Great video. I love your straight forward delivery of information. It’s a scary thing to put a few new fish into your newly cycled tank snd wake up to milky water. This video give a clear explanation of what’s happening and what to do or not to do about it.
This was perfect. I just had this happen to my 30 gal, and was beyond confused. A few days ago I added a new fish, then did a huge slow water change 3 days later. 2 days after that I got a bloom. This answered my questions for sure
Thank you for this info! So basically the bloom is happening b/c the ammonia is high enough to support that growth and when the ammonia is reduced, so will the bloom? That's what I'm hearing. And you called it. I did too big of a water change and an aggressive substrate vacuum, probably stirring up a lot of old fish waste (ammonia). This makes sense now. You're a great teacher!
Seriously....does owning an aquarium drive them to drink? I'm about to start! I discovered this morning that my mystery snail had died and was stuck were I couldn't see him....Ugh!!!! I believe that's why my tank was cloudy again. Did over 50% water change, cleaned out the filter (disgusting) and tank looks great. Thanks for letting me vent. Non-tank owners don't get the frustration. Have a great Weekend!!!
My bacterial bloom problem began with a water change and adding live bacteria when I was done the water change. Since I was not changing anything in the filter I should not have added any extra bacteria to my tank. I finally asked an aquarist about this adding bacteria to the tank that so many say you should do with a water change, and he told me that as long as I am not removing media that contains beneficial bacteria, there is no need to be adding it. He said it is recommended by the manufacturers because they expect you to change out your filter media with every water change. Hmmmmm. I only clean my filter media in tank water that has been removed, so I ended up creating my own problem. It took me a year to finally get the nitrogen cycle down pat, and then I have dealt with this bacterial bloom problem 2X in two different tanks. I am still amazed I got through the first time without this new found knowledge.
Your my go to for any info I need regarding my aquarium, so informative & straight to the point, no guess work needed. Thnks & keep up with the great videos.
As a beginner this happened to me too, I upgraded my tank into 15 gallons and my tank is cloudy, the other 1 month old tank is crystal clear I did know not know its a bacteria I thougt it was from the sand dust that settle in the bottom. Very imformative.
I have a 20 gallon freshwater tank that’s about 2 months old. I just did a water change…a large one because it was pretty dirty. I filled it back up and added API Quick Start and a conditioner. The tank looked great but an hour later it’s milky and my driftwood that was clean now has a white film all over it.
I have been following yr channel, good information's that yr passing principally for beginners, don't stop, we always have something to learn. Take care.
@@TrafishAquatics As I suggested to you don't' stop, I know that there are a lot of persons that only like to create problems and never give support for those that are trying to help other persons, very well done.
I like the video you straight to the point but my girlfriend put too much food into my tank I have a 55 gallon tank and about 10 fish so with that clear up on his own or will I have to drain water out and refill please let me know
Thank you ( I don't know your name) but you helped me fix my fish tanks. I have 2 five gallon tanks for Bettas and I used Prime and Topfin Bacteria Starter and it worked. I ordered some foam for my filters also. Thanks! I will subscribe
If your parameters are stable, let your aquarium sort itself out. Test for phosphates as well as ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Live plants will help a great deal if youre set up for them. The less we tinker with stable parameters and healthy, active fish, the better off things will go.
aquariums are so hard I'm praying to God to help me with mine I got two little feeder fish that I bought at Petco LOL but I had no idea the amount of work you have to put in as well as the financial aspect which really isn't too much but in today's economy proven to be very hard for me for some reason I'm trying my hardest to give those two fishes a comfortable life
@Travis Stevens i have a bacterial bloom right now, is it better to remove the fish first and put it on another tank and put it back when the bacteria reestablished and the water becomes clear?
I really like your video. Right now I am experiencing cloudy water. I did a small water change and my tetra whispered internal filters were so dirty some I replace them with new ones. It cleared up almost instantly but 2 days later my aquarium started to look cloudy again. What did I do wrong? Any suggestions will be great ty
Hello Thank you for the video… that happened to me 4 days a go I did a water change and nothing work… I’m very worry about my fish because I have it for 3 years and I don’t want nothing bad happen to them… do you think they can dye??? I have 3 fish tank and happend with all 3 at the same time.. the only thing I did for all of them was adding stability from seachem… but maybe the product was bad… because my 3 tank was cloudy… do you have any recommendations what I can do??? Thank you so much
Stability contains a food source for the bacteria, once added the bacteria bloomed causing cloudy water, it will clear up in a few days by doing nothing to it
Hi I need your help with my African Clawed Frogs in a 10gallon tank. I just have two frogs in there. I finding white fuzzy mold in the tank especially on the decor and the water is cloudy. I did a big water change about 4 days ago and then cleaned the decor with the white fuzzy mold on it but now it is back again. I also used Prime and a algae remover too. What am I doing wrong :( . But I don't have any driftwood in my tank? Thank you Kim
Great video bro! I am a newbie here for fish hobby i just bought 75 gallon tank and i cleaned it and i used black diamond sand and i think and i assumed that i rinsed it the sand properly coz i was doing all the process of cleaning about 1 hour rinsing it before putting and and i try fill the tank water and i cycled it today about 3 hrs now and the water is still cloudy. Any recommendation on what to do next? Or this cloudy water will clear soon? Thank you and more power to your channel
Nitrate is one of those things that's constantly going to be produced because the nitrogen cycle takes any ammonia that's produced by the fish and converts it to nitrate. The most effective ways of removing nitrate is water changes and live plants. though if you're doing water changes and the levels aren't fluctuating check your tap water to make sure there's no nitrate in your tap water because that would make it difficult to remove during water changes. If there isn't any in your tap water you will likely need to do larger water changes to help keep up with the bio load.
I wrote to you a few weeks ago about my cloudy tank, which is no longer cloudy. Just tested water and 0 ammonia, 5.0 nitrite, 20 nitrate. primed following the directions. Will do a water 50% water change if nitrite doesn't come down. I'm hoping you'll tell me that this is part of the cycling process. I've been dealing with the cycling since February. It's discouraging and wearing me down. I just want to enjoy my tank!!! I have two other tanks, a 12 and a 5, which I've had no problems with. If I didn't have fish in (I watched your in fish cycling video) obviously, the cycling wouldn't be a concern. I can't believe the fish have survived this long, unfortunately, did lose one cory. I appreciate your thoughts.
