Comments on: Does aquarium glass “go bad”…always cloudy? http://www.aleslombergar.com/forum/does-aquarium-glass-go-badalways-cloudy/ The beauty of acid etched glass Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:27:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: MazMaz http://www.aleslombergar.com/forum/does-aquarium-glass-go-badalways-cloudy/comment-page-1/#comment-15965 MazMaz Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-15965 Well, I would ask how much water you are changing and how often. If you are changing all (or nearly all) of the water at the same time, what's happening is your tank is trying to go through a cycle process in which the benificial bacteria that are supposed to live in your tank are trying to multiply and there is more amonia being created in the tank than there is bacteria to eat it all. For the tinfoil a large tank and better filtration would help some, though you would still have the cloudy problem for the first few months. What you can do, is change 1/4-1/3 of the tank at a time, and then the week after you do the water, change the filter (bacteria lives in the filter too, so if you stagger your cleaning, you don't kill off the benificial stuff so much). Because he is such a large fish, a better filtration at the least would be helpful. Wispers work, but aren't the best out there. Cascade, biowheels, and penguins are pretty good (I'm sure there are others out there too, but those are just the names I'm familiar with) you might also get one that's for a little bigger of a tank than you have. You also want to make sure you clean out the gravel when you do the water changes. Use a gravel vac, and while you probably won't be able to do it all at the same time, start at one end and go until you removed 25-33% of the water and then stop, try to mentally mark where you got to, and then the next time, pick it up from there and continue. You may need to do water changes every other week. Also, watch how much you feed. Over feeding is a common cause of cloudy water/excess waste. I have never heard of the glass causing the water to get cloudy. Well, I would ask how much water you are changing and how often. If you are changing all (or nearly all) of the water at the same time, what’s happening is your tank is trying to go through a cycle process in which the benificial bacteria that are supposed to live in your tank are trying to multiply and there is more amonia being created in the tank than there is bacteria to eat it all.

For the tinfoil a large tank and better filtration would help some, though you would still have the cloudy problem for the first few months.

What you can do, is change 1/4-1/3 of the tank at a time, and then the week after you do the water, change the filter (bacteria lives in the filter too, so if you stagger your cleaning, you don’t kill off the benificial stuff so much). Because he is such a large fish, a better filtration at the least would be helpful. Wispers work, but aren’t the best out there. Cascade, biowheels, and penguins are pretty good (I’m sure there are others out there too, but those are just the names I’m familiar with) you might also get one that’s for a little bigger of a tank than you have.

You also want to make sure you clean out the gravel when you do the water changes. Use a gravel vac, and while you probably won’t be able to do it all at the same time, start at one end and go until you removed 25-33% of the water and then stop, try to mentally mark where you got to, and then the next time, pick it up from there and continue. You may need to do water changes every other week.

Also, watch how much you feed. Over feeding is a common cause of cloudy water/excess waste.

I have never heard of the glass causing the water to get cloudy.

]]> By: WellBalanced http://www.aleslombergar.com/forum/does-aquarium-glass-go-badalways-cloudy/comment-page-1/#comment-15966 WellBalanced Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-15966 yea i got the same problem too , but i have a giant gourami in mine, and every time i make a water change it gets cloudy, but i got a solution, its called AQUA-CLEAR put that in your tank and with in 12 hours it will stay crystal clear for a about a month or two. good luck. yea i got the same problem too , but i have a giant gourami in mine, and every time i make a water change it gets cloudy, but i got a solution, its called AQUA-CLEAR put that in your tank and with in 12 hours it will stay crystal clear for a about a month or two. good luck.

]]> By: RingKeeper http://www.aleslombergar.com/forum/does-aquarium-glass-go-badalways-cloudy/comment-page-1/#comment-15967 RingKeeper Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-15967 It would not be the glass. I have seen tanks that are 5+ years old that are crystal clear. Acrylic can get scratched and discolored by heat but I have not heard of them making the water cloudy. Food is the usual culprit, but sometimes ornaments can cause water to gain color. They sell drops for the water, so try those, and make sure your filter carbon is new, and replace all of the filter substrate. If the tank was old and sitting unused for 5+ years, then it could have something nasty in it, or if cleaned, chemicals will cloud your water. Even if your water testers don't find it, it can still be there. It would not be the glass. I have seen tanks that are 5+ years old that are crystal clear. Acrylic can get scratched and discolored by heat but I have not heard of them making the water cloudy. Food is the usual culprit, but sometimes ornaments can cause water to gain color.

They sell drops for the water, so try those, and make sure your filter carbon is new, and replace all of the filter substrate. If the tank was old and sitting unused for 5+ years, then it could have something nasty in it, or if cleaned, chemicals will cloud your water. Even if your water testers don’t find it, it can still be there.

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