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Post by Jess Puff on Apr 24, 2011 10:49:32 GMT -6
Hello all,
Ever since I have switched to sand in 2 of my cichlid tanks, I have been struggling with cloudy water. My 10 gal hospital tank has had sand in it for a few months and recently I've noticed white fuzzy stuff all over the glass, ornaments, and just floating around in the water. I have tried to get rid of it by doing water changes but it just won't go away. I switched over to sand in my 40 gal cichlid tank a couple weeks ago. I purchased the live, no rinse sand from aquatic critter and I've struggled with cloudiness. Today, I just noticed some of the white fuzzy things floating around. I'm starting to get a little frustrated. Does anyone have any idea what is going on? My fish are fine but the water is just so cloudy.
Thank you in advance for any assistance,
Jess
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angel
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Post by angel on Apr 24, 2011 17:20:03 GMT -6
What sand are you using in your hospital tank? By the way, really a hospital tank is usually bare bottomed. That way you can clean it better, and when you're putting in meds, it kills any beneficial bacteria anyway. So seeding with sand from a cycled tank doesn't do much. Just more to throw into a cycle imo. Question: why did you choose live sand to put in your tank? Live sand is useful for saltwater but I've personally not heard of it being used in freshwater tanks. Anyone else?
I think I'd need to see the fuzzy stuff to have a chance to
know what it is. Any way you can get a photo?
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Post by Jess Puff on Apr 25, 2011 6:36:56 GMT -6
I bought the sand at Petsmart a while back. I have had problems with it ever since I purchased it. I had no idea a hospital tank didn't need sand/gravel. This is why I'm asking the "experts".  Aquatic critter recommended the live sand to me; however, they did tell me that it wouldn't raise the Ph and suggested I purchase a coral rock. Well, I bought a huge coral rock and rinsed it really well (b/c it was super powdery) and it has never brought the Ph up like they said. I'm not really sure what I need to do from here... I will try to take a picture of the white fuzzy stuff tonight but I'm not sure I can zoom in enough to pick it up. I'm leaning towards fungus/algae but not really sure. If I didn't have a cichlid with bloat then I would just start over with the whole tank. She is almost completely cured so I will probably just wait it out and then start over. As for my 40 gal, I don't really know what to do. The cloudiness has a green tint to it and I've read about a bacterial bloom... idk though I thought it was from the coral rock but I took it out about a week ago and it is still really cloudy. I've done several water changes and it still lingers. I cannot see from one side of the tank to the other. It's really frustrating. Thank you for your help Angel! |
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angel
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Post by angel on Apr 25, 2011 7:05:53 GMT -6
It sounds to me like you might be cycling. Can you test the water parameters? I'd especially suspect the nitrates hearing about fuzzy stuff, but that's where to start is with what's going on in the water chemistry.
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angel
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Post by angel on Apr 25, 2011 7:07:28 GMT -6
Also, it's a greenish cloudiness and not a grey milky cloudiness, right?
Green tinted cloudiness is algae bloom. No doubt about it .Grey/white is bacterial. Which will happen during the nitrate cycle. Changing the water will keep it going, and you have to ride it out generally.
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Post by Jess Puff on Apr 25, 2011 7:17:55 GMT -6
Also, it's a greenish cloudiness and not a grey milky cloudiness, right? Green tinted cloudiness is algae bloom. No doubt about it .Grey/white is bacterial. Which will happen during the nitrate cycle. Changing the water will keep it going, and you have to ride it out generally. The 40 gal tank has a green tinted cloudiness. The 10 gal hospital tank is covered in white fuzzy things. I will definitely check the water parameters tonight and report back asap. Oh, one other thing about the hospital tank, I seem to have always had a problem with green algae spots. They are hard to scrub off and keep coming back. I'm not sure if the white fuzzy stuff has anything to do with this or not. |
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angel
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Post by angel on Apr 25, 2011 8:14:46 GMT -6
Green algae needs light to live. A hospital tank doesn't need lighting. Turn the lights off, block any natural sunlight from hitting the tank and keep scraping. That's a tough algae to get off the glass. Have had it a couple of times. Aggravating.
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Post by Jess Puff on Apr 25, 2011 8:57:06 GMT -6
Green algae needs light to live. A hospital tank doesn't need lighting. Turn the lights off, block any natural sunlight from hitting the tank and keep scraping. That's a tough algae to get off the glass. Have had it a couple of times. Aggravating. Thank you for all your help! |
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angel
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Post by angel on Apr 25, 2011 9:13:44 GMT -6
Any time!
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Post by bunnie1978 on Apr 25, 2011 12:43:12 GMT -6
The green tint cloudiness is an algae bloom. Several things can be done to get rid of it, but the cause is usually an excess of minerals in the water.
I would recommend leaving the lights out for a while in the tank - like a week. That should slow it down quite a bit. You can also do large water changes to dilute it out, but try not to disturb your substrate when you do.
