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musicalfish

Cloudy water question

musicalfish
17 years ago

Hello,

I just bought a 30 gallon aquarium. Yesterday I set it up, filled it with water, and started my canister filter system. I dechlorinated every 5 gallon pail of water I dumped inside of the tank, and I added a biolfilter in the form of a bacteria sponge from another aquarium (pet store) inside the top part of my canister filter.

My questions:

1. How long should I wait before adding the first fish to my aquarium?

2. Can the cloudy water be explained by the bacteria, and will this level out by itself?

Thanks

Comments (3)

  • petiolaris
    17 years ago

    Sounds like a good start! The cloudiness is likely explained by the Nitrosamonas bacteria breaking down ammonia and if let run its course, it will clear up on its own, assuming there isn't something else going on in there. But to be sure of what is going on, I'd suggest buying an Ammonia / Nitrite / Nitrate kit.

    Not exactly sure why there is cloudiness, since there are no critters producing wasteproducts. But then again, I've never used a biolfilter or added chemicals to speed the process along. If it were me, I'd test the water and wait until the cloudiness disappears. Then I would add (1) fish and see how that goes.

  • woeisme
    17 years ago

    Sometimes the cloudy water is from residual dust on the gravel. If you used a product called "Cycle" (not reccomended) it can sometimes cloud the tank. The dechlorinater you used deppending on brand, may contain Aloe. This can sometimes cloud the water. My advice is a fishless cycle. The sponge that the pet store gave you is a great way to speed up the cycle, but the bacteria needs "food" to live. There are many bacterias that are needed to colonize to make up your bio-filter. If one bacteria is present and the other isn't or is minimal then yes, the bacteria is the cause of cloudiness. This is common after the first stage of establishing the nitrogen cycle. Read the article in the link below for a good explanation of the "cycle". Like I said. The best way to start a tank is with the fishless cycle. This way you can keep the levels of Ammonia and Nitrate high enough to speed the growth of bacteria. Usually when cycling with fish there are some casualties/deaths. Trying to keep the fish alive and well can be frustrating and prolong the establishment of the cycle. The other way (much easier IMO)is if you are doing a planted tank. Live plants that is. In this case set your tank up and plant it. Wait at least 2 weeks, 3-4 is better, and if your plants are growing and doing well slowly stock fish at the rate of 1 inch of fish, per 5 gallons. Test water daily for 2 weeks and slowly stock fish bi-weekly until your limit is done. Plants utilize ammonia and nitrates very quickly. A planted tank has very little bacteria in its filter and gravel compared to an artificially planted tank. When cycling with plants, it is sometimes called the silent cycle, because you never really trace any toxins (ammonia and nitrites) in testing. What the plants don't use first the bacterias do. Usually there are small ammounts on the plant leaves aswell.

    Here is a link that might be useful: The Nitrogen Cycle from the KRIB website

  • james_ny
    17 years ago

    When you add a tankful of new water it may have many minerals in it. This could cause an alge bloom that clouds the water. It usually only lasts for a few days then the alge eat all the minerals then die off. You can add fish a few days after filling the tank but don't add too many and make sure their hardy, inexpensive fish. And be sure to test the water until it cycles.

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