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Re: Really Cloudy Water
Hi,
If the cloudiness gray and not green (and that is sometimes hard to
determine), it is almost certainly due to one of two things: a bacteria bloom
brought about by excessive nutrients, or by suspended particulate.
Bacteria can be dealt with by reducing the amount of food that you add and by
keeping a scrupuously clean tank. They will die off in time.
Gray cloudiness that is caused by suspended particulates can be remedied by
rigorous mechanical filtering. Be sure that the enriched substate isn't
leaking back into the water column.
Green cloudy water is caused by suspended algae that are the result of a
light/nutrient inbalance. The best solution is to have a lot of rapidly
growing plants, maybe stem plants or floating water sprite to start. Using a
diatom filter or UV will also get rid of it, but that probably wouldn't be a
permanent solution.
BTW, number 1 sand (sandbox sized grains) is generally felt to be too fine
for aquatic plants. It packs too closely, making it hard for roots and
nutrients to penetrate.
Good luck.
Bill