most.

Replacing your filter media is only going to make your problem a whole lot worse. The more often you replace your filter media with new media, the more likely you are to have cloudy water and unhealthy fish. The only filter media you should ever really need to replace is carbon media... Though there's really no reason you should need carbon media.

And just to answer your question, filter floss is just really fine threaded filter material... Think sort of like a massive cotton ball (but not quite). It's basically meant to trap very very tiny particles in the water. Except IMO it's only worth using in a canister filter where the water is forced through the floss, unlike a HOB where the water's only going to flow around the floss. In a HOB you're probably better off just using a sponge filter. Good luck


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

Well if that is your setup you are running light on filtration. IMO I have a Aquaclear 70 on a 15 gallon and I think it might just be enough to filter it.

I would first go get a carbon insert for the 70 rinse before using (get all the dust out of it) it should clear up the water alot. Then go from there. Carbon insert will only last about a month then toss it. I would rinse out the sponges every 2 weeks in a bucket of tank water. I turn the filter off and rinse out the compartment with warm water cleaning the impeller if it looks gunky. Can use some filter floss your clean the insides of the intake.

Be patient thinks will clear up when everything balances out in the tank. You will need to wipe down the inside of the tank every water change. How often do you clean the inside glass? With a tank that size you should be able to get a bag of New Dish cleaning sponges at the dollar store use them for the wiping down, the ones with the handles would work good for the corners and hard to reach areas.

Filter floss is like cotton fiber you can find it in fish stores and you can put it in canister filters and it strains all the little particles out of the water. You can even buy one of those sponge inserts like the ones you have and cut it to fit over your filters intake.


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## brapbrapboom (Sep 2, 2009)

about the white slimy stuff, I have those in my nano deco filter. should I be alerted?


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## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

TBemba said:


> Well if that is your setup you are running light on filtration. IMO I have a Aquaclear 70 on a 15 gallon and I think it might just be enough to filter it.
> 
> I would first go get a carbon insert for the 70 rinse before using (get all the dust out of it) it should clear up the water alot. Then go from there. Carbon insert will only last about a month then toss it. I would rinse out the sponges every 2 weeks in a bucket of tank water. I turn the filter off and rinse out the compartment with warm water cleaning the impeller if it looks gunky. Can use some filter floss your clean the insides of the intake.
> 
> ...


Would would be an ideal filtration setup them? A canister? Would a canister filter be overkill for a 32 gallon?


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

Sounds like you are getting a bacterial bloom since your system has not yet complete the cycle. Often cloudy water doesn't appear the instant an aquarium is set up. Instead it appears days, weeks, or even months later. In these cases the cause is usually due to bacterial bloom. As the new aquarium goes through the initial break in cycle, it is not unusual for the water to become cloudy. It will take several weeks to several months to establish bacterial colonies that are able to clear wastes from the water. Over time that cloudiness will resolve itself. Don't panic over bacterial blooms. Keeping the aquarium very clean by removing debris such as uneaten food, vacuuming the gravel regularly, and performing partial water changes, will quickly resolve most cases of bacterial bloom. Also cut back feeding to every second or third day, which will cut down on excess food decay and fish wastes until the cycle is completed. For the AC70 the 3 sponges is a good idea and do not clean these sponges until the water is clear. When time to clean these sponges makesure you clean them with old fish water. IMO I would not use carbon during a nitrogen cycle.


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

Bio-Gold said:


> Would would be an ideal filtration setup them? A canister? Would a canister filter be overkill for a 32 gallon?


A Canister would be ok Eheim 2213 classic are good.

Sugerglidder on here comes to TO Sundays and you can get a real deal

His website he has everything http://www.johnsfishfood.com/canisterfilters.html


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## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

I heard that HOB filters should run at a GPH of 10x the volume of the aquarium and canisters 5x the volume. Is that true? 

