Hazy Water - Help!

[Scott]

I am running a 33 gallon tank with three goldfish (one red cap oranda & two
black moors). The filter is part of a 'Marineland Eclipse 3' hood, and
yesterday I added a Fluval 3+ filter to provide extra filtration. In both
filters, I have high filtration polyester 'pads' and there is a biowheel
running. There is also an airstone running.

The water has been hazy since December. I removed the gravel from the tank
in February - no improvements. I recently put the gravel back in the tank -
no change.

The haziness, is actually caused by very fine white particles. There are a
ton of them floating around. You can only see them from up close, but from
a distance you notice a slight haze in the tank (you can still see through
it). I am also running a tropical tank in the same room, and its water is
crystal clear... Both tanks are in a room without direct sunlight, but with
indirect sunlight (reflected) - there is never sun shining directly on the
tank.

I do 30% water changes once a week, the fish are all growing rapidly and are
very active. None of the fish are sick. I feed the fish ProGold goldfish
food (about 4-5 pellets per fish per day which they eat on the spot).

Here are the readings from the tank today:

PH = 7.6
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
KH Carbonate Hardness = 4 dKH or 71.6 ppm KH
GH General Hardness = 9 dKH or 161.1 ppm GH

I would like to know how to identify the cause of this problem? What could
be some reasons, and can anyone suggest what I can do to get the water back
to crystal clear?

---------
Please see the following link for an idea of how hazy the water is:
http://members.rogers.com/scottliles/hazy_water.jpg
---------


Thanks -


Scott

[Wendy Puckett]

I have a very similar hazy look in my 125 gallon cichlid tank. Nothing
I've done so far has changed it and my fish all seem healthy so far.
I've sort of resigned myself to the haze, so if anyone has suggestions
I'd be interested too. (I'm running 2 penguin 330 bio wheel filters in it)
wendy

Scott wrote:
> I am running a 33 gallon tank with three goldfish (one red cap oranda & two
> black moors). The filter is part of a 'Marineland Eclipse 3' hood, and
> yesterday I added a Fluval 3+ filter to provide extra filtration. In both
> filters, I have high filtration polyester 'pads' and there is a biowheel
> running. There is also an airstone running.
>
> The water has been hazy since December. I removed the gravel from the tank
> in February - no improvements. I recently put the gravel back in the tank -
> no change.
>
> The haziness, is actually caused by very fine white particles. There are a
> ton of them floating around. You can only see them from up close, but from
> a distance you notice a slight haze in the tank (you can still see through
> it). I am also running a tropical tank in the same room, and its water is
> crystal clear... Both tanks are in a room without direct sunlight, but with
> indirect sunlight (reflected) - there is never sun shining directly on the
> tank.
>
> I do 30% water changes once a week, the fish are all growing rapidly and are
> very active. None of the fish are sick. I feed the fish ProGold goldfish
> food (about 4-5 pellets per fish per day which they eat on the spot).
>
> Here are the readings from the tank today:
>
> PH = 7.6
> Ammonia = 0
> Nitrite = 0
> KH Carbonate Hardness = 4 dKH or 71.6 ppm KH
> GH General Hardness = 9 dKH or 161.1 ppm GH
>
> I would like to know how to identify the cause of this problem? What could
> be some reasons, and can anyone suggest what I can do to get the water back
> to crystal clear?
>
> ---------
> Please see the following link for an idea of how hazy the water is:
> http://members.rogers.com/scottliles/hazy_water.jpg
> ---------
>
>
> Thanks -
>
>
> Scott
>
>

[Geezer From The Freezer]

You didn't state what your nitrate parameters are
(i'm sure it's not that). Have you considered doing
a 30% change every two days for a week and see if that
gets rid of the "haze" for at least a while?

Also what temperature is your tank at?

