Habitat - Indoor :: murky water

[Shelldon]

hello everyone!

i cleaned my tank a couple of days ago (50% water change) and the water was ok but now the water is a murky, swampish green colour. what could i have done to do this and how can i get the water to be clear again?

thanks!

[jozzep]

Sounds like you killed the beneficial bacteria somehow. Next time try changing 25% of the water instead. Now you need to cycle the filter and wait for the bacteria to establish again.
But just out of curiosity, why did you do a 50% water change if the water was clear?

[floydster]

Any time I've done a big water change I've ended up with an algal bloom which sounds like what you described. A big filter with smaller water changes seems to work for me. Crystal clear water all the time although I still do a full change every few months just to clean the bottom.

Floydster

[Shelldon]

it wasnt clear before the change, it was getting dirty and it was the 2 week mark so i would have cleaned it anyways. so the water will unmurk itself? i thought doing a bigger % water change would be better XD now i know

[Shelldon]

ok, so it will go away?

[steve]

What do you have in the tank and is Shelldon eating a lot of veggies?

[jozzep]

it wasnt clear before the change, it was getting dirty and it was the 2 week mark so i would have cleaned it anyways. so the water will unmurk itself? i thought doing a bigger % water change would be better XD now i know

What size tank do you have and what filter?
You should not have to change the water every few weeks.
One of my 125 gal tanks with a cascade 1500 hasn't been cleaned in 6 months. I just top it off every few weeks due to evaporation, and do a 25% water change every 4 times i top it off. The water is crystal clear. I believe it established some awesome bacteria and i hope to not harm that colony once i do decide to clean the filter, but until the water stays clear, i aint touchin' it!!

[Shelldon]

@steve shelldon eats veggies every other day and by what i have in the tank i think you mean decoration and substrate? if so, sand a peice of aquarium wood and some plastic stuff with some rocks.

@jozzep i have 2 filters that add up to 70gals. my tank is a 40 gal filled to about 31gals.

its hard to explain the location of the tank in my room so heres a pic:


those blinds or windows are never open so there is no direct sunlight and what does get through is very little amounts of light.
since its on top of my clothes drawers, i dont have all too much room, or money for that matter, for an exterior filter

[jozzep]

There's the problem..........
Fish tanks cannot be kept near windows or algae will always be a problem. All it takes is that little light that it's getting.

[Shelldon]

guess im going to have to deal with it theres nowhere else to put the tank
any suggestions on how to keep it stabalized?

[steve]

I'd try some cardboard to block the window.

[Shelldon]

will do, lol right now im using a piece of paper towel XD ill get some cardboard

[savage Rock]

i cut open a black garbage bag and wrapped my tank around in it for a couple days straight with the lights off too.

it worked.

[Shelldon]

what do i do with my turtle lol

[jozzep]

i cut open a black garbage bag and wrapped my tank around in it for a couple days straight with the lights off too.

it worked.

I must say that's creative, but what good did that do? Once you take the bag off and leave the tank in same spot,algae will form again. You're gonna keep putting the garbage on the tank once a week?