cloudy water ?

[Ken z]

Hi

I just set up a 90 gallon tank for my father, he wants to go with a planted tank. The tank has been set-up for about six weeks now. As far as filtration I have a under tank sump with a filter sock (same thing I have on my 90 gal mixed reef tank) When I set the tank up I used a Med size pebble for a substrate and used ro/di water. Right now I only have 5 mollies and 5 plants that the fish store said were good for a begginer in there and they're doing well, as a matter of fact one of the black mollies had babies. As far as lighting I have a 4 bulb T-5 fixture over the tank.

Now onto the problem I test my water with a API master test kit and the nitrate, nitrite and ammonia is testing 0 and the PH is at about 7. However the tank gets very cloudy then I do a water change it clears up for acouple days and gets cloudy again. I run carbon in a reactor and I have been dosing a water clarifier but it just keeps getting cloudy again.:help: should I remove most of the pebble I have in there and switch to sand or a plant substrate? Thanks for any help

Ken

[Cliff]

How well did you wash the substrate ? Could it be fine particals from the new substrate ?

My only other guess would be a bactria bloom as it sounds like you are cycling with fish. What are you using for bio-media in your sump ?

[Ken z]

Do you mean bio-balls or something else?

[Cliff]

Yes, that is what I mean. What type of filter media do you have in your sump to grow the bacteria on ?

[Ken z]

I have about 100 plastic bio balls in the sump.

[Cliff]

Did you wash the substrate very well before setting up the tank ?

[ldoerr]

Maybe a bacterea bloom like cliff said.

[Ken z]

Yes I used a colender and ran tap water until the water looked clean then did a quick rinse with rod I water before I put it in the tank.

[vinodjbhatia]

Seems like a mini cycle. Have you by any chance washed the filter media recently - in tap water?