# cloudy water on established tank



## skins4431 (Jul 20, 2011)

My tank has been running for a couple years now and all my reading are normal kh: 180 ppm, gh: 180 ppm, nitrites 0 ppm, nitrates 40ppm, and pH is at 8.0 but my water is cloudy. I've tried to read up on all the causes but only thing that I can come up with is my sand which I put in there a few months ago is still causing it to be cloudy.I used CaribSea Aragonite. any thoughts would be helpful.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Anything else changed? When did it start getting cloudy and did something happen around that time? Did you remove any filters and clean? Did you add more fish or start feeding more? What about the lights? Is the water white or green tint to it?

Could be many different things and yes it could be the aragonite. What are the reading out of the tap?


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## skins4431 (Jul 20, 2011)

It started after I put the new aragonite in. I have put two new filters on but kept the existing media that was in the old filters in the new filters. I run an ac 50 which I put on in april and ac 70 i put on yesterday. i have a 29 breeder. I haven't add any fish to the tank and the light is what ever came with the tank when I got it 10 plus years ago. I want to get led but everything cost money. The water has a white tint to it. My tap water reads gh: 30ppm.. kh: 0ppm... ph : 7.0 nirites and nitrates 0 ppm.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

You should be getting nitrate readings. What are your ammonia and nitrite levels? It could either be a bacteria bloom or be because of the new substrate. Do your fish dig around in it stirring it up? You can always pull it back out and rinse really well or pull it out all together and add new substrate and put the aragonite inside the filters to help buffer if that is what you choose.


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## skins4431 (Jul 20, 2011)

I did think that was weird i didn't get any reading. I'm not sure I don't have an ammonia test kit. 
Nitrites are 0.. I don't think its a bloom due to how long its been like it. My fish do dig all the time. I have tried to stir up the sand and get all the dust or whatever it is out with water changes. I do like how the aragonite buffers the water but the sugar fined sand blows all over the place. So I might just siphon it out of the tank and then rinse it out again but that's a lot of work lol.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

skins4431 said:


> I did think that was weird i didn't get any reading. I'm not sure I don't have an ammonia test kit.
> Nitrites are 0.. I don't think its a bloom due to how long its been like it. My fish do dig all the time. I have tried to stir up the sand and get all the dust or whatever it is out with water changes. I do like how the aragonite buffers the water but the sugar fined sand blows all over the place. So I might just siphon it out of the tank and then rinse it out again but that's a lot of work lol.


True but you will be much happier if you do it rather than waiting on it to clear on its own which can take some time.


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## skins4431 (Jul 20, 2011)

Yeah true.. it drives me nuts looking at these crystal clear tanks then at mine. Thanks for your advice


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

skins4431 said:


> Yeah true.. it drives me nuts looking at these crystal clear tanks then at mine. Thanks for your advice


Sure...


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## skins4431 (Jul 20, 2011)

well 5 hours later of dumping water and siphoning out bucket after bucket i finally got the sand clean.
if i had to do it again i would just go ahead and take the sand out but it was the sand for sure. 
the water is crystal clear now


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

:thumb:


skins4431 said:


> well 5 hours later of dumping water and siphoning out bucket after bucket i finally got the sand clean.
> if i had to do it again i would just go ahead and take the sand out but it was the sand for sure.
> the water is crystal clear now


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## Mike_G (Nov 8, 2011)

I'd use a layer of poly batting (aka "floss") in the AC70 for finer mechanical filtration.


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## live bait (Mar 2, 2007)

Mike_G said:


> I'd use a layer of poly batting (aka "floss") in the AC70 for finer mechanical filtration.


This is the ticket. I also use Carib-Sea "Super Reef" Aragonite on my newly established 55, which I had cloudy water issues when I first set it up. I use floss in the bottom chamber of one of the Fluval canisters, and it works like a charm.


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## skins4431 (Jul 20, 2011)

Is marineland uncut blue bonded filter pads the same thing? I just started using this in both of my ac filters.
They seem to work pretty good.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

skins4431 said:


> Is marineland uncut blue bonded filter pads the same thing? I just started using this in both of my ac filters.
> They seem to work pretty good.


I use this in my canister filters. It works quite well. It is not however as fine a mesh to polish quite as good as filter floss or polyfil but will still do a good job. I used this in my AC110 as well. White side facing up in the AC filters.


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## skins4431 (Jul 20, 2011)

O ok I also have cut up a Rena FilStar XP MicroFiltration+ filter pad and use that right after the foam insert and before the blue pad then I have the Bio media on top of that. I'm pretty sure the micro filtration pad is finer than the blue pad but I'm not sure


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

skins4431 said:


> O ok I also have cut up a Rena FilStar XP MicroFiltration+ filter pad and use that right after the foam insert and before the blue pad then I have the Bio media on top of that. I'm pretty sure the micro filtration pad is finer than the blue pad but I'm not sure


You can run water through it to see how porous it is. It sounds as though it is more fine a mesh with the name micro but can't say for sure.


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## skins4431 (Jul 20, 2011)

I'll have to do that when I clean my tank this weekend. If it is finer it should be on top of the blue pad.. correct?


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## Mike_G (Nov 8, 2011)

I run the fine pad after the coarse one


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## skins4431 (Jul 20, 2011)

Ok that's what I thought but I figure I better ask.


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