Milky/cloudy water

[walker26]

Hoping someone can give me some advice as to what is out of balance. Fish seem very happy, Rams have even had a batch of eggs, then ate them Since setting the tank up the water has always been a little milky with a film on the surface. I normally do a 10-20% weekly water change. Not been able to get Nitrates below 40 either, even after doing a 70% water change last week. At the same time I rinsed the filter sponges in tank water and replaced the standard Fluval Biomax with some more Matrix, there was already some Matrix in there from when I set the tank up and added another 100g Purigen to the 100g that was already in there, also added 3 pieces of 20mm filter floss. I’ve included some info on the setup which might be relevant. Thanks for any advice.
Planted tank, dosed daily with 2.5ml - 5ml of each of the following Easylife ferts
Profito
Easycarbo
Ferro

17 Cardinals
2 Rams
8 Sterbai
4 BN Plecs
1 Bulldog Plec

340 litre tank
Fluval FX4
Fluval CP2
Fluval Aquasky
200g Purigen
Nearly 1.5 litres Matrix

Temp’ 25.5c
GH 5
KH 5
pH 7
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 40

[Andys temperate tank]

Could be a bacteria bloom. Sounds like you've taken cycles media out of the filter and it's trying to catch up.

[plankton]

Sounds like the nitrates are high straight from the tap, so you'll need something like a Pozzani filter if you want to lower those.
It could be a bloom as you've removed all of one type of media at once (it's best to do it slowly).
The film will be because the surface isn't moving enough to get it through the filter.

[walker26]

Thanks guys. I’m not saying it isn’t a bacteria bloom but it’s been milky from pretty much when I set it up, which was the end of October. I’ve tested the water several times since the media change as I was a little concerned it might be too much in one hit but all tests remained the same as before.
I tested the tap water for nitrate when I first filled the tank and it was 5ppm.
I’ve got one filter outlet and the CP2 pointed at each other and slightly up which gives good movement in one area as you will see in the photos but quite minimal movement else where, the other filter outlet points to the front. Any ideas how to get better movement?
I thought the end on photo would give a better idea of how milky the water is by comparing it to the wall not viewed through the water but it doesn’t really show, not that it’s that bad, just not as clear as I think/would like it to be.

[fr499y]

Do you have floss in your filter, it could be particles in the water column making it look cloudy. Running some floss for a few days in the filter will give you an idea if it’s bacteria or floating particles

[Andys temperate tank]

Are you running an fx filter? If you are which one and how bigs your tank?

[Redpanda]

When I started with my fx4 - was first ever filter in my life and I had no idea about anything in them . I didn’t rinse white ceramic rings properly only just wet them and had white particles / dusty water for a bit. I think I was even posting on here I’m not saying you would have done the same but maybe it’s a possibility?
So I used polishing pads for couple of weeks as suggested by post above and it’s cleared forever .
Worth trying, just remember to change them often as they get blocked very quickly to start with.

[walker26]

Using an FX4 in 340 litre tank. I’ve rinsed all media before adding to the filter. I added 3 pieces of 20mm filter floss when I did the 70% water change and added the extra Matrix just over a week ago. If I remember correctly I put a single piece in the bottom cassette above 2 bags of Purigen and then I put 2 pieces in the bottom red insert cartridge above some Matrix.
All the extra media and filter floss I’ve added was to try and combat the milky water and high nitrate but it doesn’t appear to be working or have I just not given it long enough?

[plankton]

I found Purigen slows the flow somewhat, and with two lots in your filter it may not be pushing as much water through as it should.
Purigen should clear anything to cause cloudiness.......
If the ammonia and nitrite are still zero then I can only think that you're overfeeding - that could cause high nitrates and cloudy water.

[Andys temperate tank]

I've never ran floss in my fx6. Only course sponges and bio media. I prefer to let the fx filter turn the tank volume over as much as possible and I've never suffered cloudy water.