Hello Travis. I know this is an old video but I hope you still get this comment from me. I have a brand new 65 gallon acrylic aquarium. It's been cycling for about five weeks now. I have two Tidal 110 HOB filters, two nice size sponge filters and two nice size wave makers. I've had a bacteria bloom for about 3 weeks. I can't figure out what's wrong. I don't have any fish in there and I've been testing the water every Friday for three weeks. The water levels are good on everything. The PH is about 7.4 but I'm trying to stock this tank with all Mbunas. I've been doing a water change every Sunday except for last week because I heard that doing water changes starts the bacteria bloom process all over so I just cleaned both filters. I have Carib Sea Eco Complete substrate in there also. I hope that you can help me out. I was also told that I should add some fish to the tank because that will help the eco system in the tank. I hope you can give me some advice because I'm at a lost. Thank you in advance, Jay
Do you recommend making weekly water changes to lower nitrite spikes? I had a spike on nitrites and nitrates last week and have changed the water twice to dilute the spike. Is it correct to do this or should I medicate instead?
It depends how high the nitrite spike is, prime can detoxify up to 10 PPM nitrite with a maximum dose for 24 hours, and 2 PPM with a standard dose. Your bacterial colony should be able to handle the slight spike and convert it to nitrate. Once your nitrate goes over 40 ppm then you want to do a 25% water change.
There is no product that will clear cloudy water from a bacterial bloom that will not hurt the cycle in the aquarium, you can however speed up the process with a bacterial additive like fritz turbo start 700, with the addition of this you can add fish within a day or 2, water will still be cloudy but will clear naturally once the bacteria has established itself propperly, so about a week or 2, with out this it will take 6-8 weeks
Hi I set up my 110 l tank one day ago, I put in it a pf1 filter and a sponge filter and plants from my established tank. I got up the next day and the tank was really cloudy. I only added four guppies, I thought I was doing an instant cycle and didn't think it would go cloudy. Thanks for any thoughts
It will still get cloudy but should only last a couple days, biological media is all established however the tank itself doesn't have any bacteria in it so the bacteria will still have to colonize the substrate the glass decorations and things like that, normally it clears up in less than a week without doing anything
Hi .. please I need your opinion.. I start my new tank 10 days ago , I add seachem stability every day , after day 4 or 5 water start to be cloudy / milky.. So can I use my uv lamp to solve the problem of cloudy water ? I know I can't add bacteria while uv lamp is on .. any way seachem stability need only for 8 days or 7 . So I am already gonna stop useing it ( 10 days pass ) .
The cloudy water is your bacterial colonony growing and establishing, you don't want to kill it with uv, give it time and it will clear on its own, the cycling process usually takes 6-8 weeks normally.
Should 3 weeks in still see cloudy water, I do water changes. I have used prime stability. It's not milky but just not clear. I think I need a bigger tank; more water is easier to care for.
I have a question. I just woke up with my water being very cloudy in my 29 gallon tank. I have been performing the API test every other day. The test results came out pretty good. Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 10. Today i perform the test again and the Ammonia is now 0.25ppm Nitrite 0 and Nitrate 20. In this case, i should just apply Prime every 24 hours and wait for the good bateria to catch up? I'm just worried that my ammonia will spike up. Thank you!
Hey Tra...it's me again! So, following tips from another video of yours, I started treating my Bacteria Bloom with "Prime" and "Stability". I also did a 70% water change. The water did clear about 80% as of yesterday but seems to be clouding up again. My Ammonia has come down to 3.0ppm. I started using the "Stability" during the day and unplugging my U.V. filter (as the Stability directions state to do). At night, I plug my U.V. back in. Is this ok to do or should I just use the Prime & Stability only until things recover and have patience? Thanks for your help!
I wouldn't use the UV sterilizer, any of the bacteria that passes through it is going to be killed so you'll be stuck in a constant bacterial bloom, UV sterilizer is good if you have green water
@@TrafishAquatics I looked into the UV system before I bought it and it stated it treats Algae & Bacterial blooms. I thought I had a Bacteria Bloom at the time. So stick to just the "Prime" & "Stability" you you mentioned on one of your other vids? Thanks for getting back to me Tra !!
Yep that will work good, uv works against bacterial blooms because it kills any suspended bacteria, anything that's already colonized on physical surfaces will still multiply but at a much slower rate, bacterial blooms may be unsightly But it's beneficial
Hi...within in the last 24 hrs., my tank is turning cloudy again. Any explanations why? haven't done anything different. still testing and using prime. Is it necessary to do a water change everyday while tank is cycling when readings are within range?
My pumped stop working didn't figure it out until four days later. I have 6 corydora. Was dosing tank as needed with prime. After a week, the corys weren't acting themselves. So I did a 50% water change and they went back to acting fine. Did this hurt the cycling process? It's still cloudy. On average, on long does this process take?
When a filter stops like that for that long and you turn it back on any of the bacteria that had died off will produce ammonia, so it added a bunch of ammonia to the tank which probably shocked your fish a bit, the water change will have helped reduce the ammonia that was present, for now feed lightly and dose prime daily to detoxify any ammonia or nitrite until the cycle establishes again, usually takes about 1-2 weeks depending on how out of whack it is
@@TrafishAquatics i have a bacterial bloom right now, is it better to remove the fish first and put it on another tank and put it back when the bacteria reestablished and becomes clear?
I have a bacterial bloom during a fishless cycling so I want to make sure that I don’t do anything since it’s gonna settle down correct? I have a test kit also and there’s no ammonia or nitrates. Tysm!
@@TrafishAquatics okay thank you very much. I also have one more question after the bacteria settles and I check my ammonia and nitrate levels does that mean the tank is fully cycled?
so basically, if your tank has a bacterial bloom it will eventually fade so nothing to do but have patience, but if you test the water and it has ammonia/nitries, dose with seachem daily till it subsides?
I have a new tank for a turtle. I have it all setup have been running for about a month with no turtles in it. Now the water is getting cloudy. Should I just let it run its course?