Also which one would be the better buy in the long run if I plan to upgrade the 30 gallon to something like a 60 gallon and what's the main difference between the pro series and the classics? Seeing as the Eheim 2215 and 2224 price different is only a little.


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

Generally the rule of thumb is to buy a filter rated for twice the volume of your aquarium. So in your 32Gal I would run a filter rated for a 60-70gal.

This way, you get excellent filtration now, and your filter will still be usable if/when you upgrade.

It's quite difficult to over filter in most cases, unless you go and do something ridiculous that creates way more current than your fish can handle.

Your AC 70 is rated for 40-70 gallons, and it alone is fine for your aquarium. It wouldn't hurt to add another AC70, or upgrade to a canister, or maybe a canister and the AC 70, but I don't see much point causes it's not essential right now. You have plenty of filtration IMO.

With that said, the way to clear your water is to reduce waste, and to have enough bacteria established in your filter.

Your sponges will house this bacteria just fine. You don't really have to do anything to make this happen. Just be patient, test your water for ammonia/nitrites to make sure the water is suitable for your fish, make sure you don't overfeed to reduce waste, and keep on top of your water changes. The problem will resolve itself.

In the meanwhile, do read up on cycling an aquarium, and the nitrogen cycle if you haven't already, as this is basic fundamental knowledge which is absolutely necessary for successful fish keeping.

If you've already cycled your aquarium properly and know about all this, then the cause is probably overfeeding, or you've been adding fish too quickly.

You might want to consider replacing one of your sponges with a bag of biomax. This stuff is designed to maximize surface area to house the most bacteria possible. But again, I don't think it's the most important thing right now.


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

Your Aqua 70 filter is plenty big enough for a thirty-two gallon tank, over feeding will cause a bacteria bloom in your tank, I would try feeding the fish every second day for at least a week and see what happens, your tank maybe a little overstocked for a new set-up just be patient it takes time.


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## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

Thanks for all the help guys. I guess it was just a bacteria bloom and now it's all over my water is pretty damn clear now!


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## acropora1981 (Aug 21, 2010)

I use a product called Kent Pro Clear after water change in order to get it to that 'next level clear'... usually only if were having guests, or if I really want the tank to be clear within a few hours instead of the next day.


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## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

So I bought an eheim 2213 looking for that next level clear and thought I'd buy some dwarf hair grass looking like plant from big als as well and my water got cloudy again after a few hours of putting everything in! 

I'm not sure what the problem is here, is it the new filter breaking in or did the plant carry contaminents into my aquarium?


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

Did you take your old filter off when you put the eheim on?

Cause that would explain it...

Put the old filter back on ASAP and hope the bacteria hasn't died yet.

I have no idea what you're talking about with this "next level clear". My tank is either clear, or it isn't, and when it isn't, it's probably because something is wrong.

A great book you might want to pick up is the Baensch Aquarium Atlas volume 1. It's a little costly, but it's a great book. With all its fish profiles and lists of diseases you'll be using this book as a reference for years


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## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

The HOB filter is still on so I'm quite confused about what's going on. As for the book i don't think I'd need it with the infinite database of knowledge that the I
internet can provide.


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

I'd still recommend a book just because they're usually far better written than internet articles and explain things more thoroughly. But don't get me wrong, I get most of my information from the net these days, too  

As for your water...

The usual culprits come to mind... But these have already been discussed in this thread.

But since it started just after adding a new filter, I wonder if maybe your media didn't have some dust, like most substrates do, and if this is perhaps what's making your water cloudy?

I've only used seachem's biomedia, but I could imagine it getting pretty dusty if the package was shaken a lot or handled roughly. If this is the case I would imagine it would settle within 48 hours at the most, although you might want to do a few water changes to remove as much of it as you can so your fish aren't living in all the dust.

In regards to your question though... I would not worry about the plant carrying contaminants into the water. Algae and snails, and little tiny critters of the sort, probably, but not any sort of chemicals that would make your water cloud up like this.


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