Cloud layer?

[Droyed]

Can anyone explain to me what’s going on in my tank? Looks like a fog layer about midway up the water column. Shrimp seem okay, should I be worried?

[Droyed]

Thanks, I’ll do that.

[Droyed]

Stirred the water to see if the “cloud” layer would dissipate. The cloudiness is starting to separate again toward the bottom of the water column. Shrimp still seem to unaffected. No idea what is happening. This started last night.

[Rosiepink89]

Hmm how old is the set up? Could a contaminat have gotten in? What if anything have you fed them?

[Droyed]

Tank setup is about 2 months old. Everything in tank purchased from petshrimp. Fed a small amount of spiralina flakes about a week ago and it was all eaten or carried away. First time I noticed the cloud like layer was last night after I top off the tank with distilled water from a gallon jug I’ve used several times before. Other than that, nothing new has been introduced. I am at a loss to explain the cloudy layer. The shrimp seem normal, no one in distress.

[sliphorn]

Tank setup is about 2 months old. Everything in tank purchased from petshrimp. Fed a small amount of spiralina flakes about a week ago and it was all eaten or carried away. First time I noticed the cloud like layer was last night after I top off the tank with distilled water from a gallon jug I’ve used several times before. Other than that, nothing new has been introduced. I am at a loss to explain the cloudy layer. The shrimp seem normal, no one in distress.

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It could be a bacterial bloom of some type. If so, it should dissipate over time. The shrimp are not bothered so I would leave well enough alone and do not feed.
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[Droyed]

Thanks, slip.

[Rosiepink89]

Let us know how it goes!

[Droyed]

The cloud layer has settled to the floor of the tank. Looks like a light snow. The water column is still slightly cloudy, but slowly clearing. The shrimp don’t seem to care at all! They are busy doing their normal activities. I have no idea what happened to cause the cloud to develop. Just keep watching and hope nothing else goes weird.

[sliphorn]

The cloud layer has settled to the floor of the tank. Looks like a light snow. The water column is still slightly cloudy, but slowly clearing. The shrimp don’t seem to care at all! They are busy doing their normal activities. I have no idea what happened to cause the cloud to develop. Just keep watching and hope nothing else goes weird.

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Yup, sit tight, don't feed and I have a feeling it will clear.
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[Droyed]

The cloud layer showed up again! It appears to be caused by the distilled water I was using to top off the tank level. After adding water yesterday the cloud showed up about an hour later and after thinking about it, it showed up the first time after using that jug of water. I’ve switched to a different jug, different producer and will see what happens the next time I need to top off the water level. Will post back after I try the new jug of distilled water.

[sliphorn]

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Perhaps Vorteil is correct. It very well could be a separation of salinities.
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[Droyed]

Any suggestions on adding distilled water then? I’ve been trying not to disturb the macro algae too much by slowly adding the distilled water. Maybe don’t worry about that and pour hard enough so the distilled water reaches the bottom of the tank? Take some brackish out of the tank, mix with distilled water and add that to bring the level up? May sound funny, but this 2 gallon tank is much larger than the original tank I had years ago. This particular “cloud” issue has been a head scratcher for me.
Thanks for the suggestions.

[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!