Hi! my 20g tank is a week old, I put API stress coat and this beneficial bacteria in, and i have been regularly testing for amonia and ph, nitrates, hardness, chlorine, and more. (I also have a good filter and air stone). All tests are coming back great. So i added one goldfish and the next morning my tank is cloudy and the fish is laying at the bottom and it doesn’t look like it’s doing well. I don’t know what to do from here. Please help lol
What were the test parameters before adding the fish, seems like there wasnt enough bacteria established in the tank yet to allow for the breakdown of any ammonia, the cloudy water is the bacteria multiplying to try to catch up
Yes new filters should be run with old filters for about a week or 2, you just removed a big chunk of your benificial bacteria and now yoi have cloidy water because its trying to make more, dont worry it will go away in about a week or 2 on its own, just check for ammonia spikes daily
I just set up my fish aquarium yesterday afternoon it looked good I put all of the water conditioners and ph balancers and everything in it and it looks good so I went ahead and put in like 2 guppies and some babies guppies that are tiny I wake up this morning and the whole thing looks like milk was poured in, what can I do to speed up the process on this bacteria bloom, now it is saying my ph balance is 7.6 but when I went to bed out was 7.0. helppp me please!!!
Get yourself a bottle of Fritz turbo start and add that to the tank, The cloudiness is still going to take time to balance out though because it's your beneficial bacteria establishing
How often is too often to clean your media, this could be my issue, so I stopped cleaning the filters with water changes, on my reef tank I'd just change the sock, but this is very different.
Ohhh so the bacterial bloom is actually a BENEFICIAL bacteria bloom! Good nitrifying bacteria multiplying rapidly to catch up to the large amount of ammonia, and all you gotta do is wait :)
I have tried everything to clear up the tank. It’s been cloudy for 6 months. The parameters stay a constant. 20 gallon fresh. 0 ammonia 0 nitrites . Nitrates stay between.5-.10 ppm. Over filtered with two sponge filters. One large for 20 gal or more. An extra smaller sponge filter. Soil substrate. Lots of plants. The tank was about a year old when this started. Livestock: 1 albino pleco 1 beta 3 white cloud minnows 6 rummy’s 9 neons 2 danios 8 three dot rasboras Cherry shrimp I can’t imagine it’s over stocked? I feed every other day and sometimes every 2 days. Sometimes the cloudiness seems like it’s about to clear up and then it’s almost impossible to see inside the next day. Someone suggested Prime Clarity, but then I was warned not to use it by a fish store employee fish hobbyist. I recently had to switch to a 0 water filtration system so now I’m slowly doing water changes and was hoping that would work but it hasn’t helped. The shrimp keep the filters clean. I haven’t needed to gravel vac. I’m at a loss at this point. Should I be adding more BB? I have Fritz 7.
Any luck? What kind of soil substrate, how deep? How often are you doing water changes? How much water are you changing each time? How often are you cleaning the sponge filters? Do you have a lot of decorations (surface area for bacteria to colonize)? What's the temperature? Ph? It doesn't sound like you are overstocked. Your bacteria isn't settling for some reason. Without the answers to the above questions I asked, it's hard to know why the bacteria isn't settling.
@@jayjayhooksch1 Hi Yes! I figured it out. I have an in-tank filter in storage and decided to fill it with fiber fill from the craft store. Over night the water was Crystal Clear. I think what was happening was, the bn pleco has been kicking up substrate and the fine particles were just floating in the water column and the sponge filters, which stay fairly clean because of the shrimp, weren’t mechanically scrubbing the water. So now the in-tank filter is in the tank with one sponge filter and this seems to be working. The shrimp are creating very fine particles by eating the wood, almond leaves and of course everything else. And the fine particles just stayed suspended. And the sponges are fairly course.
What’s the first step if my tank is cloudy I changed the water half way yesterday it looked better. But this morning it’s cloudier then last night 😠I have a 3 gallon I have 4 fish ? An it be to many ??
Will using the Fritz bacteria help if the reason it’s cloudy is that there’s an abundance of bacteria, so much that it’s in the water column. I have a bottle but haven’t used it because of my thought process. Which could be very wrong. Lol
if you're already seeing a bacterial bloom in your aquarium there isn't much need for using a bacterial additive as the bacteria is already establishing within the aquarium. That being said if you were to use the bacterial active it wouldn't hurt in any way.
@@TrafishAquatics ok thanks. I did a small water change and spot gravel vac yesterday and the cloudiness got considerably worse. Probably should have just let it go
I’ve been struggling with cloudy water for months and the test strips keep saying the water is fine. My fish has fin rot now. Anyone know what I should do?
My tank is 3-4 months old. I kept having ammonia spikes so i bought a canister filter to help house more bacteria. 2 days after i installed it, I had a major bacterial bloom. Not sure whats going on.
The bacteria is blooming because of the ammonia spikes, did you remove your old filter when you added the canister filter? If so you removed any of the existing bacterial colonies and the bacteria is now blooming to try to regain what it's lost to colonize your new filter
I'm panicking :(( did a 15% water change last night in my 75 gallon. Everything was fine. Water was clear, fish were active and ate. This morning I woke up to a bacteria bloom. Lost my catfish and adult brim. Trying to save my Oscar. Any tips? I have done a 25% water change and put some fungus clear tabs.
😢it seems i lost my one tanks cycle...i added biger spunge filter and bigger air pump the water look beter there is still cloudyness im hoping it will go away before i buy milion dollar filtration systems this tank has 2 plecos , 4 silver dollars and 1 rainbow shark i have a corner filter for carbon and floss a internal filter pump and a spunge filter but its not keeping up😢 tomorow im going shoping if all fails i just get 2 more tanks and seperate the fish😢
The bacterial bloom itself is completely harmless, What you have to worry about is the elevated ammonia and nitrites that might be present as those could kill fish.
Any fish that are currently in the tank and have already been exposed to the elevated levels of ammonia and nitrite are subject still to the prior ammonia and nitrite poisoning. these products aren't miracle cures They are preventative measures to make sure your fish don't get these ailments. Any fish that has been exposed to these toxins are still at elevated risk even after using these products. For example if you constantly smoke cigarettes for 5 years of your life and then one day just stop, That doesn't just undo the damage that's already been done.
It could be if you have fine particulate in the water, to remedy that you can run a fine filter floss or floss filter pad to remove the particulate. If after 24 hours the water is still cloudy then it's a bacterial bloom.