[[email protected]]

it is biobugs looking for a home.
are your nitrates at or below 20 ppm?
dont clean the algae off the back and sides.
add more polyester batting. but it may take a couple weeks to do the job.
is your temp around 75o or so? Ingrid

"Scott" > wrote:

>I am running a 33 gallon tank with three goldfish (one red cap oranda & two
>black moors). The filter is part of a 'Marineland Eclipse 3' hood, and
>yesterday I added a Fluval 3+ filter to provide extra filtration. In both
>filters, I have high filtration polyester 'pads' and there is a biowheel
>running. There is also an airstone running.
>
>The water has been hazy since December. I removed the gravel from the tank
>in February - no improvements. I recently put the gravel back in the tank -
>no change.
>
>The haziness, is actually caused by very fine white particles. There are a
>ton of them floating around. You can only see them from up close, but from
>a distance you notice a slight haze in the tank (you can still see through
>it). I am also running a tropical tank in the same room, and its water is
>crystal clear... Both tanks are in a room without direct sunlight, but with
>indirect sunlight (reflected) - there is never sun shining directly on the
>tank.
>
>I do 30% water changes once a week, the fish are all growing rapidly and are
>very active. None of the fish are sick. I feed the fish ProGold goldfish
>food (about 4-5 pellets per fish per day which they eat on the spot).
>
>Here are the readings from the tank today:
>
>PH = 7.6
>Ammonia = 0
>Nitrite = 0
>KH Carbonate Hardness = 4 dKH or 71.6 ppm KH
>GH General Hardness = 9 dKH or 161.1 ppm GH
>
>I would like to know how to identify the cause of this problem? What could
>be some reasons, and can anyone suggest what I can do to get the water back
>to crystal clear?
>
>---------
>Please see the following link for an idea of how hazy the water is:
>http://members.rogers.com/scottliles/hazy_water.jpg
>---------
>
>
>Thanks -
>
>
>Scott
>



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

[AQUATIC-STORE.COM]

Try borrowing or buying a diatom filter and it will clear that up in
hours

Marcus

http://www.aquatic-store.com/

Co2 tanks on sale
Eheim PRO II 2026 $143
Co2 regulator and bubble counter with needle valve $75

WEBBOARD

http://aquatic.yupapa.com/phpbb/index.php





On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 09:37:05 -0400, Wendy Puckett
> wrote:

>I have a very similar hazy look in my 125 gallon cichlid tank. Nothing
>I've done so far has changed it and my fish all seem healthy so far.
>I've sort of resigned myself to the haze, so if anyone has suggestions
>I'd be interested too. (I'm running 2 penguin 330 bio wheel filters in it)
>wendy
>
>Scott wrote:
>> I am running a 33 gallon tank with three goldfish (one red cap oranda & two
>> black moors). The filter is part of a 'Marineland Eclipse 3' hood, and
>> yesterday I added a Fluval 3+ filter to provide extra filtration. In both
>> filters, I have high filtration polyester 'pads' and there is a biowheel
>> running. There is also an airstone running.
>>
>> The water has been hazy since December. I removed the gravel from the tank
>> in February - no improvements. I recently put the gravel back in the tank -
>> no change.
>>
>> The haziness, is actually caused by very fine white particles. There are a
>> ton of them floating around. You can only see them from up close, but from
>> a distance you notice a slight haze in the tank (you can still see through
>> it). I am also running a tropical tank in the same room, and its water is
>> crystal clear... Both tanks are in a room without direct sunlight, but with
>> indirect sunlight (reflected) - there is never sun shining directly on the
>> tank.
>>
>> I do 30% water changes once a week, the fish are all growing rapidly and are
>> very active. None of the fish are sick. I feed the fish ProGold goldfish
>> food (about 4-5 pellets per fish per day which they eat on the spot).
>>
>> Here are the readings from the tank today:
>>
>> PH = 7.6
>> Ammonia = 0
>> Nitrite = 0
>> KH Carbonate Hardness = 4 dKH or 71.6 ppm KH
>> GH General Hardness = 9 dKH or 161.1 ppm GH
>>
>> I would like to know how to identify the cause of this problem? What could
>> be some reasons, and can anyone suggest what I can do to get the water back
>> to crystal clear?
>>
>> ---------
>> Please see the following link for an idea of how hazy the water is:
>> http://members.rogers.com/scottliles/hazy_water.jpg
>> ---------
>>
>>
>> Thanks -
>>
>>
>> Scott
>>
>>

