Hazy Water - Help!

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

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

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?

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.

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

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?

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?

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.

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.

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.