The best way i found to get clear water in minutes in my gold fish tank is to use a hydro clean suction hose to clean debris from the stone and or bottom of the tank. You'll thank me later. Your Welcome..:p)
My new tank was crystal clear for two weeks with six of my corys in it. Then I bought eight live bearers and as soon as the pet store water in the bag was added, instant cloudy..... Bizzare.
So basically what happened was one of three things: 1) You increased your bio load by eight fish 2) while transporting the fish in the bag they likely used the bathroom which created ammonia in the bag, when you added the water to the tank the bacteria saw a spike in ammonia and started to bloom. 3) The fish stores water has ammonia in it and when added to the tank caused a bloom. Just be patient and it will clear with time, this is completely normal.
So it stayed cloudy until last week. I had been doing 25% water changes to no avail. I added carb ammo to the hang on back and it cleared up right away. Now, it’s cloudy again.... Could it be a certain food doing it? Or the sand maybe? It’s top fin sand and I cleaned it thoroughly. Should I stop doing water changes and let it cycle?
@@jimperry4420 ok, that is why your water is cloudy, the bacteria is trying to reestablish an equilibrium where can handle the ammonia and nitrite load, Once it has enough bacteria to keep up with the production of those the water will clear. The issue you're having is when you're doing 25% water changes you're removing 25% of the waterborne bacteria that's trying to colonize and you're setting the process back. The best thing to do in the situation is dose seachem prime daily until the tank finishes cycling.
Would it happen if I rinsed off the filter ? It seems like it’s filtering cloudy stuff. I cleaned and changed water today and cleaned all my decoratives. Also got some new rock. But I had cleaned the rock and let sit with tap water cleaner. Ug. I only have some glo fish. 5 to be exact. Two of them I just got because one was kinda being a bully. That helped. But now it’s blowin out cloudy it seems. Help. Lol
Omg men I need help with my 7.5 gallon tank it was all fine and then all cloudy and I use prime and stability and out off nowhere it became cloudy and I got a new filter and I measured all the prime and stability all 2 weeks 😣😣😣
I removed a hang in the back filter for a Fluval 307 for my 29 gallon tank. It was good for a couple of days, and BAM!, cloudy water. I have done 2 water changes(like 25%), it clears a bit, and cloudy again. THe fishes are doing good. What am I doing wrong?
From my small experience, cloudy water, comes mainly from overfeeding. Even if you use filters to get rid of the particles floating in the water, those will continue to disintegrate, releasing nitrates, nitrites, amonia (all of them, are nytrogen based substances), turning down the ph. So, the best thing to do, is feeding the fish less, so there are no particles decaying in the water. You want to feed, just as much as the fish eat. These particles, saturate the water, so there will be less oxygen. To avoid most of the trouble, avoid overfeeding the fish. If some accident happen, remove the excess of food from the water, by clearing the bottom of the tank and replacing with clean water.
Great video. I love your straight forward delivery of information. It’s a scary thing to put a few new fish into your newly cycled tank snd wake up to milky water. This video give a clear explanation of what’s happening and what to do or not to do about it.
Thank you!
I like how he is able to simplify this. Its such a headache trying to understand what other channels are trying to say. This dude got it. Thank you.
This was perfect. I just had this happen to my 30 gal, and was beyond confused. A few days ago I added a new fish, then did a huge slow water change 3 days later. 2 days after that I got a bloom. This answered my questions for sure
Your welcome
Thank you for this info! So basically the bloom is happening b/c the ammonia is high enough to support that growth and when the ammonia is reduced, so will the bloom? That's what I'm hearing. And you called it. I did too big of a water change and an aggressive substrate vacuum, probably stirring up a lot of old fish waste (ammonia). This makes sense now. You're a great teacher!
Yep that's exactly correct! And thank you!
Seriously....does owning an aquarium drive them to drink? I'm about to start! I discovered this morning that my mystery snail had died and was stuck were I couldn't see him....Ugh!!!! I believe that's why my tank was cloudy again. Did over 50% water change, cleaned out the filter (disgusting) and tank looks great. Thanks for letting me vent. Non-tank owners don't get the frustration. Have a great Weekend!!!
Yep that can happen, glad you found the potential issue, you have a good one too
Indeed
My bacterial bloom problem began with a water change and adding live bacteria when I was done the water change. Since I was not changing anything in the filter I should not have added any extra bacteria to my tank. I finally asked an aquarist about this adding bacteria to the tank that so many say you should do with a water change, and he told me that as long as I am not removing media that contains beneficial bacteria, there is no need to be adding it. He said it is recommended by the manufacturers because they expect you to change out your filter media with every water change. Hmmmmm. I only clean my filter media in tank water that has been removed, so I ended up creating my own problem. It took me a year to finally get the nitrogen cycle down pat, and then I have dealt with this bacterial bloom problem 2X in two different tanks. I am still amazed I got through the first time without this new found knowledge.
Your my go to for any info I need regarding my aquarium, so informative & straight to the point, no guess work needed. Thnks & keep up with the great videos.
As a beginner this happened to me too, I upgraded my tank into 15 gallons and my tank is cloudy, the other 1 month old tank is crystal clear I did know not know its a bacteria I thougt it was from the sand dust that settle in the bottom. Very imformative.
Really helpful information, in a short amount of time. Simple, clear right to the point. Thank you.
Your welcome
I have a 20 gallon freshwater tank that’s about 2 months old. I just did a water change…a large one because it was pretty dirty. I filled it back up and added API Quick Start and a conditioner. The tank looked great but an hour later it’s milky and my driftwood that was clean now has a white film all over it.
Thats normal, and the white film is called bio film and is harmless, fish will eat it
Thanks! Love the way you explain things.
I have been following yr channel, good information's that yr passing principally for beginners, don't stop, we always have something to learn. Take care.
Thank you, that's my goal is to educate new hobbiest so that the future of the hobby is brighter!
@@TrafishAquatics As I suggested to you don't' stop, I know that there are a lot of persons that only like to create problems and never give support for those that are trying to help other persons, very well done.
Thank you, will do!
Answered my question in the first 2min. Thank you fish on 🎣
Your welcome!
very good video very informative you should be a teacher you explain yourself very well not leaving a question mark thank you
What a great teacher you are. Thank you!
Your welcome!
Wow!! This is exactly what I needed!! Thank you sir!!
