Hey guys i was wondering what could be giving my water a kinda hazy somewhat cloudy look.
My break down is 5 small fish, 2 swords, 2 guppys and a glolight in a ten gal. I have a penguin 330 hob filter, 2 lava rocks and a fake mopani log. Also have one anubius narrow leaf about 5 inches tall and 3 bulbs growing real well.
I changed out my gravel for new gravel and took the old gravel and put it in the media baskets to help keep the benificial bacteria.

Ok so i have had this for about 2 weeks and after water changes it stays about the same. My last water change, it was time to replace my filters (Rite size C). So instead of changing then out i cleaned them in the changed out tank water to get the junk of the filter. ALso i had bought some activated carbon (Aqua-tech activated carbon) and had slit the rite size filters, dumped out the old carbon inside and put the activated aqua tech inside. Now after i did that today i was reading ppl only use 1 cup for 50 gal tanks so i probably put in about half a cup total---about 25 gals worth. Also from what i read there is a debate as to whether use it at all. Another plant site i was reading was stating to not use carbon at all and just use filter floss (pillow stuffing). Is the amount of carbon i added to much for my tank? Again i can see thru the tank, it just looks hazy, not crystal clear...
Also dont know if this is any useful info but the fish seem to "peck" at the plant and rocks as if eating bacteria, but the fish are healthy and swimming nice and happily.

Edit: forgot to add that i have 26 watts total for the plants and have the lights on right now for about 10 hrs a day. Then i have my air pump off for 2 hrs after the lights go out and then on until the lights go back on in the morning so air pump is on for the remaining 12 hours.

Is your tank cycled?If not it would be bacterial and thats perfectly normal.

On the use of carbon,I do not.I have plants in every tank and not one has carbon filtration.Does it hurt?Nah I dont think so.I have read it removes tannins and I like tannins so i dont use it.I have read before it removes some of the other things plants need,but I couldnt tell you if thats true or not.

__________________
http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Hazy or cloudy water is usually the result of a bacteria bloom. It will usually go away in a few days. Canging to new gravel could have easily caused the bloom.

Ok thanks guys. I think one of my problems after some more reading and videos is i may have overfed. I usually do 2x a day around 8am and 7 or 8pm. Since i fed this morning could i wait til tomorrow night or sunday morning to feed (adjusting how i feed from this point). Also wondering would cleaning the inside glass of the tank and doing a PWC to get all (or some) of the food and junk off the floor be a waste or help get the cloudy water clean again.

Maj, so in essence could i just remove the filter and add the pillow cotton to act as a filter minus the carbon?

Hi jeff, you missed the most important question, has the tank cycled? If not this is normal. You are feeding way to much. 3 times a week is suffice.

If the tank has cycled then you have another problem, but I would say more than likely it is a bacterial bloom and it will clear in time.

If you have food waste on the substrate you need to vacuum it. It will result in algea problems. Fish like a neon tetra should eat everything in a period of 2 minutes.

ah sorry about that. I had the tank up for 2 weeks and then added fish. I would say fish have been in maybe 3 weeks. So im assuming it may be in the cycle stage?

3x a week. WOW. so i could feed monday wed and sat? wow i guess i am way overfeeding.

I started my tank and after a week and a half, added fish. Had some water hazy and swapped out the filter media with Fluval Crystal clear media and the tank has been awesome. Maybe time to swap the media. They say to swap the mesh media every 7-10 days but I'm going 2 weeks on the Fluval and it's been fine. I just clean them every week. But will change them once a month.

I would kill the lights and stop adding food for a few days and see if it 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

Joey, do you have a link to the media u use. So maybe i will look inot replacing the rite size with Fluval. Still wondering though on not putting carbon in and just using pillow cotton for a filter.

Bob, yea my game plan is
Leave the lights off say till monday.
Not feed til sunday night monday
vaccum the substrate floor of the junk and addnew water to the water removed
I will have my DIY CO2 ready and working for Mon-Tues. Should i wait to install until the water is fixed?

Ok so you are defiantly still cycling. Just take a step back for a minute. Have you got a test kit? I and most here will suggest the API master test kit. Have an accurate test kit is og high importance. You need to know what your PH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are. You will have more cloudy water until the cycle is complete. Normally around 6 weeks. Are you using a dechlorinator?? This is probably the single most important thing you need now. Chlorine from the tap water will kill fish and beneficial bacterial. You need to test every day and keep the ammonia below .50. Try and let it hover around .25 to grow the bacteria. Sorry if you know this info already, but you need to read up on the nitrogen cycle.

Good luck with it and keep us posted how thing are going.

Once cycle is complete then you can feed as recommended. Overfeeding during cycle will create too much waste aka ammonia.

Yes i do use a dechlorinator. 2 drops per gal. No i dont have a test kit. I know and have known i need one . I dont use tap water, i buy drinking water from walmart that has been RO, distilled and few other things i cant remember. I try and go tomorrow to get the kit. But im wondering and no one has said anything on it is the ployfill. If that is the filter so to speak do i need any media or just the poly to filter and thats it?

Sorry I can't help you on the filter. I use have have only used canaster filters.

Yes i do use a dechlorinator. 2 drops per gal. No i dont have a test kit. I know and have known i need one . I dont use tap water, i buy drinking water from walmart that has been RO, distilled and few other things i cant remember. I try and go tomorrow to get the kit. But im wondering and no one has said anything on it is the ployfill. If that is the filter so to speak do i need any media or just the poly to filter and thats it?

My three stage canister has "polyfill" on the bottom, carbon in the middle and bio-cube on the top. Water passes through the ploy to grab any particles that are in the water, the carbon gets the ammonia out and clears the water then the bio-cubes have beneficial bacteria on them that filter through the system. It's never a good idea to change or clean all three at once cause you'll loose all the beneficial bacteria that's grown in the tank. So I do the poly every 2 weeks, carbon once a month and bio-cube every 4 months.

Regarding feeding frequency: as has been stated, it's better to cut way back on the feeding during cycling. Once your tank is cycled, it'll be time to set up a regular feeding schedule - the frequency of feedings is much less important than the amount you feed. Feeding small amounts of food two or three times a day isn't necessarily overfeeding, but dumping in a handful once a week is. I feed my young rainbowfish three times a day - they're growing like weeds and the water is fine, but I keep the amounts of food small to make sure they get most of it. You have to kind of play it by ear and feed according to your own stock's needs. Growing fish need a lot more than three feedings per week.

Yes you could just use a piece of filter floss.The most important part is a place for your beneficial bacteria to grow on.The carbon is used to remove odors and discoloration,and honestly,if you have a healthy tank,there should be no odors to remove,and unless you have driftwood and dont like the tannins released from that,then the carbon would help with that.But also frequent waterchanges would help with that too.

__________________
http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Mopani wood is famous for discoloring water. Did you boil it for a while to pull the tannins out? If not, you might consider removing it and boiling it for an hour over a few days.

No no the mopani is a fake. it is just a resin or whatever to look like it. I liked the look of the wood and since i didnt find any real stuff i got a fake resin one.
Well started today no lights, no food, i took out the filter with the carbon inside and bought some polyfill batting. I i layered the batting twice for each side of the filter. I removed the old carbon and filter (blue) and wrapped the polyfill behind it ( did this at 8am.) I will do a 2.5 gal water change tonight.