[Wendy Puckett]

Nitrates are 0ppm and temp of the tank is 74 degrees Fahrenheit. I've
tried the water change in intervals of 20% at a time every 3 days for 2
weeks and had little success. Is there a chance that it's some sort of
algae? Besides buying a diatom filter for it, is there anything else I
could try? Right now I'm using carbon in the media baskets in both of
the penguin 330s.

Thanks
Wendy

Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
> You didn't state what your nitrate parameters are
> (i'm sure it's not that). Have you considered doing
> a 30% change every two days for a week and see if that
> gets rid of the "haze" for at least a while?
>
> Also what temperature is your tank at?

[Kodiak]

I had that problem when I was using carbon inserts...
No matter how long I spent pre-rinsing them, they always cloudied up the
water.
I replaced the carbon inserts with lavarock and EHFI Substrat, and have had
no issues ever since.
....Kodiak


"Wendy Puckett" > wrote in message
...
> Nitrates are 0ppm and temp of the tank is 74 degrees Fahrenheit. I've
> tried the water change in intervals of 20% at a time every 3 days for 2
> weeks and had little success. Is there a chance that it's some sort of
> algae? Besides buying a diatom filter for it, is there anything else I
> could try? Right now I'm using carbon in the media baskets in both of
> the penguin 330s.
>
> Thanks
> Wendy
>
> Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
> > You didn't state what your nitrate parameters are
> > (i'm sure it's not that). Have you considered doing
> > a 30% change every two days for a week and see if that
> > gets rid of the "haze" for at least a while?
> >
> > Also what temperature is your tank at?
>

[Kodiak]

Hi Ingrid,
Yes, Nitrates cannot be zero...

You always mention stuffing your filters with Polyester Batting.
Could you elaborate on the type of polyester? Is this like a pair of
old ployester pants cut into pieces? Do you layer square sheets of
it purpendicular to the water flow in the filter, or do you take a bunch
of strips and scrunch them up into a ball and jam them inside the
filter above the sponge? I assume we should keep the sponge and put
the polyester on top? Do you recommend polyester over the standard
white filter floss, or lava rock and other similar media?
...Kodiak.


> wrote in message
...
> you cant have nitrates at 0 unless this is a pond outdoors. your test
kits are bad.
>
> get rid of the carbon. stuff where it was with polyester. white shifting
is
> biobugs, not algae. there has to be some kind of problem with the media
filter or
> the water for the biobugs to be out like that. rinsing filters in
untreated water
> will do it. forgetting to plug in the heat will do it. using old dechlor
will do
> it. Ingrid
>
> Wendy Puckett > wrote:
>
> >Nitrates are 0ppm and temp of the tank is 74 degrees Fahrenheit. I've
> >tried the water change in intervals of 20% at a time every 3 days for 2
> >weeks and had little success. Is there a chance that it's some sort of
> >algae? Besides buying a diatom filter for it, is there anything else I
> >could try? Right now I'm using carbon in the media baskets in both of
> >the penguin 330s.
> >
> >Thanks
> >Wendy
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
> http://puregold.aquaria.net/
> www.drsolo.com
> Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
> compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
> endorsements or recommendations I make.