You're welcome
Always great content and tips. Subscribed to your channel 👍
Very educational and very simple to understand.👍
Good advice thanks for sharing
Love the new video!! even more in depth than the last cloudy water video!!
Thank you, I figured that video covered the three different kinds so I do a little bit more of a deep dive on cloudy water specifically.
@@TrafishAquatics keep it up!!
Educated video. Thanks!
I like the video you straight to the point but my girlfriend put too much food into my tank I have a 55 gallon tank and about 10 fish so with that clear up on his own or will I have to drain water out and refill please let me know
It will clear up, just try to remove the excess food or ot could cause an ammonia spike, cloudyness will clear in about a week
Ok
Thank you ( I don't know your name) but you helped me fix my fish tanks. I have 2 five gallon tanks for Bettas and I used Prime and Topfin Bacteria Starter and it worked. I ordered some foam for my filters also. Thanks! I will subscribe
Thank you! Name is Travis btw 😁
@@TrafishAquatics I like your channel for help, Travis. Thnx
Your very welcome
If your parameters are stable, let your aquarium sort itself out. Test for phosphates as well as ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Live plants will help a great deal if youre set up for them. The less we tinker with stable parameters and healthy, active fish, the better off things will go.
You're fantastic, great video!
Your welcome
aquariums are so hard I'm praying to God to help me with mine I got two little feeder fish that I bought at Petco LOL but I had no idea the amount of work you have to put in as well as the financial aspect which really isn't too much but in today's economy proven to be very hard for me for some reason I'm trying my hardest to give those two fishes a comfortable life
@Travis Stevens i have a bacterial bloom right now, is it better to remove the fish first and put it on another tank and put it back when the bacteria reestablished and the water becomes clear?
I can't do that, I have just added 10 tiny shrimp I can barely see them. So I definitely need to wait awhile
Nice pointers bro👍🏾
Thanks!
I really like your video. Right now I am experiencing cloudy water. I did a small water change and my tetra whispered internal filters were so dirty some I replace them with new ones. It cleared up almost instantly but 2 days later my aquarium started to look cloudy again. What did I do wrong? Any suggestions will be great ty
Hello
Thank you for the video… that happened to me 4 days a go I did a water change and nothing work… I’m very worry about my fish because I have it for 3 years and I don’t want nothing bad happen to them… do you think they can dye??? I have 3 fish tank and happend with all 3 at the same time.. the only thing I did for all of them was adding stability from seachem… but maybe the product was bad… because my 3 tank was cloudy… do you have any recommendations what I can do???
Thank you so much
Stability contains a food source for the bacteria, once added the bacteria bloomed causing cloudy water, it will clear up in a few days by doing nothing to it
So it is Ammonia and Nitrite spikes? And use seachem if these are the cause?
Correct
@@TrafishAquatics awesome thank you.
Do you have to remove the fish while the tank establishes itself? Or is it safe for them to stay?
Should i run to filter pumps? I have a 20 gallon tank?
Hi I need your help with my African Clawed Frogs in a 10gallon tank. I just have two frogs in there. I finding white fuzzy mold in the tank especially on the decor and the water is cloudy. I did a big water change about 4 days ago and then cleaned the decor with the white fuzzy mold on it but now it is back again. I also used Prime and a algae remover too. What am I doing wrong :( . But I don't have any driftwood in my tank? Thank you Kim
Great video bro! I am a newbie here for fish hobby i just bought 75 gallon tank and i cleaned it and i used black diamond sand and i think and i assumed that i rinsed it the sand properly coz i was doing all the process of cleaning about 1 hour rinsing it before putting and and i try fill the tank water and i cycled it today about 3 hrs now and the water is still cloudy. Any recommendation on what to do next? Or this cloudy water will clear soon? Thank you and more power to your channel
Give it time and it will clear up
@Trafish Aquatics i been having issues for while Nitrate how do i reduce ? Even though i change 25% water every week still the same
Nitrate is one of those things that's constantly going to be produced because the nitrogen cycle takes any ammonia that's produced by the fish and converts it to nitrate. The most effective ways of removing nitrate is water changes and live plants. though if you're doing water changes and the levels aren't fluctuating check your tap water to make sure there's no nitrate in your tap water because that would make it difficult to remove during water changes. If there isn't any in your tap water you will likely need to do larger water changes to help keep up with the bio load.
Just what I needed. Can you dose prime and Fritz 7? Great video!
yes i do all the time
Absolutely!
I wrote to you a few weeks ago about my cloudy tank, which is no longer cloudy. Just tested water and 0 ammonia, 5.0 nitrite, 20 nitrate. primed following the directions. Will do a water 50% water change if nitrite doesn't come down. I'm hoping you'll tell me that this is part of the cycling process. I've been dealing with the cycling since February. It's discouraging and wearing me down. I just want to enjoy my tank!!! I have two other tanks, a 12 and a 5, which I've had no problems with. If I didn't have fish in (I watched your in fish cycling video) obviously, the cycling wouldn't be a concern. I can't believe the fish have survived this long, unfortunately, did lose one cory. I appreciate your thoughts.
Yep that's totally normal and nearing the end of the cycling process, the nitrite should disappear slowly and then it's ready to go!
Thanks!!!!!
Hello Travis. I know this is an old video but I hope you still get this comment from me. I have a brand new 65 gallon acrylic aquarium. It's been cycling for about five weeks now. I have two Tidal 110 HOB filters, two nice size sponge filters and two nice size wave makers. I've had a bacteria bloom for about 3 weeks. I can't figure out what's wrong. I don't have any fish in there and I've been testing the water every Friday for three weeks. The water levels are good on everything. The PH is about 7.4 but I'm trying to stock this tank with all Mbunas. I've been doing a water change every Sunday except for last week because I heard that doing water changes starts the bacteria bloom process all over so I just cleaned both filters. I have Carib Sea Eco Complete substrate in there also. I hope that you can help me out. I was also told that I should add some fish to the tank because that will help the eco system in the tank. I hope you can give me some advice because I'm at a lost. Thank you in advance, Jay
Do you recommend making weekly water changes to lower nitrite spikes? I had a spike on nitrites and nitrates last week and have changed the water twice to dilute the spike. Is it correct to do this or should I medicate instead?
