Ok, got a Fluvl chi 3 months ago, made the mistake of not cycling the tank( didn't know) and so my two fish died. Started again and cycled the tank, added fish after three weeks, all good and water clear until my husband topped off with untreated water and since then the water has never been clear. I have tried 25,50 and 75 percent water changes with adding the tetra aqua safe product and it makes no difference, water is clearer for a few days then gradually goes cloudy and brownish. I only have three small fish and feed every other day. What am I doing wrong here? Should I be adding other chemicals? It's really getting frustrating now.

Sounds like bacterial bloom, are you sure the tank is finished cycling? Can you test the water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

__________________
45g pentagonal
4 Swordtails, 2 dwarf Gouramis, 5 Mollies, 1 Rainbow Shark, 6 Molly fry 6 zebra danios

88 gal Malawi tank
4 Yellow labs, 1 Baenshi, 2 Borleyis, 3 Trewavas, 2 Livingstonis, 1 Venustus, 2 Green Terrors

Hello sara...

When I cycled my large tank, it took well over a month. Once cycled, it was several months before the tank conditions were stable.

The best way to guarantee stable water conditions is to follow an aggressive water change routine. That means removing and replacing a minimum of half the water in the tank every week. You must perform this change every week, or your water condtions will always be changing and this creates an unsafe environment for fish and plants. Cloudy tank water is just one of many problems that results from poor tank management.

Tank keeping is very simple. You only need to flush a lot of clean, treated water through your tank every 6 to 7 days. The stability of the tank depends on the "Waterkeeper". That's you.

B

__________________
Low Tech Water Building Keeper

There is ALWAY's more than one way to do ANYTHING... I raise Discus and breed Angel fish and do NO water changes. I will siphon off about 5% of volume each week doing substrate vacuums. I also lose about another 5% of volume due to evaporation. I do however have my tanks loaded with plants. No CO2.. just fish poo... My tanks are gin-clear. Bill in Va.

__________________
12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

I agree...also, it could be a mini cycle. Adding untreated water could have killed off some of the bacteria...

__________________
20 gallon long:Amazon Swords, Ruffle Swords, Red Flame Swords, Fanwort, Wisteria,8 Lemon tetras,
6 otos, 11 Amano shrimp, 3 mystery snails, 3 Bolivian Rams, 3 black skirt tetra and 2-3 lemon tetra fry
10 gallon: 30 lemon tetra fry, give or take...1 gallon Anubias, Fish: 1 betta

If it is a bacteria bloom, I've heard several people say that the only way to get rid of them quickly is to do daily or twice daily water changes, and take the water right off the top of the tank instead of vacuuming the substrate. I can't say I understand why this would work but it would be worth trying before you start throwing chemicals into the mix.

Your tank's cycle did not start until the first day a fish was put in there. The ammonia that fish waste provides is what starts the cycle. How long have fish been in the tank? It will take 6-8 weeks for the tank to cycle.

One thing you have to realize is that a cloudy tank is normal for a new tank. It is nicknamed new tank syndrome. If it bugs you do the water change, otherwise let it be. One day you will wake up and it will be gone. Fresh water without dechlor can kill off some of your beneficial bacteria, but it shouldn't set the tank back too much. And if you forget, you can always go back and add.

Do you have a test kit? You need to be able to test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate so you know what your tank is doing in regards to the nitrogen cycle. If ammonia or nitrite get above 1ppm, do a water change.

Kill the lights and stop adding food until the tank clears.

Add plants like anacharis to consume the waste products which are also plant nutrients.

resume with less lighting and feeding and adjust until the water stays clear (less) and the plants grow (more).

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