Cloud layer?

[Vorteil]

Disturbing the water does nothing to the algae. I just pour my water in and then use a spoon to stir the water well so it mixes in. Sounds like you're being too careful.

[Ula Hula]

Wow, I'm cycling a tank and just had the same thing happen! It's cloudy on the bottom and crystal clear on top. I don't have any shrimp in there yet, just snails. So weird! I guess I'll stir it and see what happens.

[Mustafa]

Salinity differences do not cause cloudiness in my experience. They cause "blurry" water for a little while, but that disappears quickly. The kind of cloudiness that the picture in the first post shows is a bacterial bloom. The only solution is to leave the tank alone for however long it takes for it to disappear. No feeding at all. Plants will help over time, too, including surface algae growth. Once nutrients are low, there is nothing for the bacteria to eat and they die off. After that they can't compete with the plants and algae unless you feed a ton again. A "ton" is still a very small amount in a Supershrimp tank, but enough to feed the bacteria. When in doubt, don't feed!

[Droyed]

So, I think the cloud problem has resolved its self. Went on a three day trip and the only thing lighting my tank was the led light set on a timer for 12 hours of illumination. Usually have the blinds open in a nearby window to provide some indirect lighting for the macro algae, but not while I was gone. When I got home the tank had cleared up a lot. I’ve since left the blinds mostly closed and the tank continues to clear up. Result!

[Droyed]

I’d ordered snails and after a hot weather hold of several weeks they safely arrived. Wow, what a difference! Those little dudes are worth their weight in gold! Water clarity is back to normal in just a week of introducing them into the tank. The organic growth will take some time to control, but the snails are having a positive on that growth already. Should have put them in the tank from the start, but I thought they were too expensive. Now, I have nothing but regret I took so long to get them. Don’t skimp on the snails!

[Droyed]

Here is my tank about two weeks after adding snails.

[dglidden]

Very nice jar and glad to see you finally got your weird cloud layer thing worked out! The only thing I would say is that, going with something Mustafa said to me with a similar photo, that chaeto could probably be reduced by a good 80% to give algae and other biofilm to build up for everyone. As he said, "it's a nutrient sponge"! I had about that much in my jar of similar size and once I removed a huge chunk of it (It can come back from tiny shards, so don't worry) the algae and other stuff started growing and making my shrimp and snails even happier! I don't really see much in the way of other bio buildup, so it's something to consider.

[Droyed]

Thanks! I just assumed the more, the merrier. It has grown a lot since starting the tank.

[Droyed]

I removed about 60% of the macro algae from my main tank and put it into my old 1 gallon tank. Hated to just toss it so set up the little tank just for the grass! If the snails get too populous in the main tank then I can move them to the little tank.

[Mustafa]

I’d ordered snails and after a hot weather hold of several weeks they safely arrived. Wow, what a difference! Those little dudes are worth their weight in gold! Water clarity is back to normal in just a week of introducing them into the tank. The organic growth will take some time to control, but the snails are having a positive on that growth already. Should have put them in the tank from the start, but I thought they were too expensive. Now, I have nothing but regret I took so long to get them. Don’t skimp on the snails!

Yeah, that do make a HUGE difference overall. They eat all the organic crap that would usually accumulate in the substrate, and they also help out with the algae. I consider the snails a must and we have them in all of our tanks!