Constant Cloudy Water-Cichlids

Question
QUESTION: It would not let me do a follow up question. I do turn the light off at night most of the time, but leaving it on 24/7 has done no good either, actually the longer the light is on, the cloudier the water gets. I do not know what brackish water is. The type of filters I am using are Aquatech Power filters, carbon cartriges. I have added no chemicals for the cichlids, haven't known of any...

ANSWER: Hi Randy:  Sorry for the round about series of questions... but they are actually helping me diagnose your cloudy water issues.  So we have eliminated light as a source of your cloudy water.  Please leave the light on in the tank no more then about 9-10 hours per day and make sure its off at night.  What kind of bulbs are you using for light??? how old are they?  Florescent bulbs lose their benefit after about six months of use... even if they still light up they may not be putting enough light into the bottom of your tank.  That would also cause the water to be cloudy.  What are the water chemistry values... I know you said they were near perfect but if you have the values that will help me too.  Brackish water is something between freshwater and salt water. It is often used with cichlids. There are also some minerals and other chemical additives that some people add to their cichlid tanks... so if you are not adding any of those then we can cross that off of out list.  if you can get back to me about the age of the lights and your water chemistry values I can make some more suggestions.  I would at any rate add beneficial bacteria to the tank.  dave

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The bulb is a floresent type and it is new as of 2 months ago. PH is neutral, water is soft, nitrates are at 20, nitrites are at 0, alkalinity is at about 100. About this bacteria to add, what is it and where could I get it?

Answer
Hi Randy:  Tank water is a mixture of minerals, chemicals, and bacteria.  For clear tanks the three must find a balance. The farther we go  into this the more I am convinced that your tank is still cycling... cycling is the process that tank water goes through to find its balance.  The tank can cycle indefinitely if too much water if removed.  Change about 10-20% each week but only take out more then 20% if you have a chemical spike.  Beneficial bacteria is one of the things that will cause the gray cloud.  For some reason your tank thinks it needs more bacteria so the bacteria are reproducing.  You can buy bottled beneficial bacteria at your local aquarium store.  Products such as Nitromax and Cycle are bottled bacteria and you can add those to your tank per their instructions.  There are other brands of bacteria but those are the two that I am most familiar with.  Once you add the bacteria it will take a couple of days to a week to see results; however, you should start to see the cloud going away by the next day.  Keep me posted and feel free to ask me more questions...dave