[Sneaks]

Polyester batting can be found in most good pet stores...at least here in
the US.....as filter batting .....very very similar to the stuff sold at
craft and sewing stores for filling quilts and pillows......it is a white
fluffy substance like cottoncandy......
.....don't think an old leisure suit sliced up will work too well......it
would definitely be an improvement over their original use:)

Sneaks


"Kodiak" > wrote in message
.. .
> Hi Ingrid,
> Yes, Nitrates cannot be zero...
>
> You always mention stuffing your filters with Polyester Batting.
> Could you elaborate on the type of polyester? Is this like a pair of
> old ployester pants cut into pieces? Do you layer square sheets of
> it purpendicular to the water flow in the filter, or do you take a bunch
> of strips and scrunch them up into a ball and jam them inside the
> filter above the sponge? I assume we should keep the sponge and put
> the polyester on top? Do you recommend polyester over the standard
> white filter floss, or lava rock and other similar media?
> ..Kodiak.
>
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
> > you cant have nitrates at 0 unless this is a pond outdoors. your test
> kits are bad.
> >
> > get rid of the carbon. stuff where it was with polyester. white
shifting
> is
> > biobugs, not algae. there has to be some kind of problem with the media
> filter or
> > the water for the biobugs to be out like that. rinsing filters in
> untreated water
> > will do it. forgetting to plug in the heat will do it. using old
dechlor
> will do
> > it. Ingrid
> >
> > Wendy Puckett > wrote:
> >
> > >Nitrates are 0ppm and temp of the tank is 74 degrees Fahrenheit. I've
> > >tried the water change in intervals of 20% at a time every 3 days for 2
> > >weeks and had little success. Is there a chance that it's some sort of
> > >algae? Besides buying a diatom filter for it, is there anything else I
> > >could try? Right now I'm using carbon in the media baskets in both of
> > >the penguin 330s.
> > >
> > >Thanks
> > >Wendy
> >
> >
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
> > http://puregold.aquaria.net/
> > www.drsolo.com
> > Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
> > compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
> > endorsements or recommendations I make.
>
>

[[email protected]]

yup. walmart has batting, no fire retardant, no anti microbial anything. put it
before the biofilter and toss when loaded, or put it after and let it accumulate
biobugs. put in pieces so dont take em all out at once to replace them. Ingrid

"Sneaks" > wrote:
>Polyester batting can be found in most good pet stores...at least here in
>the US.....as filter batting .....very very similar to the stuff sold at
>craft and sewing stores for filling quilts and pillows......it is a white
>fluffy substance like cottoncandy......
>....don't think an old leisure suit sliced up will work too well......it
>would definitely be an improvement over their original use:)
>
>Sneaks


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

[Scott]

Ok, I had the original post (see below) and to answer "Geezer's" question I
just went out and bought two test kits - nitrate & phosphate. I was
actually quite surprised to find that:

<NEW> Nitrates = 30ppm
<NEW> Phosphates = 4.0mg/L
PH = 7.6
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
KH Carbonate Hardness = 4 dKH or 71.6 ppm KH
GH General Hardness = 9 dKH or 161.1 ppm GH

I'm not overfeeding (I fed the fish in an empty tank for 3 months, and I
know how much they eat within a couple of minutes). My water changes are
about 30% per week, but I was told by the LFS to increase the water changes
to 50% per week.

Would the nitrate or phosphate values indicate a reason for the haze / small
floating particles in the water?

Any help is appreciated!


