Need help with my tank

[sd]

Hey guys. I need help figuring out a problem. I have a 55 gallon tank with
4 decent size piranha in it. About an inch of gravel, air hose, I replace
the filter pads about once a month or so. Problem is, the water is very
blurry or cloudy. I have tried various brands of those clear water drops,
but they just don't do anything. Can anyone tell me if I am missing
something or doing something wrong? It's gettign very frustrating to have a
large tank with nice fish but you can barely see from one end of the tank
to the other. Please tell me anything I have to do, check, or whatever to
fix this problem. Thanks in advance!

[D&M]

I know the feeling, I fought with a 90g tank for months to no end trying to
clear it. I ended buying the bottom end HOT magnum, that was the only cure.
The theory was that there was a bacteria or algae problem. When I used
floculants and floss to remove, it wasn't getting it all, and of course
algae reproduces at a tremendous rate. The HOT had the tank crystal clear in
no time, to this day, crystal clear.

Cheers


"sd" > wrote in message
. ..
> Hey guys. I need help figuring out a problem. I have a 55 gallon tank with
> 4 decent size piranha in it. About an inch of gravel, air hose, I replace
> the filter pads about once a month or so. Problem is, the water is very
> blurry or cloudy. I have tried various brands of those clear water drops,
> but they just don't do anything. Can anyone tell me if I am missing
> something or doing something wrong? It's gettign very frustrating to have
a
> large tank with nice fish but you can barely see from one end of the tank
> to the other. Please tell me anything I have to do, check, or whatever to
> fix this problem. Thanks in advance!

[Earl D Fitzgerald]

If you filter the material is a it green in nature? If it is green you have
a algae problem. If the water is cloudy white then you don't have a
problem. You have a baterial bloom that shows your tank has a health dose
of good bateria that is consuming excess nitrogen compounds. This is a good
thing. It means your tank is health.

The drops and "cures" to cloudy water only bind to the nitrogen compounds
removing the food for the bateria. The true cure is to do "nothing" for a
week or so... Allow the tank to balance out the consumption of nitrogen
compunds. Normally cloudy water happens in new tanks or tanks that have
heavy overfeeding. The fish can live w/o food for longer than you think. A
week will not harm them if they have been overfeed in the past. After the
cloudiness disapears start feeding at a much reduced amount.

Good luck!!


Fishboy

"sd" > wrote in message
. ..
> Hey guys. I need help figuring out a problem. I have a 55 gallon tank with
> 4 decent size piranha in it. About an inch of gravel, air hose, I replace
> the filter pads about once a month or so. Problem is, the water is very
> blurry or cloudy. I have tried various brands of those clear water drops,
> but they just don't do anything. Can anyone tell me if I am missing
> something or doing something wrong? It's gettign very frustrating to have
a
> large tank with nice fish but you can barely see from one end of the tank
> to the other. Please tell me anything I have to do, check, or whatever to
> fix this problem. Thanks in advance!