EXTREMLY CLOUDY WATER

[nuchumYussel]

HELP!!

I have a 20 Gallon Freshwater tank that is VERY cloudy. There are 12
fish in the tank. The largest being a full grown Snakskin Gourami or a
6 inch Pleco. The tank is about 10 months. I have a Penguin Bio-Wheel
125 and a Liberty Eheim filtering the tank. The water is so cloudy,
its hard to see from one end of the tank to the other. I do weekly
water changes of 25%.

The day or two after doing a water change, the water is crystal clear.
But as the days progress, the water gets cloudier. Can someone help me
get my water clear again?

Thanks for looking,
Evan Davis

[Justin Boucher]

First, is the cloudiness green or white?

Green = algae bloom. Reduce feedings (major cause of nearly everything that
goes wrong in a tank) Test your water for nitrate and perform regular water
changes as scheduled. Turn off any lights unless you have live plants (you
didn't mention any). After a period of time, the green water should
subside. The reason it's there is too many nutrients in the water with
plenty of available light. Once controlled, set a timer on the lights to
prevent them from being on too long.

White = bacterial bloom. Again, reduce feedings. The bacteria is grownig
off the nutrients in the water. Be sure to check your biological filters
and do regular maintenance on them. Light is not much of an issue here.
Large water changes will help, but you need to identify the cause first or
it will just come back. Last resort should always be medication.

Justin

"nuchumYussel" > wrote in message
om...
> HELP!!
>
> I have a 20 Gallon Freshwater tank that is VERY cloudy. There are 12
> fish in the tank. The largest being a full grown Snakskin Gourami or a
> 6 inch Pleco. The tank is about 10 months. I have a Penguin Bio-Wheel
> 125 and a Liberty Eheim filtering the tank. The water is so cloudy,
> its hard to see from one end of the tank to the other. I do weekly
> water changes of 25%.
>
> The day or two after doing a water change, the water is crystal clear.
> But as the days progress, the water gets cloudier. Can someone help me
> get my water clear again?
>
> Thanks for looking,
> Evan Davis