It depends how high the nitrite spike is, prime can detoxify up to 10 PPM nitrite with a maximum dose for 24 hours, and 2 PPM with a standard dose. Your bacterial colony should be able to handle the slight spike and convert it to nitrate. Once your nitrate goes over 40 ppm then you want to do a 25% water change.
I have nothing in my tank yet and the water is already cloudy so what can I buy or get to clear the water up and keep it looking clear?
There is no product that will clear cloudy water from a bacterial bloom that will not hurt the cycle in the aquarium, you can however speed up the process with a bacterial additive like fritz turbo start 700, with the addition of this you can add fish within a day or 2, water will still be cloudy but will clear naturally once the bacteria has established itself propperly, so about a week or 2, with out this it will take 6-8 weeks
How would you clear up a freshwater 10gal that was exposed to dirty ddift wood. The water has a brownish tint to it? Thanks!
thank you! question.. what if i have a chinese algae eater dying during the bloom? how do i clear it faster or save my fish..
Hi I set up my 110 l tank one day ago, I put in it a pf1 filter and a sponge filter and plants from my established tank. I got up the next day and the tank was really cloudy. I only added four guppies, I thought I was doing an instant cycle and didn't think it would go cloudy. Thanks for any thoughts
It will still get cloudy but should only last a couple days, biological media is all established however the tank itself doesn't have any bacteria in it so the bacteria will still have to colonize the substrate the glass decorations and things like that, normally it clears up in less than a week without doing anything
Hi .. please I need your opinion..
I start my new tank 10 days ago , I add seachem stability every day , after day 4 or 5 water start to be cloudy / milky..
So can I use my uv lamp to solve the problem of cloudy water ?
I know I can't add bacteria while uv lamp is on .. any way seachem stability need only for 8 days or 7 . So I am already gonna stop useing it ( 10 days pass ) .
The cloudy water is your bacterial colonony growing and establishing, you don't want to kill it with uv, give it time and it will clear on its own, the cycling process usually takes 6-8 weeks normally.
@@TrafishAquatics ok .. thank you for advice.
Should 3 weeks in still see cloudy water, I do water changes. I have used prime stability. It's not milky but just not clear. I think I need a bigger tank; more water is easier to care for.
I have a question. I just woke up with my water being very cloudy in my 29 gallon tank. I have been performing the API test every other day. The test results came out pretty good. Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 10. Today i perform the test again and the Ammonia is now 0.25ppm Nitrite 0 and Nitrate 20. In this case, i should just apply Prime every 24 hours and wait for the good bateria to catch up? I'm just worried that my ammonia will spike up. Thank you!
Yes that is what i would do
@@TrafishAquatics thank you!!
Hey Tra...it's me again! So, following tips from another video of yours, I started treating my Bacteria Bloom with "Prime" and "Stability". I also did a 70% water change. The water did clear about 80% as of yesterday but seems to be clouding up again. My Ammonia has come down to 3.0ppm. I started using the "Stability" during the day and unplugging my U.V. filter (as the Stability directions state to do). At night, I plug my U.V. back in. Is this ok to do or should I just use the Prime & Stability only until things recover and have patience? Thanks for your help!
I wouldn't use the UV sterilizer, any of the bacteria that passes through it is going to be killed so you'll be stuck in a constant bacterial bloom, UV sterilizer is good if you have green water
@@TrafishAquatics I looked into the UV system before I bought it and it stated it treats Algae & Bacterial blooms. I thought I had a Bacteria Bloom at the time. So stick to just the "Prime" & "Stability" you you mentioned on one of your other vids? Thanks for getting back to me Tra !!
Yep that will work good, uv works against bacterial blooms because it kills any suspended bacteria, anything that's already colonized on physical surfaces will still multiply but at a much slower rate, bacterial blooms may be unsightly But it's beneficial
@@TrafishAquatics Good deal. Thanks for the info as always! Do you have a Patreon? I would join!!
I don't, my main goal isn't to make money from the channel, but thank you though!
What is the loose white fuzz I see in the substrate that is clouding-up my tank? Test strips show Normal. I use a sponge filter.
Probably bio film from food particles, it's normal for uneaten food during the process if it being broken down, it's not harmful
@@TrafishAquatics - I just did a 100% water change and washed the nasty substrate. My bad, for feeding Betta too much and neglecting water changes.
Hi...within in the last 24 hrs., my tank is turning cloudy again. Any explanations why? haven't done anything different. still testing and using prime. Is it necessary to do a water change everyday while tank is cycling when readings are within range?
Have you fixed it?
Yes, I did. Thanks for asking!
@@colleenmarshall7558 sweet 👍what was wrong ?
My pumped stop working didn't figure it out until four days later. I have 6 corydora. Was dosing tank as needed with prime. After a week, the corys weren't acting themselves. So I did a 50% water change and they went back to acting fine. Did this hurt the cycling process? It's still cloudy. On average, on long does this process take?
When a filter stops like that for that long and you turn it back on any of the bacteria that had died off will produce ammonia, so it added a bunch of ammonia to the tank which probably shocked your fish a bit, the water change will have helped reduce the ammonia that was present, for now feed lightly and dose prime daily to detoxify any ammonia or nitrite until the cycle establishes again, usually takes about 1-2 weeks depending on how out of whack it is
@@TrafishAquatics i have a bacterial bloom right now, is it better to remove the fish first and put it on another tank and put it back when the bacteria reestablished and becomes clear?
I have a bacterial bloom during a fishless cycling so I want to make sure that I don’t do anything since it’s gonna settle down correct? I have a test kit also and there’s no ammonia or nitrates. Tysm!
Correct it will go away on its own in time
@@TrafishAquatics okay thank you very much. I also have one more question after the bacteria settles and I check my ammonia and nitrate levels does that mean the tank is fully cycled?
Yep once your ammonia and nitrite read 0 and you have an elevated nitrate reading you should be good to go
so basically, if your tank has a bacterial bloom it will eventually fade so nothing to do but have patience, but if you test the water and it has ammonia/nitries, dose with seachem daily till it subsides?
Correct
Does adding too much Clear Water to your tank change the balance of your chemicals in your water
I have a new tank for a turtle. I have it all setup have been running for about a month with no turtles in it. Now the water is getting cloudy. Should I just let it run its course?
