cloudy water

ok here's the thing...
set tank up 2/3 weeks ago checked water last week 0ppm ammonia nitrate and nitrite not suprising really! no fish at that point ph 7.4 or so
added a pair od swordtails all ok
added 2 adult albino corys then water started to cloud over... does anyone think it's down to the algae wafer? fed them 1 per day 2 days now
carried out 40% water change .......... water still cloudy
bearing in mind i never cleaned the filter as i don't reckon it will be mature enough to interfere with just yet like (was a brand new fluval2 when i set the tank up)
temp is 24.4 ph 7.4 every6thing else seems ok like
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forgot to add i feed 1 or 2 flakes daily for the swords as well

i wouldnt worry its looks like the filter sisnt mature enough at the moment just keep an eye on the fish and do a few water changes it will clear up
i have the same problem in my frontosa tank at the moment but its got a mature filter in it and been set up ages but it is breeding time in there so they are kicking up alot of the gravel

cheers mick
just got the worried head on as i have never used internals before either! last time i kept fish i used under gravel filtering or externals so just wasn't sure on this one like!!

its a small algal bloom Ian i have got one going
on now just going to do some small partial water changes

i prefeer ug's as well its a old school thing i think but just keep an eye on them they should be ok whats yoiu readings like now its cloudy

mine are all over mick its with the load
getting put on the filter it will sort its self
out after a few water changes and the filter settles
in again its nearly clear again its just the readings
now and water chenges do them

well mine SEEM fine but if the water keeps on going cloudy I may just be considering going back to u/g tried and tested if you can understand what I mean folks .............. what you know and trust doesn't worry or panic you when a fluctuation happens like folks
still not going to feed more than a couple of flakes (in the light to encourage the swords to take them) for a couple of days make the corys earn their keep
clean up squad can just get themselves to work!!!

i under gravel filters ian i run them for years
in most of my breeding tanks we are running one now
in a four foot cold water tank and it copes no problems
it just i want to give a planted tank ago this time and
under gravels are no good for doing planted tanks

just have to keep an eye on things and make my mind up I suppose andy
the way I feel just at the moment I still want to drop kick the fluval and wedge an u/g in there!!
old relics like me NEVER give way to new ideas without a kickback or two!!!

oh by the way mick ph is 7.4 just wait till tomorrow to get nitrate, nitrite and ammonia checked ain't got a test kit for these at the minute have to get folks to do them for me

if you need Ian i can do them for you tomorrow

It is what you feel comfortable with that works best for yourself. I came into fishkeeping when ug filters were less common so I don't use them and stick to internal and external, apart from sponge filters in my fry tanks. As for tje cloudy water just keep an eye on stats and as long as they don't creep up, water changes and time will help. Also those fluval filters can get clogged up easy so make sure the output doesn't drop otherwise your water won't be turned over very efficiently.

Glad the corys are settling well mate!

i agree fluval plus are prone to clogging i liked
the old style ones better

right folks here we go confesion time!
i have b*****d my facts up it's a fluval 1 rated for 250 ltrs/hour
air pump is 3.2 ltrs/min =181.2 ltrs/hour (i think)

ph is 7.4
biff i will put a test bottle in the car and will pm my mobile number to you after i post this as that will help no end mate
temp is 24
as per usual I'm the only one caring about the cloudy water... fish don't give a sh*t from the looks of things don't reckon anything can be that far out like
regards fluval clogging it's a new one so how do i unclog it if it has (just thinking water flow does seem slightly down on what it was unless I'm getting paranoid like)

the bottom of the filter pulls down and off then inside theres asponge just squeeze it out

squeeze the sponge in a class of old tank water ian
then put them back in that should sort it for a while
ian

With the fluval sponges if its the oblong shaped sponge just reverse it for now. Or just squeeze it in the tank as I can't imagine it of collecting much gunk up yet with such a light bioload.

hi kev
the reason i added a pump and water curtain to the setup is exactly that which you describe mate internal filters clogging up
as i have never used them before i decided to put more air into the water via this (old-fashioned) route rather than trust yon new-fangled infernal filters entirely to move the water and just at this moment feel pretty relieved that i did!
water is still cloudy but, as i said earlier, the fish don't seem affected in the slightest only bugger bothered is me!
i'll see what the water tests come up with tomorrow and go from there mate

corys settled just fine

will do the squeeze thing as well mate

I don't rate those new fluval internals. Mine keeps clogging up, so all i do is turn the sponge round and when the flow reduces again i do a water change and clean the sponge in the water i've took out of the tank.
I prefer undergravels and bubbleup box filters. I have an undergravel in the goldfish tank and it's working a treat. I did a water test on it yesterday and all the stats were spot on.

RIGHT
here we go been to biffsters today done water tests
results as follows
ammonia 0ppm
nitrate 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
ph 7.6
sample was taken just after a 50% water change so i would expect the ph to drop slightly after a day or so but i have run out of ideas now

water still cloudy just not sure but now i absolutely refuse to panic as the fluval is turning the water over no bother and the air curtain is running no problems if anything i have had to turn the flow down to reduce the amount of bubbles on the surface of the water

by the way the fluval1 has a foam that goes in the top mick the 2 and above go in from below and the 2 and above are the ones where you can get the spray bar for just my luck to pick the 1 up in a hurry on the day never mind i will cope matey

water is now getting clearer as i have resorted to the chemical route and added some api aqua clear this evening takes a few hours to work properly apparently and after 3 hours it's starting to take effect
here's hoping!!!

good at least its clearing

you could of tried some mature sponge from a friend with the same filter as i have seen this work seen a tank on someone mobile last week when i was at horns garden centre and it looked like milk worst i ever seen a tank told him to get some water from a mature tank or some mature filter media and this solved his problem