New Tank Syndrome Quick Remedy

Upon taking the 90g apart to put a new background on and change various things up a bit, I like, just about everyone else faced the dreaded NEW TANK SYNDROME.

Despite using Tetra SafeStart, reusing some of the existing tank water from before the breakdown and even squeezing a matured sponge filter into the tank I ended up with murky/hazy looking water that was literally driving me nuts to look at.

Now having tanks and knowing a fair bit about cycling and what not I knew the issue at hand was new tank syndrome which I define as a newly setup tank that's experiencing a bacterial bloom which is part of the tank trying to establish itself biologically with "good" bacteria that will consume the "baddies".

[*]DAY 1:
I tested the water to find out if something was a-miss with a liquid freshwater test kit (API).
Nothing was revealed there, everything tested within the norm/safe zone.

[*]DAY 2
I attempted a partial of approximately 35%...which did nothing for the hazy appearance so shortly afterwards I added my brand new Emperor 400 hang on back filter adding both new mfr. cartridges, 1 plastic cartridge that I filled to the brim with Seachem Matrix (far exceeding the recommended usage amount for my tank size), and 1 severely overfilled bag of Purigen. Still no improvement.

[*]DAY 3
In the morning I noticed two small patches of brown diatoms on the tanks side walls and on both of my xp4 prefilters. Not wanting to "rinse" my prefilters I simply used my Tom cleaning tool and wiped down the inside tank walls and left the prefilters be. I then proceeded to do a major partial of approximately 75% and double dosed the tank with Seachem Prime. Again, no improvement. Ugh!
At this point I vow to head to the lfs tomorrow evening if the tank still looks hazy the next morning.

[*]DAY 4
Tanks still hazy as ever, and I'm not patient enough to "wait it out". Off to Petsmart to find something that will speed things up a bit. I come home with a 8.5oz bottle of Seachem Clarity & a 4oz. bottle of Nutrafin Bio-Clear (I really wanted a bottle of Seachem Stability, but it appears they are no longer carrying it). I read both bottles and find that it's okay to dose with 3x's the normal amount of Clarity for extremely hazy water (which mine definately fits that bill).
By the time I get home my lights are already off and the Lunars are on and I decide to dose it now so hopefully it will be clear by morning when the daytime lights kick on.

-> I dose with 3x's the normal amount of Seachem Clarity, and the recommended dose of the Nutrafin cycle. Less than 2 hours later I look over at my tank and realize I can actually SEE the background details. I head straight up to the glass and realize the tank is now crystal clear and I can clearly SEE everything inside the tank. Inside I'm hollering Yes! Yes! My tank, looks like a fish tank and not a haze! Woo Hoo!

My fingers are crossed that it will remain crystal clear, but if by some chance it doesn't then I know what I can safely use until it establishes itself (in addition to advance planning to buy FritzZyme & add a mesh bag of a bit of my 20gL substrate to get things going).

2cents Just thought I'd share in case others are aggrovated by the haze too and looking for a quick fix to tide them over until the tank becomes successfully established.

 

[*]DAY 5:
Upon waking up this morning I found the tank crystal clear with glass-like water quality...simply amazing!

My sponge prefilters, heater, and rena attachments that sat in the water all needed "rinsed" off due to being covered in a orangish/brownish substance that appeared to look similar to diatoms...but it easily wiped off.

And here are the BEFORE and AFTER tank shots to prove it.

BEFORE:
View attachment ai53.tinypic.com_6qjeoi.jpg
With larger picture being able to be seen here--> 90 Gallon Planted Discus Community Fish Tank

AFTER using Bio-Clear & 3x's the Clarity:


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