Yep just let it go, it will clear eventually
Hi! my 20g tank is a week old, I put API stress coat and this beneficial bacteria in, and i have been regularly testing for amonia and ph, nitrates, hardness, chlorine, and more. (I also have a good filter and air stone). All tests are coming back great. So i added one goldfish and the next morning my tank is cloudy and the fish is laying at the bottom and it doesn’t look like it’s doing well. I don’t know what to do from here. Please help lol
What were the test parameters before adding the fish, seems like there wasnt enough bacteria established in the tank yet to allow for the breakdown of any ammonia, the cloudy water is the bacteria multiplying to try to catch up
I added new fx6 filter to my 90 gallon and got rid of my old one. Then boom cloudy water. Could it be because of new filter?
Yes new filters should be run with old filters for about a week or 2, you just removed a big chunk of your benificial bacteria and now yoi have cloidy water because its trying to make more, dont worry it will go away in about a week or 2 on its own, just check for ammonia spikes daily
@@TrafishAquatics thank you. I only have new filter running. Any tips on how to watch for ammonia spikes?
Either get a ammonia test kit or an api master test kit
I just set up my fish aquarium yesterday afternoon it looked good I put all of the water conditioners and ph balancers and everything in it and it looks good so I went ahead and put in like 2 guppies and some babies guppies that are tiny I wake up this morning and the whole thing looks like milk was poured in, what can I do to speed up the process on this bacteria bloom, now it is saying my ph balance is 7.6 but when I went to bed out was 7.0. helppp me please!!!
Get yourself a bottle of Fritz turbo start and add that to the tank, The cloudiness is still going to take time to balance out though because it's your beneficial bacteria establishing
How often is too often to clean your media, this could be my issue, so I stopped cleaning the filters with water changes, on my reef tank I'd just change the sock, but this is very different.
I got a bacterial bloom in my 20 gallon for almost three weeks now
Give it time a natural cycle can take 6 to 8 weeks
Ohhh so the bacterial bloom is actually a BENEFICIAL bacteria bloom! Good nitrifying bacteria multiplying rapidly to catch up to the large amount of ammonia, and all you gotta do is wait :)
Exactly!
I wated and 2 fish ie in 2 days!
so really no need to do anything with cloudy water? it just indicates a bacterial bloom and it will eventually subside by clinging to surfaces?
I got 2 nights dealing with this. All is spiked. And white cloud. Did water changes. I will let it be and use prime
I have tried everything to clear up the tank. It’s been cloudy for 6 months. The parameters stay a constant. 20 gallon fresh. 0 ammonia 0 nitrites . Nitrates stay between.5-.10 ppm. Over filtered with two sponge filters. One large for 20 gal or more. An extra smaller sponge filter. Soil substrate. Lots of plants. The tank was about a year old when this started.
Livestock:
1 albino pleco
1 beta
3 white cloud minnows
6 rummy’s
9 neons
2 danios
8 three dot rasboras
Cherry shrimp
I can’t imagine it’s over stocked?
I feed every other day and sometimes every 2 days.
Sometimes the cloudiness seems like it’s about to clear up and then it’s almost impossible to see inside the next day. Someone suggested Prime Clarity, but then I was warned not to use it by a fish store employee fish hobbyist.
I recently had to switch to a 0 water filtration system so now I’m slowly doing water changes and was hoping that would work but it hasn’t helped. The shrimp keep the filters clean. I haven’t needed to gravel vac. I’m at a loss at this point.
Should I be adding more BB? I have Fritz 7.
Any luck?
What kind of soil substrate, how deep? How often are you doing water changes? How much water are you changing each time? How often are you cleaning the sponge filters? Do you have a lot of decorations (surface area for bacteria to colonize)? What's the temperature? Ph?
It doesn't sound like you are overstocked. Your bacteria isn't settling for some reason. Without the answers to the above questions I asked, it's hard to know why the bacteria isn't settling.
@@jayjayhooksch1 Hi Yes! I figured it out. I have an in-tank filter in storage and decided to fill it with fiber fill from the craft store. Over night the water was Crystal Clear. I think what was happening was, the bn pleco has been kicking up substrate and the fine particles were just floating in the water column and the sponge filters, which stay fairly clean because of the shrimp, weren’t mechanically scrubbing the water. So now the in-tank filter is in the tank with one sponge filter and this seems to be working. The shrimp are creating very fine particles by eating the wood, almond leaves and of course everything else. And the fine particles just stayed suspended. And the sponges are fairly course.
So it's safe to add my fish to the cloudy water??
What’s the first step if my tank is cloudy I changed the water half way yesterday it looked better. But this morning it’s cloudier then last night 😠I have a 3 gallon I have 4 fish ? An it be to many ??
What should I do if the water is starting to smell eggy?
Will using the Fritz bacteria help if the reason it’s cloudy is that there’s an abundance of bacteria, so much that it’s in the water column. I have a bottle but haven’t used it because of my thought process. Which could be very wrong. Lol
if you're already seeing a bacterial bloom in your aquarium there isn't much need for using a bacterial additive as the bacteria is already establishing within the aquarium. That being said if you were to use the bacterial active it wouldn't hurt in any way.
@@TrafishAquatics ok thanks. I did a small water change and spot gravel vac yesterday and the cloudiness got considerably worse. Probably should have just let it go
Yeah from this point on just let it go and watch your water parameters and dose prime as necessary to detoxify ammonia and nitrite.
@@TrafishAquatics Geez. I've only really been testing ammonia and nitrite up until today. My ph in QT is 6.2 and my main tank always runs around 8.2
6.2 is a little low but 8.2 is reasonable
Can you write it in the chat because i don't understand please
Is the bacteria harmful?
Nope not at all, very healthy actually
I’ve been struggling with cloudy water for months and the test strips keep saying the water is fine. My fish has fin rot now. Anyone know what I should do?
My tank is 3-4 months old. I kept having ammonia spikes so i bought a canister filter to help house more bacteria. 2 days after i installed it, I had a major bacterial bloom. Not sure whats going on.
The bacteria is blooming because of the ammonia spikes, did you remove your old filter when you added the canister filter? If so you removed any of the existing bacterial colonies and the bacteria is now blooming to try to regain what it's lost to colonize your new filter
@@TrafishAquatics I left the old hob filter as well as the sponge filter. Left everything the same, only added the canister filter.
Its likley blooming because of the ammonia spikes as well as the added uncolonized media, should clear up soon, takes about a week usually.
