# Bacterial Bloom/ Cloudy Water



## Stiker (Mar 11, 2019)

Hello,
I am not new to fish keeping but I am new to having plants in my tanks.
So a bit of a back story. Around about 2.5 weeks ago I removed the fish from my 180G tank (filter is a 40G sump with 2 sponges I placed in there from another tank) to completely redo the tank(the tank has been set up for over 3 years). I took all of the gravel (that had been in the tank for years) out and replaced it with sand. I also removed the driftwood for a few hours in order to glue plants on it. I basically went from a tank with Festae to a Geophagus/Community set up with some plants.

However, I have noticed that the water always seems to have a slight haze to it. It is obvious when looking at the tank straight on and especially when looking from one side to another. Couuld removing the gravel of caused a mini cycle?

I have been testing my water with the JBI Combiset test kit and this is what my results seem to be:
pH: Between 6.5-7
Ammonia: <0.05 (The lowest option on the test kit)
Nitrite: 0.025
Nitrate: 5
kH: 3 dKH
Temperature: 25.2 Celcius 
Over test the past 3 days my Nitrate has consistently stay at around 5, and my Nitrite is either 0.025 or 0.05 which is why I am wondering if the tank is undergoing a mini cycle from me completely changing the substrate. Then again I may just suck at matching up the colours.

In terms of dosing fertilisers for the plants I am running the Seachem Flourish range including Flourish, Flourish Excel, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Trace, Advanced, Potassium and Iron. I am dosing it in accordance to Seachems Planted Aquarium Design Calendar. Today being on Day 3 I dosed Flourish Potassium, Excel and Iron. What I noticed was a little bit after I doesed these fertilisers I could not if at all even see through the tank, where as noramally I can even though it is a bit hazy. Could the fertilisers be causing the cloudiness? If so, what can I do about this as I cannot just not add them can I? But I am not certain this is what is causing it as I am dosing the same products in my 75G that only has 1 Amazon Sword and the water is crystal clear.
My lighting consists of 2 Freshwater Radions that I run on the planted layout with a max intensity of 25% for 7.5 hours a day. The types of plants I have in the tank are: Anubias, Anubias Nana, Java Fern and Java Moss.
On a side note does anyone know what the brownish algae growing on my anubias up the top of the tank is? I thought it was from too much light/ light instensity so i reduced the photoperiod by 30 mins and reduced the radions from 35% to 25%. In terms of Algae the other types I can see are a little bit of hair on some of the java moss and what seems to be diatom algae on the glass which I put down to it being a new system.

As for fish I am definitely on the heavier stocking side but I will be moving some on as they grow:
10 Geophagus sp. Tapajos
2 Keyhole Cichlids
4 Pseudohemiodon Lamina
7 Dianema Urostriatum
7 Brochis Splendens
30 Lemon Tetras.
I feed the fish twice a day what they can consume in a few minutes. I feed a variety including NLS Thera A, Cichlid and Algae max, Dianichi Ultima Krill, Rephashy and live blackworms. I always ensure that there is no left over food sitting in tank.

I perform water changes once a week (in accordance to Seachems Planted Aquarium Dosing Calander on Day 7). Should I increase this to get rid of the cloudiness? I have also turned my UV Steraliser back on 24 hours ago (Pondone ClearTec 36W) which doesn't seem to of fixed the problem.

Photo #1 and #2 are before adding the Fertilisers and photo #3 and #4 are around 1-1.5 hours after adding them.

I apologise for the long post I just wanted to make sure that I covered everything. And apologises for the poor pictures. Let me know if better photos are needed.

Thank you


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## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Long story short.
A large amount of our beneficial bacteria lives in the gravel and other porous materials. This is why people can completely wash their filters yet still have a safe tank.
Bacterial blooms are no threat to your fish or plants, so although it is annoying, it is safe. 
Theres a lot of stuff out there on the I internet about this but I'll through in my 2c.
The bacterial bloom has happened for a reason, the colony has been severely affected in some way that has caused them to need to multiply exponentially. My advice is simple and may not be appreciated. 
Do nothing but your normal routine. The bloom can take a while to clear, your next water change for example may make the water crystal clear and then soon be cloudy again. You need the bacteria and eventually they will simply level out.

Side note: new sand = dust as an alternate cause to cloudiness. In that case, water changes.

Hope this helps


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## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Oh also one last thing, more of an encouragement. It's a lovely tank and I think you're doing everything right. When tackling an issue like this, the mind races, try to change one thing at a time and give it time to work (or not). This hobby can be a real kick in the Houdini's at times, but you're already doing great and reacting to what your tank tells you accordingly.


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## Stiker (Mar 11, 2019)

Jamo33 said:


> Oh also one last thing, more of an encouragement. It's a lovely tank and I think you're doing everything right. When tackling an issue like this, the mind races, try to change one thing at a time and give it time to work (or not). This hobby can be a real kick in the Houdini's at times, but you're already doing great and reacting to what your tank tells you accordingly.


Thank you very much. I am trying to get it sorted 🙂 
I have done quite a bit of research but wanted to see if anyone had suggestions of other things I could do/do better. 
Do you think the fertilisers could be feeding it? I have read online that people cut the fertilisers for a few weeks to get the situation under control. 
Also, do you believe for the plants I have I need to be adding all of those fertilisers? Thank you for the advice


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## AbbeysDad (Apr 13, 2016)

It is true that in an established tank, a large amount of BB lives on and in the substrate...so removing the gravel no doubt removed alot of BB.
Sand can be very 'dusty' - actually 'fines' as in very fine sand particles. This should settle and filter out and water changes help.
As to fertilizer, the plants you have are very slow growing and don't require much in the way of ferts. If I was you I would cut way back. 
Also, I'm just not a fan of Excel. It is a form of gluteraldehyde, that in greater concentrations is used to sterilize heat sensitive medical and dental equipment. It is known to kill algae and some plants. I just don't see how this can be good for BB or FISH. 
So, just my $.02, back off on the ferts, discontinue Excel, stay on top of water changes (50-75% weekly) and TANK ON.


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## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

Yep, no plants in there that need any more than 1/4 dosage rate. Do a 50% water change and if you can add a felt filter sock to sump to polish up water. 

You should have put a few mesh bags of your old gravel in sump to keep bio filter stable during transition. 

I’d also get some Brazilian hydrocotyle and grow it as floating rafts in corners, gets all CO2 it needs from air and floats right under light. I just get piece of fish line make a lasso, hook over end of stem leaves and then hook that lasso to piece of lead plant weight crimped over tank rim. 

Will creep out over tank, throw shade for your fish in corners and scrub your water clean like crazy. Fish feel more comfortable having the floating cover to duck under as a option. You keep it tied up corners so main area of your branches/plants in center still get full light and are spotlighted. When your fish swim over into shady areas their blues and greens will pop out. Your geophagus especially will glitter when they hit shade areas.


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