Real cloudy tank

[liljack]

My 125 has been set up about 14 days,about 5 days in it clouded up(someone said it was a bloom) its been sort of clearing up since but this morning I left and when I returned an hour and half later it was REAL cloudy ...is this some sort of second bacteria bloom??

amonia-high
nitrite-high
I read these would be high at first and then drop....
I did change 10gals of water on Monday

Fish look fine-no different than before clouding.

Should I just let it alone and see if it starts clearing up,dont want to do anything to make it worse or interfere with the process.

[wesleydnunder]

Re: Real cloudy tank

High ammonia and nitrite levels will be lethal to your fish. I would do daily water changes of at least 50%, possibly greater volume, until the ammonia and nitrite are less than .5. Your filter bacteria will still grow and the bloom should clear gradually as well.

Mark

[armthehomeless]

Re: Real cloudy tank

What he said.

[liljack]

Re: Real cloudy tank

Any idea why it clouded up all of a sudden like that?

[Zulaab]

Re: Real cloudy tank

Bacteria bloom..  Do you have a test kit ?  I would check your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.   If you dont own one yet I would recommend strongly go get the Freshwater API master kit.  This will have everything you need (except chlorine tester)
If you see your ammonia rise above 1ppm then do a water change.  If its not then leave it until it rises to that point.  I would do a water change only once every 2 weeks for the first month.   You want the ammonia and nitrites to rise so the bacteria can rise up and start consuming your ammonia and nitrites.  The bloom you are seeing I imagine is the one you see after a week after fish has been added to the tank.   The bacteria will settle down in places where there is water flow and a spongie (porous) material *like what is inside your filter* and your gravel bed.  Over time they will accumulate in high numbers in there which is why you only want to clean your filters in aquarium water (ie drain some of your water into a bucket and then clean the filter in that)  Will remove the dirt not the bacteria.
The bloom will settle in your tank in matter of days.  You will see another bloom again when you add more and more fish into your tank..   Now if you add 3-6 fish at a time you will not see it because the waste a few of them makes will only add a little amount of bacteria to the tank.. and you will not notice the bloom.  If you add say 25 fish at once you will see the bloom again.   It takes about 7-14 days for the bloom to appear and vanish again.  (this is why I am saying dont do a water change but once every 14 days for the first month.. let the bacteria have a chance to grow strong in your tank before you remove their food)
After that once a week if you have lots of fish or high bio load in your tank.

[wesleydnunder]

Re: Real cloudy tank

In a fishless cycle I wouldn't do a waterchange at all until fully cycled. However, when doing a fishy cycle the fish are subjected to often lethal conditions. Even at low concentrations of 1 ppm ammonia and nitrite the fish are still stressed by those levels. Keeping the levels minimal may keep the fish from succumbing to those two pollutants. The bacteria will still grow at measured levels of .5 ppm and even lower, though possibly at a reduced rate. As long as ammonia and nitrite are present in the water, the bacteria will grow. I was just concerned that the OP's fish wouldn't survive a fishy cycle with "high" levels of ammonia and nitrite.

Mark

[nacra99]

Re: Real cloudy tank

Bacteria blooms are very common while cycling. It should clear when the tank is cycled.
i.e ammonia = 0 , nitrites =0, nitrates >0

Cycling with fish can take as long as 6 weeks, The fact that you have nitrItes means that you're about halfway there.

Personally, i wouldn't do any WC's during cycling, You need the nitrites to build up enough for the 2nd stage bacteria (nitrite to nitrate) growth, doing waterchanges will remove nitrates and hence slow down cycling time. But that's just my opinion. I'm sure others will disagree.

[rrocket2002]

Re: Real cloudy tank

How soon did you introduce your fish?  Fish size and number?

[liljack]

Re: Real cloudy tank

After only a few days
small 5 tiger bards,5 silver dollar,2bala sharks

fish seem good,no erratic behavior or breathing..etc..

[Zulaab]

Re: Real cloudy tank

Yeah the more and more of your description you are looking at the tank cycling..  You are not having a problem... its normal.  You will most likely not see this issue again unless you add a ton of fish at the same time again.

[txfatcat]

Re: Real cloudy tank

There are a couple of things you can do to reduce cycle time. If your Nitrite or Nitrate levels are off the scale then absolutely 50-75% water changes daily until the numbers go down.  Get a Python to do water changes if you dont have one already. This will become your best friend.  Buy conditioner by the gallon as it will make things easier in the long run.

To reduce cycle time you can add

http://www.aquariumplants.com/Bio_Sp..._p/biosp01.htm        Which can be found at you LFS or a product called CYCLE. I have had mixed results with both of these.

If you have someone close to you then you could take thier "dirty" filters and rinse them in you tank. Or if  they have a " hang on back" filter that has been running that you could put on your tank to assist in cycling.

The last that I have had very good results with is getting "live" sand commonly used for marine tanks. This sand already has bacteria in it and works great. Problem is the cost is about double.

[wesleydnunder]

Re: Real cloudy tank

Biospira does work. Just make sure that the place you buy it has it in the refrigerator, as the bacteria die otherwise. When cooled to 40 F the bacteria are dormant and oxygen and food needs are greatly reduced. When you add it to the tank it does warm up but then it's in an aerobic environment with lots of food available. I've never tried Cycle but from what I've read, it's pretty much snake oil. As for live sand, the nitrifying bacteria in freshwater are different species from those in salt water so I'm pretty sure live sand won't help your tank cycle any faster.

Mark

[txfatcat]

Re: Real cloudy tank

I didnt say that the Biospira was no good. Just stated that I personally have had mixed results.  The last couple of times that I have used it. I still saw my tank cycle. Now I have enouph tanks up and running that I just move filters around if needed.


They make live sand for freshwater. I should have been more clear on this. I have used both and had "zero" cycle time in some of my tanks when setting them up.

[wesleydnunder]

Re: Real cloudy tank

No worries, mate. I wasn't arguing the bio spira point, just affirming it's usefulness. I've never seen FW live sand...sounds like a good idea.

I use a similar method when starting a new tank. I either put the new filter on an existing tank for a few weeks then move to the new tank when I'm ready to use it or move half the media from an existing filter to the new one when I start up the new tank. Either way I never stock the new tank fully to start off. I still stock slowly and test to make sure my filter keeps up with each addition. Once the new tank is fully stocked and running smoothly, I seldom if ever test again unless a problem shows up.

Mark

[JStrider]

Re: Real cloudy tank

even better then the biospira/whatever   is if you have a friend with a disease free aquarium, get a used piece of filter from them, keep it in their tank water untill you get home and then put it in your filter... that way you'll have a quantity of all the bacteria needed to cycle and they'll have a jump start on multiplying up to the number needed....