# foggy water



## sandman503 (Feb 10, 2009)

i did a search and have narrowed it down to atleast 2 different things.

first off, its a 55 gallon for 2RBs. the tank is well established, like over 6 years old, previously housed 2 oscars. i run 2 HOBs and a UGF on it and for the longest time only changed the water once every month to once every 6 weeks and the water had always been crystal clear. i discovered this forum a few weeks ago and realized that i probably wasnt changing my water enough. for the last 3-4 weeks ive been doing water changes once a week. just last week i decided to clean out my filters (HOBs) and do a real good water change/gravel vac. well a few days have past and the water is getting cloudy. my water params are right on and i always collect uneaten food. so do i have an algae bloom or am i going through a mini cycle? should i just not do a water change for a few weeks and see what it does?


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## Plowboy (Apr 9, 2008)

If its greenish its probably algae, but if its white then I will say bacteria bloom (mini cycle). If its white, just let the tank work on it for a bit, and it will clear up by itself in time.

Since you have 2 HOBs only change/rinse the media one at a time, and stay away from larger than 40-50% water changes. Staying below 30% water changes is even better. checking nitrates helps with getting you on the right water change schedule too.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Make sure you dechlorinate when changing the water b/c if you dont the chlorine could kill the bacteria and cause a re cycle. Also clean under the ugf to see if theres dibris buildup. I would also remove it altogether.


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## sandman503 (Feb 10, 2009)

water is always dechlorinated. i have had great luck with the UGF on this tank and will in the next 6 months be retiring the tank for something bigger so i will be leaving the UGF in untill then. in the tank the water just looks white but i drained some in to a white bucket and it defanetley has a green tint. so that means algae bloom right? is my only option to cover the tank for a week?


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

If you're params are in check it almost has to be algae. I get this once in a while too. Shut the tank lights off for a week and it should clear right up.


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## Plowboy (Apr 9, 2008)

IMO the lights off theory is just a crappy band aid. The algea thrives on too much light and too much nutients. without one or the other it will go away. Turning off the lights isn't fixing the problem at hand. The nutrients are the true culprit, so they must be taken care of.

I would start with doint 15-25% water changes every other day, cleaning the gravel, and maybe cut back the lights a couple extra hours a day just to slow the bloom. Like sean commented ditching the UGF isnt a bad idea, but giving it a good thorough cleaning will also help.

Algae will use oxygen at night during the respiration stage of photosynthesis. In really severe (like stupid severe) blooms it can deplete the water's O2 almost completely so plenty of water movement and aeration is needed during lights out.


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## sandman503 (Feb 10, 2009)

Plowboy said:


> I would start with doint 15-25% water changes every other day, cleaning the gravel, and maybe cut back the lights a couple extra hours a day just to slow the bloom.


will do, im gona do a few day black out too.


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## sandman503 (Feb 10, 2009)

alright, just did a 20% water change and we are officially blacked out. should i run air through one of the power heads? also can i peek in there with a flashlight or something once a day to check on my Ps?

thanks for the help guys, BTW when i get a bigger tank i will not be running a UGF, instead im running a DIY bucket/steralite sump.


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## Plowboy (Apr 9, 2008)

You can look with the flashlight all you want. That little bit of light is nothing on the grand scheme of things. Air from the power head doesnt do a whole lot, but it wont hurt. putting the power head towards the top will aerate more.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

lights off can get rid of it along with waterchanges. If you dont do waterchanges, the dead algae will just cause more nitiates and in turn another bloom. If you use the llights off method, you shoudl do daily water changed or at leat every other day.


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## sandman503 (Feb 10, 2009)

ok so i bought APs algae fix and 2 days later the water is crystal clear. BTW, i didnt have the patients for the black out, my tank was covered for 1 day, LOL....


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## Plowboy (Apr 9, 2008)

Good to here. Just keep up the water changes though to hopefully clean out the underlying problem that caused the bloom in the first place.


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