# Alright I need opinions..



## Stephen (May 6, 2011)

65g tank, Flourite substrate. 
I can understand that at first that substrate makes for a cloudy tank.
However, after approx. 2 months I am getting annoyed with this.

For the last week I have been doing 10 gallon water changes daily. 
The water I am putting in is tap water that has been sitting in buckets with a bubbler and heater. 
My next step is RO water from a water depot or something.

The water I am taking out does have a tinge of green. I can say that the tank really has never gotten worse so I am not convinced of an algae bloom.

Anyway here are a couple of pics. I have cut the light down to a single bulb. So here are pics. One pic with both bulbs on one with just the one. 
I could turn the other 2 on but until the tank grows in more I think it is too much light.



















My levels are all fine. I wouldn't be asking if that were the case. 
Any ideas? is it still the substrate? if so that stuff is coming out.

Thanks everyone.


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## gem (Oct 19, 2010)

Love your driftwood (^_^).
Where did you buy it?


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Do a large water change, even all of it.


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## Stephen (May 6, 2011)

huge water change you say. Is it okay to do more then 50%?

The drift wood is from BA. Sadly they are the only decent.. scratch that... half acceptable place around.


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## 03pilot (Oct 7, 2010)

I could be wrong but I think its the tannins leached from the driftwood turned your water brown and cloudy. It doesn't have much impact on your plants and cardinals if you do regular water change (20~30%) at least once a week. Its hard to say when it would stop but if you take out your driftwood and boil them. The wait time will be shortened.

"For the last week I have been doing 10 gallon water changes daily.
The water I am putting in is tap water that has been sitting in buckets with a bubbler and heater. My next step is RO water from a water depot or something."

50% water change is ok as long as you know what you are doing. Your water change procedure above is excellent but I find it very time consuming. You'll learn some short cut down the road. IMHO, RO water is not necessary for planted tanks unless you want total control on ferts.

btw...your tank looks great!!


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

I had a problem with fluorite dust making the water cloudy too... what filter are you running? Maybe you can try adding additional filter floss with cheesecloth to get the dust out. The dust should settle within a couple of weeks but if you keep doing water changes it might disturb the dust from the substrate. 

it took about 3 weeks for the fluorite dust to clear from one of my tanks... and it was just covering one side of the tank (1 bag). 

But that is a gorgeous setup, kudos to you for that.


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## Stephen (May 6, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I didn't think the tank would be this well received. 
I will get the tank looking more full with time. I have really tried to stick to a plan that I had worked out. I am hoping the plants on the right will show more color soon. It will balance out the look. Then hopefully my mosses from asia will survive this postal strike. 
I would really like to get it growing on the drift wood.

The big water change of about 50 percent of the water seems to have gone well today. No one seems angry at me so far.
The water I was taking out had a green tinge for sure. More then the water that was going back in. 
If it is algae I am pretty sure I just need to figure out the right mixture of light intensity and amount of co2.

I will post a picture with the new water tomorrow to see if it really changed anything.


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## default (May 28, 2011)

sounds like the dust encouraged algae growth, why the water is turning out green. if you're willing, a UV sterlizer would work you wonders. this is one of the reasons why i didnt get fluorite! very nice looking tank though.
-best of luck!


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## 03pilot (Oct 7, 2010)

LOL! Maybe I didn't calibrate my monitor properly...I can see your water look a bit greenish brown so I thought it was tannins from your driftwood. Anyway Flourite is a great substrate for plants but unfortunately it require a lot of rinsing before use. If you have at least rinsed your Flourite a few times before putting into the tank, I doubt its the Flourite cloudy up your tank after two months.

Its more likely caused by a combination of bacterial and algae bloom. Like default said, UV sterilizer can eliminate waterborne algae effectively but they are quite pricey to get and maintain. There are also chemicals you can buy to get rid of algae quickly but you must use it with caution, it may also destroy your biological filtration so it will take even longer for your tank to cycle. Bacterial Bloom will eventually disappears once your have established enough bacterial colonies to clear wastes. Green water is generally caused by too much light and overfeeding that leads to excessive nutrients and phosphates. You have already cut down your light so that's good start. Keep doing the regular water change and give it a bit more time. Soon your tank will look crystal clean and awesome .


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## iBetta (Jun 19, 2011)

I also think it's the driftwood leaching out tannins. It won't harm your fish (it actually mimics a more natural habitat) and I heard that it's a pretty good buffer against pH fluctuations. last time i forgot to pre-boil or soak my driftwood in a bucket, my piece kept leaching out for at least one month. you could add more carbon in your filter to clear it up


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## default (May 28, 2011)

wood tannins shouldnt look like that... i have a tank which is half wood and when it was tanned it just had a yellowish look to it, not cloudy. do some more water changes and try to ensure your plants can compete, having the right minerals and ferts while keeping phospates and other pro-algae elements down (if you have fish, dont overfeed or just cut back on feeding for a bit) carbon pads might take out more of the minerals your plants need then the cloudiness.
-best of luck


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

default said:


> wood tannins shouldnt look like that...
> -best of luck


Word up, my old tank was black but still clear.

Nice lookin tank buddy. Hope it clears up soon.


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## ThaChingster (Feb 25, 2011)

Your tank is reaaally nice !
But I assume that there is an abundance of green water algae
if you google it, you'll see cases similar to yours
The most effective way to remove this is to purchase a UV sterilizer
but as other members have said, it is very costly
Try putting lots of fine filter floss in your aquarium to see if it helps,
do a 50% water change and have a complete blackout in your tank for a few days then do another water change


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Well ... if it's a slight green ting, it's normal. All of my planted tanks produce green ting water when I water change. This is espscially true if you're using the EI dosing method.
The cloudyness is probably due to bacteria bloom. Flourite usually settle down after a week ... unless you're doing some thing that keeps stiring it up.
Good luck.

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