Fish tank tech

[RTicUL8]

What do you do about a cloudy tank?


Info:

Fish owner newbie
Just got a 5 gallon tank two days ago.
I put water and Aqua Safe conditioner in it and ran for 24 hours.
Then we put in the fish last night.
This morning the tank seems cloudy - less that 12 hours later.
The carbon filter is installed and water is running thru it correctly.

 

[Shorty]

I'm by no means a fishie guru, but I've seen carbon that will produce some "cloudiness" if you don't rinse it thoroughly before you install it.

Depending on the type of fish, you may not have a large enough filter, too. I know when I was keeping a tank of 3 dozen feeder goldfish (scumbags of the water) their waste was enough to cloud up a 35gal tank in about two days.

 

[RTicUL8]

The filter came with the tank kit, and I rinsed it before installing it.
The water was clear during the first 24 hour setup period.

There are 5 small fish and one small crab.

 

[Ghost]

If 00classic does not chime in give him a pm. Jeremy knows a lot about fish tanks.

 

[SeansBlueXJ]

Reaching back in my brain about fish tanks from my old job at PetCo... that cloudy may happen... fish and fish water are not "clean" they have necessary bacteria and the cloudy is the fish you introduced to the clean water. you need the colony of bacteria to form... when people set up larger tanks we ususally reccomended some "starter" fish to get the ecosystem going. Also never do a full water change when you clean it for the same reasons. In college i had a 10 gal tank i kept. when i moved home in summers i kep 3-4 gal of the old water in jugs to take home and have a jump on the system. Fish are funny in that the smaller the tank, the harder it is to keep them... the faster the delicate levels and ballances get thrown off... it's that same reason we didnt reccomend salt water systems under 40gal.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

cloudyness is normal for the first few days, the tank needs time for the good bacteria to form, as seansbluexj stated. just give it a few days, and change out about a third of the water in a week or so.

 

[RTicUL8]

You guys were right - the cloudiness went away after 2 days.

Here's another question: Can I just use filtered water in the tank and not use the Aqua Safe conditioner?

I have a reverse osmosis filtration system for drinking water.
It removes all chlorine, floride, sediments, etc. from the water.

 

[.40CalPatriot]

You guys were right - the cloudiness went away after 2 days.

Here's another question: Can I just use filtered water in the tank and not use the Aqua Safe conditioner?

I have a reverse osmosis filtration system for drinking water.
It removes all chlorine, floride, sediments, etc. from the water.

I have had many fish tanks in my lifetime and I have concluded the best water to use for freshwater tanks is plain tap water. Go and buy a water container that compliments your tank size. I use these, http://www.nexternal.com/armynavy/images/Reliance-Water-Container.gif.

Fill the container up with tap water and let it sit in sun outside for at least a week. It will get rid of the chlorine and get the nitrate, nitrite, and ph levels to a good level. Also when setting up a brand new tank, set the tank up how you want it and run it without fish for one to two weeks to get the bacteria and nitrate, amonina, nitrite and ph levels to the correct level of water you are using wether it is a freshwater, saltwater or brackish tank.

 

[00Classic]

Nothing I can really add. As everyone has mentioned cloudiness is basically normal. How many fish did you introduce to the tank at one time? As far as the water question I always used tap water with conditioners and never had a problem. But it has been roughly 13 years since I had a fresh water tank. Just salt water since.

 

[Ghost]

Nothing I can really add. As everyone has mentioned cloudiness is basically normal. How many fish did you introduce to the tank at one time? As far as the water question I always used tap water with conditioners and never had a problem. But it has been roughly 13 years since I had a fresh water tank. Just salt water since.

I wondered if you would chime in! Don't miss the gun porn thread either!

 

[tigerchief]

Here's another question: Can I just use filtered water in the tank and not use the Aqua Safe conditioner?

It depends. As someone here mentioned, keeping a small tank properly balanced is actually a lot more work.

I've had a 90 gallon for 10 years, with loads of live plants and the thing just ran itself. I moved twice in that time, and getting the sediment built up again took about 6 months. Loads of snails help, and a rascally skunk loach to keep 'em in check worked beautifully. (The loach would pile up the snail carcasses in one spot, like a bone pyramid, it was pretty funny).

For your size I'd recommend:

Only swap out 1/3 of the water per change is important.

Keep some porous rock material in it if you can (lava rock), whatever size you can accommodate in your tank. The bacteria love living in it.

When you clean your filter, depending on what it is, you may have to re-add conditioner (which I take it you mean the bacteria solution). If your filter has a block of foam, that's where most of the bacteria live (hence the recommendation for the porous rock).

You can tell if you have enough bacteria in the tank by monitoring the ammonia levels. High ammonia, too few bacterium. If you have enough bacteria, they convert ammonia to nitrites which end up as nitrates. Too much nitrate, the fish aren't happy and you likely get algae blooms (lots if the tank gets any direct sunlight). (Not much room in a 5 gallon to plant much, which would help with the nitrates).

Another good rule of thumb is one gallon per one inch of fish, although goldfish are big in comparison to tetras, so a one inch goldfish is like two tetras.

Good luck, enjoy.