cloudy or milky water

[lbtc]

i have a 90 gallons with lots of fish mollies, neons, angels, algie eaters, sword fish, two cat fish, one snail, and plants. we had read that the undergravel filtration was not needed so we took it out. after we did this the water got milky and cloudy. we have try everything from changing the water 50% to adding chemicals to like algie destroyer. nothing seems to work. we understand that this is coursed by bacteria and decaying food. we only have the one filter tetra tec 500. how do we go about fixing it and should we start over from the biggining.

thank for you help

lbtc

[AngelMom]

Welcome to the forum!

I guess the first thing you need to consider is that the filter you are using is not adequate for your tank. It is recommended that the filter used be rated for 1.5 to 2 times the size of the tank (135 gallons minimum in your case - more is better).

You don't say how long it has been since you took out the UGF, but if its only been a short time (a week or so) getting a second filter or replacing the current filter with a canister (strongly recommended for larger tanks) should take care of the problem.

Good Luck!

[aquak]

I second that! Get a good canister filter, and be patient. You don't say how many fish lots of fish is, but no matter how large your tank is, it can still be overstocked, especially if you have angelfish and large or messy fish. What kind of algae eaters, pleco, and catfish do you have? If you are overstocked, it will be harder on the fish and the tank to recover from the filter removal and it will be even more important to get a really good filter. I have one rated for 260 gallons on my 70. You don't have to go to that extreme; I'm just trying to point out that it's hard to overdo and necessary to have enough.