I’ve had this tank for 6 months now, and I can’t seem to get it to clear up. This is what I’ve done from the beginning
I put a few inches of dirt in the bottom, along with like 2 inches of sand(it was rinsed multiple times) i used to have a good set of plants.
What’s currently in the tank
Neocaradina shrimp(alive and breeding well)
Bladder snails
Aquatic isopods
Worms
Microfauna(daphnia, hydra)
All of the animals have been breeding fine. I have never detected nitrites or nitrates
None of these animals have been out of control
The water never seems to clear, I’ve tried
-partial water change (every 2 weeks)
-Cleaning sponge filter( only helps for a couple days) it’s a fine and coarse filter on a 15 gal rated air pump
-done major water change maybe twice
-purigen
It’s a freshwater thank
Although these have helped for a small period, it just gets cloudy again, even when I try to do nothing believing it’s just a bacteria bloom
As for the lighting. It is the stock light from topfin. 10 gal half circle(discontinued) which produces white/blue led
I have it on from 8-12 and then 5 to 10( it’s like this from a Reddit I’ve read that it helps the plants and limits algae growth.
Apart from that. I can’t seem to get any plant to last in the tank. Eventually the shrimp start eating them. Out of like 10-15 plants, I’ve only got like 2 that have actually grown, and even then the most successful plant is starting to get eaten by those shrimp as well
I don’t know if it’s the lighting, the feeding, or is there something I am not doing correctly. I’m at a loss for words. And this is starting to get frustrating. Is there someone that can help understand what I’m doing wrong?
Posted by WoodlandCake
1 Comment
Definitely sounds like a stubborn bacterial bloom that you’ve been feeding into. They don’t always go away on their own, and usually get worse if you clean the tank or change water.
At this stage, get a UVC steriliser filter. That’s probably the best way to combat it.
I’d imagine that the bacterial bloom is blocking light and stealing nutrients, starving out the plants. Once you have a UVC steriliser filter, look into shrimp-safe liquid fertilisers and make sure the plants don’t get too little or too much light. More aeration might also be called for if you don’t already have an airstone or bubbler.
I’m a bit concerned that you haven’t detected nitrates. That much decomposing plant waste and cloudiness should be processed into nitrates via the cycled nitrifying bacteria in the filter sponge;
Ammonia (toxic fish waste) -> nitrite (moderately toxic) -> nitrate (harmless plant food)