[zan1132]

I've got a problem, hopefully someone can help.

Specs first:
10 Gal with full hood / light
Aquaclear HOB filter
DIY C02
EI Dosing ( less than recommended )
Tank has been set up since Dec 2009

Water ( API Liquid Test )
Ammonia 0.25 or less
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
Ph 7.6 ( until recently, 6.8 )

Here's the scoop. I'm redoing the living room, did a lot of mudding and sanding. I forgot to close a door one day. Sanding dust drifted into the fish room. Keep in mind the only real opening on the aquarium hood was the HOB filter cutout, which was covered by a fan blowing air outward from the aquarium. For about a month now, my water continues to get cloudier and cloudier each day, following each water change (50% weekly).

• I've tried re-doing my DIY C02, cleaning out the bottles, and the tubing, just in case yeast muck was responsible.
• I've replaced the sponge block in my HOB filter ( but not the bio-media rocks ), thinking I had dust all stuck inside. I rinsed the bio-media in old aquarium water.
• I have a little fan that sucks hot air (from the lights under the hood) out to keep the temp down, it had dust on it, so I took it apart, cleaned everything, and put it back.
• I've cleaned the glass thoroughly in and out, and wiped every bit of dust I could find off the aquarium and the hood.

The cloudy water remains. The fish seem perfectly fine. No signs of stress. The .25 ammonia was not a problem, as my Ph was below 7, and was harmless ammonium. Now my Ph has gone up, and the .25 is more of a concern. My theory is that the drywall mud dust is raising the Ph.

I miss my crystal clear water.
Any ideas?
Am I doomed to have cloudy water forever?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Franzi]

Maybe you got bacteria bloom by cleaning everything TOO good and wiped out a bunch of the good bacteria by mistake. Or maybe something got out of whack and you got some green water. I had relentless cloudy water once which was cured by completely turning the lights off in the tank for a good three days. After turning the lights back on, everything was nice, clear, and back to normal.

 

[zan1132]

Thanks, I'll give the blackout a try.

 

[chad320]

+1 on the blackout

 

[Brownthumb07]

I had the same problem with cloudy water and a hob filter. Try cleaning everything out of the filter. It should help. If you aren't killing the source of the bloom it will keep happening over and over again.

 

[Diana]

Yes, the drywall dust can indeed raise the pH.

What is the GH and KH?

I you have not taken apart the filter then that may be a first step. Unplug it, remove it from the tank and unscrew the pump from under the filter. Clean everything and reassemble. A drop of vegetable oil on the o-rings will help it go back together easily.

Put the filter media back and add some polyester floss. This is fine enough to trap dust. (If it is still dust.)

Add some peat moss to the filter, too. This will attract certain minerals, and may help with the pH problem.

In a 10, this is such a small tank that I would take it all apart and rinse the substrate. The dust may be lodged in there. I would sure try other things, though, first.

The ammonia really needs to be 0 ppm, no trace of color indicating even a little ammonia. If there really is ammonia then the cloudiness may be related to that.

 

[zan1132]

I am currently doing the blackout, as suggested.

Before I started I did the white cup test with some tank water: Light green tint. I was rather shocked.

So, my current plan is, continue the blackout, to address the cloudiness.
Then, if that clears things up, but my ph is still raised, work on the filter.

I don't think I have as much dust as I feared, but that stuff is invasive, so more action may be needed.

Thanks for the advice.

P.S. I'll check on the KH & GH later today, and post the results.

 

[zan1132]

Gh: 12
kh: 6

 

[zan1132]

Update--

Blackout is over.
Weekly water change performed
Filter given a good clean out

Everything is crystal clear right now.

Hopefully it still is in the morning.
Then I'll check into my ammonia & ph levels.

 

[ryndisher]

Good to hear, must have been an bloom of some sort

 

[Diana]

Gh: 12
kh: 6

These are degrees, right?
And how does this compare to pre-drywall tests of the tank? That high GH does suggest some dry wall is in there, but only if it is higher than it used to be before the work was done.

 

[zan1132]

Degrees, yes.
I think the ppm conversion is something like 17.9 x the degrees.

I only have a previous kh, it was 6, pre-drywall.

 

[zan1132]

** 1st Day Post Blackout **

Ph is back to normal, 6.8
Water is still perfectly clear

The only level that appears off is ammonia, which is .25 ppm, even after my 50% water change. That is what it slowly rose to in the last month. However, since I just did an extreme cleaning of my filter, that may have triggered a mini-cycle.

I'll keep an eye on that, hopefully it drops to zero shortly.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[EntoCraig]

Its possible its your DIY Co2 system contribute to a bacteria bloom. I was using one without a bubble counter (extra bottle) The co2 produced in a DIY system will also have a humid air with sugar alcohols in them. Those alcohols are food for bacteria. simply adding another bottle onto the system half filled with water solved this issue. Normally you wont see this effect in a larger tank, but in a 10G, the sugar alcohols can accumulate quickly.

Cloud Central!

 

[zan1132]

Actually, I do have a separator bottle/counter, and always have. The benefit of doing my homework first.

However, I did clean and re-do my DIY C02 system, just in case.

But thanks for the tip.