Scott

"Scott" > wrote in message
...
> I am running a 33 gallon tank with three goldfish (one red cap oranda &
two
> black moors). The filter is part of a 'Marineland Eclipse 3' hood, and
> yesterday I added a Fluval 3+ filter to provide extra filtration. In both
> filters, I have high filtration polyester 'pads' and there is a biowheel
> running. There is also an airstone running.
>
> The water has been hazy since December. I removed the gravel from the
tank
> in February - no improvements. I recently put the gravel back in the
tank -
> no change.
>
> The haziness, is actually caused by very fine white particles. There are
a
> ton of them floating around. You can only see them from up close, but
from
> a distance you notice a slight haze in the tank (you can still see through
> it). I am also running a tropical tank in the same room, and its water is
> crystal clear... Both tanks are in a room without direct sunlight, but
with
> indirect sunlight (reflected) - there is never sun shining directly on the
> tank.
>
> I do 30% water changes once a week, the fish are all growing rapidly and
are
> very active. None of the fish are sick. I feed the fish ProGold goldfish
> food (about 4-5 pellets per fish per day which they eat on the spot).
>
> Here are the readings from the tank today:
>
> PH = 7.6
> Ammonia = 0
> Nitrite = 0
> KH Carbonate Hardness = 4 dKH or 71.6 ppm KH
> GH General Hardness = 9 dKH or 161.1 ppm GH
>
> I would like to know how to identify the cause of this problem? What
could
> be some reasons, and can anyone suggest what I can do to get the water
back
> to crystal clear?
>
> ---------
> Please see the following link for an idea of how hazy the water is:
> http://members.rogers.com/scottliles/hazy_water.jpg
> ---------
>
>
> Thanks -
>
>
> Scott
>
>

[Scott]

Thanks for the reply. The filter is about 16 months old - I do clean-out
the intake 'pipe' and the impeller weekly to remove algae (there's usually
just a small coating).

As for a list of what is in the tank:

- 33 Gallon Hagen Tank (tall version)
- Marineland Eclipse 3 Hood w/ bio-wheel + pump filter + two fluorescent
lights
- Three sponges of high-filtration polyester 'batting' in the place of the
regular Marineland carbon media filter (these sponges range from 3 months
old to 3 weeks old - I usually swirl them in the old water to remove
blockage, then put them right back in)
- Natural Coral Gravel about 1" thick (vacuumed weekly)
- One piece of driftwood (6" wide x 4" tall) - soaked for three weeks before
putting it in the tank
- One 6" airstone, installed under the driftwood

Hope this helps - see anything that raises alarm? The nitrates weren't my
major concern, but the phosphate level seemed REALLY high to me... Can
phosphates cause the hazy water?


Scott

> wrote in message
...
> 30 ppm is not enough to make that much of a difference. there is
something else
> going on ... or your filter isnt old enough yet. try changing food
> list everything that is in your tank.
> INgrid
>
> "Scott" > wrote:
>
> >Ok, I had the original post (see below) and to answer "Geezer's" question
I
> >just went out and bought two test kits - nitrate & phosphate. I was
> >actually quite surprised to find that:
> >
> ><NEW> Nitrates = 30ppm
> ><NEW> Phosphates = 4.0mg/L
> >PH = 7.6
> >Ammonia = 0
> >Nitrite = 0
> >KH Carbonate Hardness = 4 dKH or 71.6 ppm KH
> >GH General Hardness = 9 dKH or 161.1 ppm GH
> >
> >I'm not overfeeding (I fed the fish in an empty tank for 3 months, and I
> >know how much they eat within a couple of minutes). My water changes are
> >about 30% per week, but I was told by the LFS to increase the water
changes
> >to 50% per week.
> >
> >Would the nitrate or phosphate values indicate a reason for the haze /
small
> >floating particles in the water?
> >
> >Any help is appreciated!
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
> http://puregold.aquaria.net/
> www.drsolo.com
> Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
> compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
> endorsements or recommendations I make.

