[YodelMogul]

This tank has been setup around a year and the plant growth has been really amazing. The light is on 12 hours which may be part of the issue. It is a little light on stem plants but it does have emergent plants and floaters. There are ~25 fish, 100+ neocaridina and a ton of snails. While each tank is different, i run this tank exactly the same as my other tanks and this is only one with cloudy problem. I have read all the articles and am a bit stumped.

Recently i tried reduced feeding and water changes which eventually cleared it up to some degree which I then resumed my twice daily feeding and no water changes. I assume the feeding is leading to bacterial bloom. The only real difference with this tank is the number of shrimp.

Any insights? Should i just reduce feeding? There should be plenty of shrimp/snails to clean up any leftovers…

these pics are after 10% water changes yesterday and today. I dose with flourish a couple times a month mainly for the floaters.

 

[FernKing]

Beautiful tank! Have you tried wonder shells?

 

[YodelMogul]

Beautiful tank! Have you tried wonder shells?

Thank you, it is not me the crypts are doing the heavy lifting.

No, are they similar to cuddlefish bone what do they do? I just did a search and at first glance I will say my water is very hard and contains no chlorine.

 

[johnwesley0]

Is it bacteria or just free-floating algae? The snapshots give it a greenish tinge which is exactly what I have in my filter-less breeder tank. I assume it would all but disappear with some type of "water polishing" system, but for right now, I'm fine with it:

 

[mistergreen]

Yeah, could be green water algae.

 

[YodelMogul]

Is it bacteria or just free-floating algae? The snapshots give it a greenish tinge which is exactly what I have in my filter-less breeder tank. I assume it would all but disappear with some type of "water polishing" system, but for right now, I'm fine with it:
View attachment 75888

Hadnt really considered that, the light it definitely on long enough… no indication that it is green upon inspection after water changes unless its very subtle. Ill have to do an independent check. is it possible to be just a little green and never go all the way? I have noticed varying levels of cloudiness.

also i added huge amounts of daphnia over the summer but i dont think my fish left a single survivor Lol.

 

[FernKing]

Thank you, it is not me the crypts are doing the heavy lifting.

No, are they similar to cuddlefish bone what do they do? I just did a search and at first glance I will say my water is very hard and contains no chlorine.

Wonder shells are nothing like cuddlefish bone. It’s a proprietary water clarifier and micro nutrient booster. The cloudiness could be excess food OR the type of food you are using. When I feed my tanks cucumber they get cloudy until the snails and ostrocods eat it all. Use wonder shells in 1/3 recommended dose. They supposedly clear water cloudiness. They work for me.
If you have a floating algae problem, ostrocods help my water with that. Adding more daphnia could help too.

 

[dwalstad]

Nice tank. I wouldn't do anything drastic like reducing the photoperiod below 12 hours.
Have you tried a midday siesta? Three to four hours off during the midday would you help control algae without diminishing the required 12 hour photoperiod.
I would not add Flourish unless you actually see iron deficiency in the floaters and/or they start to disintegrate. I suspect your tank has plenty of nutrients, as evidenced by the cloudiness.

 

[jdr33666]

My first thoughts on the cloudy water is to use a UV clarifier. Hadn't seen that mentioned earlier. Is that a reasonable approach?

 

[dwalstad]

My first thoughts on the cloudy water is to use a UV clarifier. Hadn't seen that mentioned earlier. Is that a reasonable approach?

Yes! And thank you for the prompt.
This is one 'gadget' that I like. It will clear green water, bacteria cloudiness, and protect newly purchased fish from disease. Compared to black-outs, reduced lighting, and chemical treatments, it has no down-side other than possibly removing iron from the water.
In this tank situation, it would certainly be a viable option.

 

[YodelMogul]

Nice tank. I wouldn't do anything drastic like reducing the photoperiod below 12 hours.
Have you tried a midday siesta? Three to four hours off during the midday would you help control algae without diminishing the required 12 hour photoperiod.
I would not add Flourish unless you actually see iron deficiency in the floaters and/or they start to disintegrate. I suspect your tank has plenty of nutrients, as evidenced by the cloudiness.

Yes i was adding flourish periodically as the floaters were disintegrating. Ive been usually adding it when i see browning/paleness. I could try a siesta. One of my lights has an adjustable intensity that im going to try first just because all my tanks are synced up on that same photoperiod.

 

[YodelMogul]

Nice tank. I wouldn't do anything drastic like reducing the photoperiod below 12 hours.
Have you tried a midday siesta? Three to four hours off during the midday would you help control algae without diminishing the required 12 hour photoperiod.
I would not add Flourish unless you actually see iron deficiency in the floaters and/or they start to disintegrate. I suspect your tank has plenty of nutrients, as evidenced by the cloudiness.

Reducing intensity hasn’t helped noticeably with this tank so I am interested to try the siesta. Reading back on one of your original posts you say you use a 5-4-5 schedule with ambient light from a nearby window. You also refer to this photoperiod as more than 12 hours and suggest I shouldn’t drop below 12. Are you counting the 14 hour period with the siesta as a 12+ hour photoperiod? To rephrase, with the plants only getting 10 hours (5+5) of light does this still count as a 12 hour photoperiod since there is no prolonged period of darkness? I have a rope light overhead that turns on before tank lights come on and off to offer a bit of adjustment for my fish so they’re not shocked which I would use during the siesta, but its nowhere near the level of light that a window would provide.

 

[dwalstad]

Reading back on one of your original posts you say you use a 5-4-5 schedule with ambient light from a nearby window. You also refer to this photoperiod as more than 12 hours and suggest I shouldn’t drop below 12. Are you counting the 14 hour period with the siesta as a 12+ hour photoperiod?

Yes. My 5-4-5 schedule is a 14 hour photoperiod. It also qualifies as a 12+ hour photoperiod.