So ive been having troubles with murky water. i have a farely new tank. just put 2 kennyi in it last night after having feeder guppies in the tank for a week. all my levels are normal. ph is abit high but for the fish i will be putting in the tank it will be fine. any guesses on why the water is murky? i did a 50% water change yesterday afternoon cleared it up for half a day but went back to normal. is this something that i will just have to deal with or is it changeable?

It may clear on it's own eventually, is it murky as in cloudy or murky as in green? I've been fighting a green water problem in my 29 due to sun hitting it during the day. I had to move the tank and initiate another blackout to combat it.

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

How long has the tank had fish in it?

The tank has had fish in it for about 10 day. started with 10 feeder guppies. then 2 days ago put in 2 cichlids. it is a green tinge to the water. it never gets any sunlight.

Sounds like it's just a bacteria bloom

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

What kind of lighting do you have and how long do you keep it on?

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36 Gallon Saltwater reef tank
Ocellaris Clown, Scooter Dragonet, sandsifter star, Decorator crab, emerald crab, coralline snails, blue leg hermit crab, and horseshoe crab.
Zooad's and shrooms
40 pounds of Live sand, 20 pounds of LR

Just a simple 15 wat bulb. leave it on for about 2 hours when i get home at night. also about 15 minutes in the morning when i feed them.

Is there any wood in the tank? What kinda substrate do you have?

It could be tannins leeching from wood. This makes the water kinda "murky" It's called black water.

Tannins is fancy for the brown in the wood is leaking into the tank. :D (well, not really, but it's a good visualization for me! ha)

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100 Dirt + Stuff. To be Angel baby tank.
37 Planted. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/pla...nal-20774.html
29 Tall community tank. 5+ Years up and running.
15 Soon to be RCS tank.

Gravel substrate, i do have a peice of wood i bought from the aquarium store. alli did was rinse it off an put it in place. should i have done something different.

You will have to let that wood soak in a bucket and keep changing the water until the water starts to look clear.

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36 Gallon Saltwater reef tank
Ocellaris Clown, Scooter Dragonet, sandsifter star, Decorator crab, emerald crab, coralline snails, blue leg hermit crab, and horseshoe crab.
Zooad's and shrooms
40 pounds of Live sand, 20 pounds of LR

So should i pull it out now or just let it soak in the tank and keep changing the water in the tank?

i would take it out and soak it in a bucket and while you do that you can do a water change in your tank. If your water in your tank goes murky again while the wood is out of the tank, you will be able to see if its that piece of wood causing the murky color.

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36 Gallon Saltwater reef tank
Ocellaris Clown, Scooter Dragonet, sandsifter star, Decorator crab, emerald crab, coralline snails, blue leg hermit crab, and horseshoe crab.
Zooad's and shrooms
40 pounds of Live sand, 20 pounds of LR

Ill have to do that when i get home tonight. ill keep yall posted on what happens.

kill the lights and suspend adding food until it clears.

my .02

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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

Just sounds like a cycling tank. Have you tested the water?