[[email protected]]

get the driftwood out. put the airstone on top of the gravel. dont clean algae off
of the filters or the rest of the tank except the front (and sides if you are
actually looking at the fish thru the sides).
now. the coral gravel. it may be time to move the fish to a bucket with the air
stone and pull that gravel out and rinse it well in treated water. it is possible
there is a lot of organic matter still collected in the gravel and causing the cloudy
water, especially if you didnt have this problem before.
you dont mention thermometer. a couple times I have forgotten to turn my therms on
after water changes and the tank went cloudy, after I turned em on the cloudy went
away. biobugs adapt, so this would be lower on the list of things might be a
problem. Ingrid

"Scott" > wrote:

>Thanks for the reply. The filter is about 16 months old - I do clean-out
>the intake 'pipe' and the impeller weekly to remove algae (there's usually
>just a small coating).
>
>As for a list of what is in the tank:
>
>- 33 Gallon Hagen Tank (tall version)
>- Marineland Eclipse 3 Hood w/ bio-wheel + pump filter + two fluorescent
>lights
>- Three sponges of high-filtration polyester 'batting' in the place of the
>regular Marineland carbon media filter (these sponges range from 3 months
>old to 3 weeks old - I usually swirl them in the old water to remove
>blockage, then put them right back in)
>- Natural Coral Gravel about 1" thick (vacuumed weekly)
>- One piece of driftwood (6" wide x 4" tall) - soaked for three weeks before
>putting it in the tank
>- One 6" airstone, installed under the driftwood
>
>Hope this helps - see anything that raises alarm? The nitrates weren't my
>major concern, but the phosphate level seemed REALLY high to me... Can
>phosphates cause the hazy water?
>
>
>Scott
>
> wrote in message
...
>> 30 ppm is not enough to make that much of a difference. there is
>something else
>> going on ... or your filter isnt old enough yet. try changing food
>> list everything that is in your tank.
>> INgrid
>>
>> "Scott" > wrote:
>>
>> >Ok, I had the original post (see below) and to answer "Geezer's" question
>I
>> >just went out and bought two test kits - nitrate & phosphate. I was
>> >actually quite surprised to find that:
>> >
>> ><NEW> Nitrates = 30ppm
>> ><NEW> Phosphates = 4.0mg/L
>> >PH = 7.6
>> >Ammonia = 0
>> >Nitrite = 0
>> >KH Carbonate Hardness = 4 dKH or 71.6 ppm KH
>> >GH General Hardness = 9 dKH or 161.1 ppm GH
>> >
>> >I'm not overfeeding (I fed the fish in an empty tank for 3 months, and I
>> >know how much they eat within a couple of minutes). My water changes are
>> >about 30% per week, but I was told by the LFS to increase the water
>changes
>> >to 50% per week.
>> >
>> >Would the nitrate or phosphate values indicate a reason for the haze /
>small
>> >floating particles in the water?
>> >
>> >Any help is appreciated!
>>
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
>> http://puregold.aquaria.net/
>> www.drsolo.com
>> Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
>> compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
>> endorsements or recommendations I make.
>



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

[Scott]

You have suggested removing the driftwood, putting the airstone on top and a
comprehensive cleaning of the gravel. I actually did all of this in
February and again in mid-April - nothing happened.

As for a heater, I don't have one on this tank. Is it really necessary? If
so, what temperature?

Is there anything else it could be?

