New to Forum & Need Help

[mymiata94]

Hi,

I've been lurking and reading this forum since I set up my first Cichlid tank this past April. My first tank is a 29gl and is doing great even if its over stocked with a mix of african and south americans. I got way over confident then and decided to get another larger tank figuring since the smaller one was doing so well the larger one would be even easier. I had been told that larger is much easier to deal with than the smaller ones.

So imagine my surprise now, months later, when I am still trying to get this larger one sorted out and get rid of the cloudy water. I have tested the water religiously and at this time the water is perfect with the exception of the cloudy water. Nitrite is 0, ammonia is 0, ph is 7.6 which the fish don't seem to mind.

Here is the lowdown on my larger tank at this time. Sorry but there have been so many changes that to go through them all would take up way too much time so here it is at it stands right now.
75 gal tank
UGF
1 magnum 350 cannister
1 Via Aqua 230 Cannister (this one came with the tank)
1 Penguin 330
2 powerheads
black gravel
onyx sand (larger granuals)
12 cichlids (medium to large)
1 Pleco

The onyx sand gravel may be part of the problem, over stocking may be a major part of the problem, I don't think I have too little filtration. So if anyone can tell me why after months and months it's still cloudy, I would be very interested.

Thanks

M.

[Scotty]

Hey, Poorly rinsed gravel/sand may indeed be your problem, assuming you are properly maintaining everything. If you can afford it (around $70) a diatom filter may be the quickest solution. This doesn't run contstantly like your other filters. You put it on a few hours at a time and it will polish the sediment out of your water. The low cost method is an intense regimin of vacuuming your gravel while doing weeky 25% to 50% water changes. Test your "Nitrates" by the way. That will be a good indicator as to whether or not your problem is due to, or being aggravated by, your stocking level......Scott 8)

[mymiata94]

Thanks Scotty,

Just curious though. Is there a test for nitrates??? I have one of those all in one test kits but I don;t think I have seen a test specifically for nitrates.

The black gravel was put in originally in July. The Onyx Sand gravel was added 2 months later. I finally got frustrated, well more frustrated, about 1 months ago and decided that the UGF was what I needed. The reason being that I have one in my smaller tank and thinking since this was one major difference between the two tanks well.... I added it to this tank. When I added that it cleared up immediately. It was great..... for about 1 week and then it's back to cloudy cloudy cloudy. I have more filtration going on right now I don't think it needs another?? But one would think that if the gravel was the problem (I have been tempted several times to just start over with something new and different anyway) it would have cleaned out any residual dust in all my filters by now.

Would a new substrate help or just make it cycle all over again. Also I do water changes weekly as it is now when I also vacume the gravel.

Thanks for the help.

M.

[Scotty]

Hi- You can get a Nitrate test kit for usually less than $10. Nitrate is the end product of your biological filtration, and for the most part, is only removed by water changes. That's why it's an important test as you need to adjust your water change size/frequency to keep Nitrates in check.

You have a lot of filtration, and unless you're seriously overfeeding, I don't think your cloudiness is biological. With all that filtration and a UGF pulling water through your gravel, you might have so much current that the fine sediment from poorly rinsed sand just isn't settling out. It's probably also fine enough that your filter pads can't capture it.

Do a Nitrate test. If you are having bad enough biological problems to keep the water cloudy for months, the reading will be through the roof. If it tests within reason I still think a Diatom filter is you best bet. It can filter particles down to a few angstroms in size (microscopic). A few, one or two hour diatom sessions after water changes will hopefully do the trick.

[mymiata94]

Thanks Scotty, I will see what I can do about the Diatom and the Nitrate test.

Thanks,

M.

[Scotty]

Good Luck, and Keep us posted :D