@@TrafishAquatics okay, thank you!
I just started my aquarium I have no fish, and the water is cloudy. Should I wait before I add fish
I'm panicking :(( did a 15% water change last night in my 75 gallon. Everything was fine. Water was clear, fish were active and ate. This morning I woke up to a bacteria bloom. Lost my catfish and adult brim. Trying to save my Oscar. Any tips? I have done a 25% water change and put some fungus clear tabs.
Test your water for ammonia and nitrite and see what the levels are, If you have prime you can dose that to detoxify the ammonia and nitrite
Started a new tank….a month ago. A week after tank turned cloudy. Been cloudy ever since!
My water has no amonia no nitrites but it has nitrates 10ppm. My water is still cloudy. What do I do.
I added Prime to my tank then immediately treated my fish for ick without thinking, will this harm my fish?
Accuclear. 10% water change .. alk good
😢it seems i lost my one tanks cycle...i added biger spunge filter and bigger air pump the water look beter there is still cloudyness im hoping it will go away before i buy milion dollar filtration systems this tank has 2 plecos , 4 silver dollars and 1 rainbow shark i have a corner filter for carbon and floss a internal filter pump and a spunge filter but its not keeping up😢 tomorow im going shoping if all fails i just get 2 more tanks and seperate the fish😢
Could this bacterial bloom kill fish?
The bacterial bloom itself is completely harmless, What you have to worry about is the elevated ammonia and nitrites that might be present as those could kill fish.
I got the safe start and the prime, but they still die🥺
Any fish that are currently in the tank and have already been exposed to the elevated levels of ammonia and nitrite are subject still to the prior ammonia and nitrite poisoning. these products aren't miracle cures They are preventative measures to make sure your fish don't get these ailments. Any fish that has been exposed to these toxins are still at elevated risk even after using these products. For example if you constantly smoke cigarettes for 5 years of your life and then one day just stop, That doesn't just undo the damage that's already been done.
Can your water be cloudy and not be bacteria bloom?
It could be if you have fine particulate in the water, to remedy that you can run a fine filter floss or floss filter pad to remove the particulate. If after 24 hours the water is still cloudy then it's a bacterial bloom.
@@TrafishAquatics thanks...
The best way i found to get clear water in minutes in my gold fish tank is to use a hydro clean suction hose to clean debris from the stone and or bottom of the tank. You'll thank me later. Your Welcome..:p)
My new tank was crystal clear for two weeks with six of my corys in it. Then I bought eight live bearers and as soon as the pet store water in the bag was added, instant cloudy..... Bizzare.
So basically what happened was one of three things:
1) You increased your bio load by eight fish
2) while transporting the fish in the bag they likely used the bathroom which created ammonia in the bag, when you added the water to the tank the bacteria saw a spike in ammonia and started to bloom.
3) The fish stores water has ammonia in it and when added to the tank caused a bloom.
Just be patient and it will clear with time, this is completely normal.
So it stayed cloudy until last week. I had been doing 25% water changes to no avail. I added carb ammo to the hang on back and it cleared up right away. Now, it’s cloudy again.... Could it be a certain food doing it? Or the sand maybe? It’s top fin sand and I cleaned it thoroughly. Should I stop doing water changes and let it cycle?
Do you have a test kit to see if you have any elevated levels of ammonia or nitrite? Doing the water changes is going to lengthen the cycling process.
@@TrafishAquatics nitrite is high
@@jimperry4420 ok, that is why your water is cloudy, the bacteria is trying to reestablish an equilibrium where can handle the ammonia and nitrite load, Once it has enough bacteria to keep up with the production of those the water will clear. The issue you're having is when you're doing 25% water changes you're removing 25% of the waterborne bacteria that's trying to colonize and you're setting the process back. The best thing to do in the situation is dose seachem prime daily until the tank finishes cycling.
Would it happen if I rinsed off the filter ? It seems like it’s filtering cloudy stuff. I cleaned and changed water today and cleaned all my decoratives. Also got some new rock. But I had cleaned the rock and let sit with tap water cleaner. Ug. I only have some glo fish. 5 to be exact. Two of them I just got because one was kinda being a bully. That helped. But now it’s blowin out cloudy it seems. Help. Lol
Depends, how did you clean them
Second.
😆 Nice lol
Omg men I need help with my 7.5 gallon tank it was all fine and then all cloudy and I use prime and stability and out off nowhere it became cloudy and I got a new filter and I measured all the prime and stability all 2 weeks 😣😣😣
If you add stability it can cause bacteria blooms, how new is the tank?
@@TrafishAquatics 2 months
That's still relatively new, did you do a fish-less cycle or fish in? Also do you have any elevated ammonia or nitrite currently?
@@TrafishAquatics well last night I did almost a 70 percent water change and now in the morning its alot better.
@@TrafishAquatics am thinking to buy poly fil and a better sponge
So you recommend feeding with the filters on? So that the bacteria stays on the filter and does not die off…
Correct, if you worried about the filter sucking up food you can use a prefilter sponge to prevent that
I removed a hang in the back filter for a Fluval 307 for my 29 gallon tank. It was good for a couple of days, and BAM!, cloudy water. I have done 2 water changes(like 25%), it clears a bit, and cloudy again. THe fishes are doing good. What am I doing wrong?
You removed a large portion of your bacterial colony so it needs to rebuild the colony hence cloudy water
From my small experience, cloudy water, comes mainly from overfeeding.
Even if you use filters to get rid of the particles floating in the water, those will continue to disintegrate, releasing nitrates, nitrites, amonia (all of them, are nytrogen based substances), turning down the ph.
So, the best thing to do, is feeding the fish less, so there are no particles decaying in the water.
You want to feed, just as much as the fish eat.
These particles, saturate the water, so there will be less oxygen.
To avoid most of the trouble, avoid overfeeding the fish.
If some accident happen, remove the excess of food from the water, by clearing the bottom of the tank and replacing with clean water.
Lol. I mistakenly added banana water to the tank. Grabbed the wrong one. The cosmos are fine.
you know how i fix cloudy water? I dont. I just limit feeding to once every 2 days and ride it out. works every time.
Essentially that is the correct solution
Your microphone is weak
Probably because I don't use one lol
Do nothing. It will fix itself, unless you have bunch of plastic toys and gravel in your aquarium lol