So I set up a tank as a teenager and it was left forgotten at my parents house as I went off to college, graduated, etc etc. Now that things have calmed down I remembered they existed (oops) and now have them at my house.
Thing is, the water is pretty tinted and an unattractive murkiness. The the top layer of gravel is white, but underneath its very brownish.
I’d like to set up a new tank for them and I’ve heard people mention on this forum that their water is crystal clear, so what did I do wrong as a teen setting them up? I don’t want to make the same mistake and have murky water again.
It’s 1.5 gallon, with snails (their population is booming! So many babies) and about 10 shrimp (same number I started with despite thinking that I saw a berried female years ago). They haven’t been fed in probably 4 years, and when they did get fed last it was with a powder shrimp food. I got the shrimp from petshrimp.com, but I'm pretty sure the snails are from a local pet shop and I think they are trumpet snails.
The tank has fine white aquarium gravel, some driftwood, rocks, calcium rock, a moss ball, and no light as it gets low to mid (depending on the season) indirect light from the window.
When looking around on this forum I heard that the microalgae and lava rocks are important to the cycle; could that be the only thing I’m missing and what’s causing the issue?
Thank you for any help!