Scott

> wrote in message
...
> get the driftwood out. put the airstone on top of the gravel. dont clean
algae off
> of the filters or the rest of the tank except the front (and sides if you
are
> actually looking at the fish thru the sides).
> now. the coral gravel. it may be time to move the fish to a bucket with
the air
> stone and pull that gravel out and rinse it well in treated water. it is
possible
> there is a lot of organic matter still collected in the gravel and causing
the cloudy
> water, especially if you didnt have this problem before.
> you dont mention thermometer. a couple times I have forgotten to turn my
therms on
> after water changes and the tank went cloudy, after I turned em on the
cloudy went
> away. biobugs adapt, so this would be lower on the list of things might
be a
> problem. Ingrid
>
> "Scott" > wrote:
>
> >Thanks for the reply. The filter is about 16 months old - I do clean-out
> >the intake 'pipe' and the impeller weekly to remove algae (there's
usually
> >just a small coating).
> >
> >As for a list of what is in the tank:
> >
> >- 33 Gallon Hagen Tank (tall version)
> >- Marineland Eclipse 3 Hood w/ bio-wheel + pump filter + two fluorescent
> >lights
> >- Three sponges of high-filtration polyester 'batting' in the place of
the
> >regular Marineland carbon media filter (these sponges range from 3 months
> >old to 3 weeks old - I usually swirl them in the old water to remove
> >blockage, then put them right back in)
> >- Natural Coral Gravel about 1" thick (vacuumed weekly)
> >- One piece of driftwood (6" wide x 4" tall) - soaked for three weeks
before
> >putting it in the tank
> >- One 6" airstone, installed under the driftwood
> >
> >Hope this helps - see anything that raises alarm? The nitrates weren't
my
> >major concern, but the phosphate level seemed REALLY high to me... Can
> >phosphates cause the hazy water?
> >
> >
> >Scott
> >
> > wrote in message
> ...
> >> 30 ppm is not enough to make that much of a difference. there is
> >something else
> >> going on ... or your filter isnt old enough yet. try changing food
> >> list everything that is in your tank.
> >> INgrid
> >>
> >> "Scott" > wrote:
> >>
> >> >Ok, I had the original post (see below) and to answer "Geezer's"
question
> >I
> >> >just went out and bought two test kits - nitrate & phosphate. I was
> >> >actually quite surprised to find that:
> >> >
> >> ><NEW> Nitrates = 30ppm
> >> ><NEW> Phosphates = 4.0mg/L
> >> >PH = 7.6
> >> >Ammonia = 0
> >> >Nitrite = 0
> >> >KH Carbonate Hardness = 4 dKH or 71.6 ppm KH
> >> >GH General Hardness = 9 dKH or 161.1 ppm GH
> >> >
> >> >I'm not overfeeding (I fed the fish in an empty tank for 3 months, and
I
> >> >know how much they eat within a couple of minutes). My water changes
are
> >> >about 30% per week, but I was told by the LFS to increase the water
> >changes
> >> >to 50% per week.
> >> >
> >> >Would the nitrate or phosphate values indicate a reason for the haze /
> >small
> >> >floating particles in the water?
> >> >
> >> >Any help is appreciated!
> >>
> >>
> >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >> List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
> >> http://puregold.aquaria.net/
> >> www.drsolo.com
> >> Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
> >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >> Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
> >> compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
> >> endorsements or recommendations I make.
> >
>
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
> http://puregold.aquaria.net/
> www.drsolo.com
> Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
> compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
> endorsements or recommendations I make.

[[email protected]]

temp 75oF. I have run outta ideas. Ingrid

"Scott" > wrote:

>You have suggested removing the driftwood, putting the airstone on top and a
>comprehensive cleaning of the gravel. I actually did all of this in
>February and again in mid-April - nothing happened.
>
>As for a heater, I don't have one on this tank. Is it really necessary? If
>so, what temperature?
>
>Is there anything else it could be?
>
>Scott


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

[Scott]

I fixed the problem! For five days, I covered the tank completely with
towels to keep *all* light off the water. I noticed a great improvement, so
on the third day I began also doing 50% water changes. After five 50% water
changes the water was crystal clear and has been this way for almost a week
now!

Finally - I can enjoy my fish without thinking about how hazy the water is!!

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions (Ingrid!).

Scott

> wrote in message
...
> temp 75oF. I have run outta ideas. Ingrid
>
> "Scott" > wrote:
>
> >You have suggested removing the driftwood, putting the airstone on top
and a
> >comprehensive cleaning of the gravel. I actually did all of this in
> >February and again in mid-April - nothing happened.
> >
> >As for a heater, I don't have one on this tank. Is it really necessary?
If
> >so, what temperature?
> >
> >Is there anything else it could be?
> >
> >Scott
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
> http://puregold.aquaria.net/
> www.drsolo.com
> Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
> compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
> endorsements or recommendations I make.