Cloudy water =/

[E_Tx]

Hey there, how's it going?!

so, I've been having a bit of trouble with my water. I have a 29G freshwater semi aggressive tank with six Tiger Barbs, one Rainbow shark, and a Black Molly.
now, I understand a few reasons for cloudy but I can't really pin point why my water is cloudy and what's the best way to clear it up. I don't think it has to do with algae since the cloudiness is not green, and I have almost no algae growth. I did upgrade my light to a T5 hood so I'm running about 2wats per gallon now. could that be effecting anything?
I understand that water can become cloudy from a bacteria bloom. since the cloudy is white, and I think I may have been over feeding this sounds like it may be my problem. if that is the case, what's the best way to clear it up? will spike in bacteria clear itself out? do i just need to do water changes to to help get rid of the excess? I have a basic understanding of what's going on, I just don't know how to fix it.

My tank is cycled by the way. I've never scene my nitrates rise above about 20 ppm, and I normally do water changes about once a week or every week and a half.

any advice would be helpful! thanks!

[Rocksor]

Water changes and vacuuming the gravel is the best way to reduce the cloudiness in the short term. In the long term, I would reduce feeding. This will reduce the heterotrophic bacteria population that eats the organic material present in your aquarium water.

[~firefly~]

Just a thought: How are you refilling your tank? I often find that people with cloudy water issues are unwittingly careless when pouring water back into the tank - stirring up the substrate etc. Always refill your tank over your hand on the surface (so you aren't disturbing anything and the new water cannot "dive" under the surface) or put a few sheets of kitchen towel on the water surface before pouring water back in.

[E_Tx]

I do my water changes with a 5 gallon bucket. I only fill it about half way so I can poor the water in slowly. the gravel is more or less untouched by the new water.

[~firefly~]

What are your ammonia and nitrite readings?

[E_Tx]

They are both at zero

[~firefly~]

Don't know then. That's strange. Do you overfeed?

Try increasing your water changes and reintroducing the water gently (rather than pouring in). It takes longer but you can use a large measuring jug.

[~firefly~]

...and what is your filtration?

[E_Tx]

yeah, I think I've been over feeding. I know I was over feeding at first, but I've been trying to do as much as they can eat in about 3 minutes, once a day. I'm guessing that's to much.

I'm running a marine land Pengun 200.

[~firefly~]

What size tank is that filter rated for? You should aim for at least double your tank size.

You could try reducing your feeding - 3 minutes sounds an awfully long time - and you might try splitting it into two feeds and you might find less is wasted.