Cloudy water in my 55 gallon tank?

Question

So heres the deal, been running my 55 gallon tank for about a week and a half now, the water is milky cloudy. There is no fish currently stocked in the tank. I have more than enough filtration, two penguin 350, one on each side, and have black carbon in my basket bins in the back. I have thrown a pinch of food in it everyday to get some ammonia buildup. My question is my water after a week of running is still very very cloudy. All my gravel was rinsed very well, i have about 40 pounds of live rock in there that i also rinsed. What could be causing this, I also want to note I do have a small powerhead in the tank for some better water circulation. Another note, I have done a 10 gallon water change so far, I did take the python and hit the gravel to see if any dust blew up, nothing whatsoever? Any advice or answers on what could be causing this???

Update:

i have 4 bio wheels going, when i checked my ph was good, not a trace of ammonia or nitrite yet, no nitrate neitheir, so i dont think the cycling process has even begun yet, my other 55 galloni used black gravel, when i initally filled it up at night, my water was so black that you couldnt even see the back glass, by the morning it all cleared up and water was see through, same tank, same exact filter setup, this one has more of a cloudy milky look to it

Eric · Accepted Answer

I would wait, I was starting my cycle and after 2 weeks it turned cloudy, its the build up of the bacteria that is need to fight off the ammonia....I would not feed the tank anymore cause you really just need to spike it once.....Wait a week or so more and test water and if good add one fish and see how he does for a while....Sounds normal to me

millicent · Answer

"Oh, I also know that algae can be caused by to much light. So I took off two extra lights on my tank and I am now a bit below 2 watts per gallon. I think I have 13,000K. I know it does not really matter because it is more the color of light, but some people ask for some reason." Finally we get a clue... 13K lights are for marine tanks, not freshwater plants. You want 6-7,000K light for freshwater plants, that approximate natural sunlight. Freshwater plants can not make use up light up around 13,000K. So the result is that the plants are not growing properly, excess nutrients are left in the water, and that (coupled with the light) causes algae growth. Get the correct lights, the plant growth will improve, that uses the excess nutrients from the water, and the algae problems goes away. See why we ask for details, without the snippet of info about the lamps it would be a total mystery. Ian

Ghapy · Answer

You don't have a a problem, you just have rotting food in your tank, so it's not surprising that it got cloudy.

Don't worry about cloudiness, just concentrate on the invisible toxins that are your cycle.  

Cycling with food is very messy and causes more then just ammonia to leech into the water.  When all is said and done and your tank is cycled you should be doing a very large water change before adding fish to clean things up anyway.

Sarah S · Answer

Have you tested the water? Chances are the tank is still cycling but usually the cloudiness is gone in a day or so. The water change could of affected it But I would test the water first, i've never had a tank with live rock so that could be why but not sure. Good luck

Anonymous · Answer

It will disappear within a day up to a week.  You can also get a micro filter for your penguin filters.  

I have had this on tanks I have setup for saltwater and it is usually gone in a day or two.

James · Answer

Hi, this happened to mine, you'll need to leave the lights of all the time and either change 20% of the water every day until it stops, or leave it until it stops. I've done both, and they can both take a very long time sometimes

Hope this helps!

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Cloudy water in my 55 gallon tank?

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