The white fuzzys are probably fungus. This is mega easy to deal with. Dose the tank with HP at 3 ml/gallon. So, 30ml of HP (Hydrogen Peroxide) in the 10g tank. This dosing is safe for all the fish I keep, but I don't keep Africans. You might want to remove the fish while you dose. If you leave the light on, it will dissipate and when you start to see bubbles everywhere it's safe and very healthy to put your fish back in. If you leave the lights off (better to kill stuff) it will take several hours for the HP to break down into water and oxygen.
You might have to do this a couple times over a few days time. It will kill the fungus, but not fix the problem which lead to it, which I wouldn't dream of guessing on.
Perhaps you can test your water for all the normal parameters?
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Post by Jess Puff on Apr 25, 2011 13:34:31 GMT -6
The green tint cloudiness is an algae bloom. Several things can be done to get rid of it, but the cause is usually an excess of minerals in the water. I would recommend leaving the lights out for a while in the tank - like a week. That should slow it down quite a bit. You can also do large water changes to dilute it out, but try not to disturb your substrate when you do. The white fuzzys are probably fungus. This is mega easy to deal with. Dose the tank with HP at 3 ml/gallon. So, 30ml of HP (Hydrogen Peroxide) in the 10g tank. This dosing is safe for all the fish I keep, but I don't keep Africans. You might want to remove the fish while you dose. If you leave the light on, it will dissipate and when you start to see bubbles everywhere it's safe and very healthy to put your fish back in. If you leave the lights off (better to kill stuff) it will take several hours for the HP to break down into water and oxygen. You might have to do this a couple times over a few days time. It will kill the fungus, but not fix the problem which lead to it, which I wouldn't dream of guessing on. Perhaps you can test your water for all the normal parameters? Whoa! I never would've thought to use HP. I will probably test this out in a couple of days. I have my Livingstonii in there for bloat but the treatment is almost complete. She should be better in a day or so and I will probably break the tank down and get rid of the sand and the light (since it's a hospital tank). I'm learning so many things! Thank you all so much! Hope to see you at the swap |
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Post by Jess Puff on May 2, 2011 17:54:33 GMT -6
Update on 10gal with White Fuzzy issues: So, I went ahead and completely cleaned out my 10 Gal tank with all the white fuzzy stuff and removed the sand and the filter (since it's a hospital tank). Now all I have in there is the heater and air pump (no light). And the white fuzzy stuff is back! AHHHH! I think I'm going to go crazy over this stuff. I scrubbed the tank and it's back. I can't believe it. I have attached a picture (it's hard to get the full effect) and I think you may get the idea of what I'm dealing with.  Update on 37gal with green algae bloom: It's all clear! Thank you all for your help. I kept the light off and did a couple of small water changes and also covered the tank. All three of these things did the trick! Regards, Jess |
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Post by bunnie1978 on May 2, 2011 18:03:59 GMT -6
Jess, have you sterilized the whole tank, filter included? If there is noone in there, you can do a much stronger dose of HP (leave your filter running) OR you can do bleach (some people are worried about bleach, but I use it all the time.) No telling what it is, but if it grows in the tank, than it can be killed. If you get every bit of the tank and equipment (including any hood that gets water splashed on it) completely clean and sterile, and it comes back AFTER that - that answers a couple of the questions that we can try to address.
I would treat this stuff like a disease - sterilize the heck out of the tank, and everything that comes in contact with the tank or the water that goes into the tank - python, buckets, nets. I have learned that you just can't be too safe. I'm a bit paranoid now. I've got the mini-sterilize down to an art! Let me know if you need help!
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Post by Jess Puff on May 2, 2011 18:33:29 GMT -6
Sterilization... that is next on the to-do list. Thanks again!
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Post by Jess Puff on May 4, 2011 19:31:29 GMT -6
Update and HELP:
The fish in my hospital tank is almost in full health and I was observing her this evening. While observing her, I noticed some little things that looked like very small worms (they were squirming around even out of the water). Could this be related to all the white fuzzy stuff? I have been reading up on worms in fish tanks and I don't think it is from leaving food in the tank because my Livingstonii has had bloat and I haven't been feeding her. Should I be worried about my other tanks? I noticed some fuzzies on my 37 gallon tank. Should I continue with the plan to sterilize everything (I assume so)? Should I use anything other than HP? It is just freaking me out b/c I use the same water hose to do water changes on every tank. Could this be something that will contaminate my other tanks? I would hate to have to sterilize everything!
Thank you for any and all input.
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Aquatic critter recommended the live sand to me; however, they did tell me that it wouldn't raise the Ph and suggested I purchase a coral rock. Well, I bought a huge coral rock and rinsed it really well (b/c it was super powdery) and it has never brought the Ph up like they said. I'm not really sure what I need to do from here... I will try to take a picture of the white fuzzy stuff tonight but I'm not sure I can zoom in enough to pick it up. I'm leaning towards fungus/algae but not really sure. If I didn't have a cichlid with bloat then I would just start over with the whole tank. She is almost completely cured so I will probably just wait it out and then start over. As for my 40 gal, I don't really know what to do. The cloudiness has a green tint to it and I've read about a bacterial bloom... idk though I thought it was from the coral rock but I took it out about a week ago and it is still really cloudy. I've done several water changes and it still lingers. I cannot see from one side of the tank to the other. It's really frustrating. Thank you for your help Angel!