I am stumped......my established 75g tank has become very cloudy.

barebottom tank, potted plants, 2 full size discus, 3 cardnial tetras, 6 silvertipped tetras, and two plecos.

I added plants nearly two months ago.
I started having green algae problems, but nothing too bad. Just had to clean the walls of the aquarium once a week.

now all of the sudden, the algae has disappeared - the water is very cloudy.

I do perform 50% water changes every other day.
10 hours of light - 2 qty-54w 10000K bulbs
no fertilizers
Rena XP3 canister filter and air stone

Water tested great

ph 7.4
no ammonia
no nitrites
and very low nitrates

these numbers are my norm, nothing I can test seems to have changed

Anyone have any ideas?

Have you cleaned your filter recently?

If you get a clear glass and scoop some of the water out, does it have a whiteish or greenish tint?

Bacterial bloom would be odd given your maintenance.

your ph level is too high,try to cut it down to 6-6.5.....

The cloudy water is white.

I did recently clean the filters, but I always leave one of the three foam filters a little dirty for the bacteria needed.

Perhaps I cleaned the filters to well?
If that is the case, would my water quality tests be normal like they are?

I will retest my water again tonight, and report if there any changes.

The fish seem to be very happy, actually showing off to strangers more than normal, no stress bars showing - and they are eating like normal.

I thought it was strange that all of my visable algae problems went away so quickly.



I do not want to go thru the trouble of changing my ph.
I feel my natural ph from the tap (actually a natural spring) coming out just above 7 is fine. My discus have grown from 1.5" to almost 8" wihtout any trouble.

I do receive my water from a natural underground spring that is stored in above ground water tanks, I have considered the possibilty that something may have leached into the water system. But I have run all the water tests I have available - and everything is normal as usual.

Is there any safe methods - to try and clear this cloudy haze up without harming my fish or plants?

Or should I try and let this run its course?

Hmmmm...ok...one more question. Being that you say your water is from a natural spring, check it from the tap. Is it cloudy there as well? The reason I ask that is that I'm on well water and when we get big rains, it mucks my water for a couple of days.

If the water is clear from the tap, then most likely a bacterial bloom. Your water tests will show no different when these occur.

It will run its course and will pose no threat to your fishies.

PS...I wasn't going to comment on the PH with the discs since you said it's been like for quite some time. If you're looking to breed, then you may want to consider lowering it a bit.

Have you considered adding driftwood or even almond leaves to the tank? They like blackwater as well. :o)

Kill the lights until the tank clears.


my .02

__________________
fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

Thanks for all of your input - very much appreciated

James, we did have recent rains and this may be the cause. It is hard to tell if the water if cloudy in a drinking glass - so after work I am going to fill a ten gallon tank and see what it looks like - THANKS - I do keep a lot of driftwood in the tank but have never tried almond leaves - I will be researching them now

Beaslbob- i have been cutting back the lights to 8 hours over the last couple of days -If I kill the lights for 3 or 4 days - will my plants survive? I am a newbie when it comes to plants.


Thanks again for all of your input -I will make sure and report back with results.

welcomeYes. And at that point you will have a cloudy tank with your existing lights and a clear tank with no lights. So all you have to do find the maximum lighting that will allow the tank to remain clear.

I have this come up on about 1/3 of my tanks or so. I usually stop adding food to the tank also until it clears. Then in a few days I resume with less feeding and lighting. And we will be right here awaiting your report.

Best tank ever

and as usual my .02

__________________
fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

Thanks everyone.....

I covered my tank with a blanket for 4 days and finally the bloom/cloudyness went away.

Thanks again

You're welcome and thanks for the feedback.

my .02 and:

see

wasn't that easy?

__________________
fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden