I have a 15 gallon tank that has been setup before. I let it sit for a while and restarted it the other day. I have a filter that is actually for a 30-50 gallon tank and it's cleaning the water very well, it's just kinda cloudy. I used Distilled water that works well in every other tank I've had and the 10 gallon in the living room is crystal clear. So.... there's no difference in what I'm doing. You guys have any suggestions? I already have an Albino Oscar, a Tiger Oscar and 2 Dempsey Cichlids in there (still really small) so I have to be able to do the solution with fishies.. Thanks ahead of time.
Can't get the tank to be clear?
- Thread starter mbullman
- Start date
Whoa. Everyone calm down. As far as your cloudiness, I'm not sure what the issue is, although it could be a bacteria bloom, which is actually a good thing, it means the bacteria in your tank is catching up to the bioload. If you don't know about cycling a tank, you should read up on it, there's a good link in MissFishy's profile, which you can find by searching for it on here. In regards to Unwritten's comment, he said that because your tank is grossly overstocked. I understand that they're all small now, but with those fish you may still have problems with aggression. You should also plan for the adult size of your fish, and unless you're upgrading to at least a 55 gallon, you won't be able to keep these fish healthy for long. I believe that at most you'd probably want the 2 oscars in a 55 gallon, and another for the jack dempseys. That's 110 gallons, and you have them in a 15 right now, which is approximately 10% of the space they need. Thus unwritten's reply, which was still probably not necessary, but we do get trolls on here, so that's probably why. Also, even if the size is not an issue yet, the aggression very well could be, as those are all fish that can fight if cramped and need space to make territories. So, read up on cycling, and make plans to rehome all 4 of your fish if you want to have long term success. Also, please don't call us names.
That helps some, thank you. I won't call names if people don't post an answer just to be a jerk.
I was wrong about the size. It's either a 25 or a 30 gallon. I know that the tank isn't big enough for them in their full size and I'm actually saving up for a 110gal that I saw today. I had the current tank and missed the Cichlid (that was in there by himself) I had for 2 years so I set it back up and noticed the problem with the water. I can try to take a pic and see if that helps if you'd like?
I was wrong about the size. It's either a 25 or a 30 gallon. I know that the tank isn't big enough for them in their full size and I'm actually saving up for a 110gal that I saw today. I had the current tank and missed the Cichlid (that was in there by himself) I had for 2 years so I set it back up and noticed the problem with the water. I can try to take a pic and see if that helps if you'd like?
You're welcome. I still think that asking a question, which can seem ridiculous, since we do get trolls on here, and then calling someone a name that the server asterisks out is unnecessary. Saying that there's no need to be rude, yes, having an incredibly sarcastic, unproductive response, and talking trash about the forum you just joined in your second post, probably not. As far as your tank, it's still too small, but you seem to be aware of that. I don't have oscars, so I don't know how quickly things may go wrong for you, either with aggression, cramped space, or bioload. I don't have any more suggestions as far as the water. You didn't recently add sand or anything, did you? Also, is the tank cycled?
I do think that those trash talking people are idiots!!!
like complete morans. in case they have forgotten, they
were ALL freaking Newwbies when they started, so i
think that they should be more understanding to
those people who are just starting to get into it, like
myself, i have no freaking clue what im doing, and i know
i might ask stupi8d questions sometimes, but it is very
nice when poeople who know abotu this share info wiht
me, ahah so thanks for that.
like complete morans. in case they have forgotten, they
were ALL freaking Newwbies when they started, so i
think that they should be more understanding to
those people who are just starting to get into it, like
myself, i have no freaking clue what im doing, and i know
i might ask stupi8d questions sometimes, but it is very
nice when poeople who know abotu this share info wiht
me, ahah so thanks for that.
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I tested the ph of the water before I put the fish in and it seemed fine. I'll test it again tomorrow when I get home and give you the numbers and see what else I can get to test the water. I'm really new to actually trying to do more than not kill them so I didn't cycle the tank since until yesterday I didn't even know what that was. I'm still in the dark some, but I'm reading a lot on here and everywhere else I can trying to learn. I found some water clarifier from Top Fin at Pet Smart but I didn't wanna jump on that if it wasn't going to solve my problem.
Well to me I made that kind of mistake many times. I really suggest to get rid of everything to stores and to start over and before starting over ( read all stickys and on other sites and even more). Most the time Youll find a new fish you like and rather have that. Anyways there's more then PH to read and test when with water quality.
I do think that those trash talking people are idiots!!!
like complete morans. in case they have forgotten, they
were ALL freaking Newwbies when they started, so i
think that they should be more understanding to
those people who are just starting to get into it, like
myself, i have no freaking clue what im doing, and i know
i might ask stupi8d questions sometimes, but it is very
nice when poeople who know abotu this share info wiht
me, ahah so thanks for that.
like complete morans. in case they have forgotten, they
were ALL freaking Newwbies when they started, so i
think that they should be more understanding to
those people who are just starting to get into it, like
myself, i have no freaking clue what im doing, and i know
i might ask stupi8d questions sometimes, but it is very
nice when poeople who know abotu this share info wiht
me, ahah so thanks for that.
only thing said was is this a joke and it was explained why that was asked so chill out !
Honestly I thought it was a joke too.
I don't know about other forums because this is the best one so I only come here.
Now that people know you are not a troll, they will be more willing to help so you shouldn't take the first comment as an insult. We didn't know you were "for real".
We all know that we don't know everything which is why most of us frequent this site. We are all still learning too, learning from other's unique situations.
Or at least I am.
Now for the cloudiness, if it is a bacteria bloom, it will go away on its own in a few days. You don't need to use distilled water or any special water for that matter. Many people use de-chlorinator (neutralizes chlorine) on their tap water. Chlorine, if put into the tank will kill off your beneficial bacteria. Which you probaly already know so thats why you are using distilled water...?
I think it may be more economical to buy a dechlorinator from the lfs than all that bottled water.
I don't know about other forums because this is the best one so I only come here.
Now that people know you are not a troll, they will be more willing to help so you shouldn't take the first comment as an insult. We didn't know you were "for real".
We all know that we don't know everything which is why most of us frequent this site. We are all still learning too, learning from other's unique situations.
Or at least I am.
Now for the cloudiness, if it is a bacteria bloom, it will go away on its own in a few days. You don't need to use distilled water or any special water for that matter. Many people use de-chlorinator (neutralizes chlorine) on their tap water. Chlorine, if put into the tank will kill off your beneficial bacteria. Which you probaly already know so thats why you are using distilled water...?
I think it may be more economical to buy a dechlorinator from the lfs than all that bottled water.
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in all honesty, if people just googled bios on fish they want before actually purchasing them, they wouldn't be stuck with oscars in a 20G tank. and BTW, designsonyou said it's okay to have 2 oscars in a 55... I'm gonna have to give you fits about that because sinisterkisses went off on me. 1 oscar = 50G of water, 2 oscar = 100G of water, end.
Just my opinions;
Correct on the cloudiness. Mine were a bit cloudy until the cycle settled down. Don't wash the filter media unless it is plugging up and then use de-chlorinated water only. Keep the tank out of the sun. Lately I have not been using carbon and the water is clear. I now use carbon only once in a while when a little bit of tank odor is noticeable. I get that because of the food I use. If I wipe down the insides and clean the outside of the glass the tanks are crystal-clear. Can't see the water.
Also, I do 25% water changes about every five days. I consider 25% once a week to be the minimum. Use PRIME.
My Bluegills are aggressive, big time. Biologically my tanks are lightly stocked but some of them like to beat up on others. I just moved one bully from the 40 to the 100 because an equal sized fish was being bullied. I moved two smaller bluegills in with this bigger, but calmer Bluegill and things are good for now. I have five Bluegills in my 100 (60" long, 24" tall, 16" wide) and it is crowded. I try to keep lots of fake plants and stuff in there to keep the line-of-sight broken up. I have also found that if I feed at one spot only the most aggressive fish keep the others away from that area. I now feed at both ends of the tank.
One more thing; (in inches) height x width x length ÷ 231 gives you gallons.
Correct on the cloudiness. Mine were a bit cloudy until the cycle settled down. Don't wash the filter media unless it is plugging up and then use de-chlorinated water only. Keep the tank out of the sun. Lately I have not been using carbon and the water is clear. I now use carbon only once in a while when a little bit of tank odor is noticeable. I get that because of the food I use. If I wipe down the insides and clean the outside of the glass the tanks are crystal-clear. Can't see the water.
Also, I do 25% water changes about every five days. I consider 25% once a week to be the minimum. Use PRIME.
My Bluegills are aggressive, big time. Biologically my tanks are lightly stocked but some of them like to beat up on others. I just moved one bully from the 40 to the 100 because an equal sized fish was being bullied. I moved two smaller bluegills in with this bigger, but calmer Bluegill and things are good for now. I have five Bluegills in my 100 (60" long, 24" tall, 16" wide) and it is crowded. I try to keep lots of fake plants and stuff in there to keep the line-of-sight broken up. I have also found that if I feed at one spot only the most aggressive fish keep the others away from that area. I now feed at both ends of the tank.
One more thing; (in inches) height x width x length ÷ 231 gives you gallons.
Hey jo
update on 20 gal ( ive had 3 deaths this month )
my sons 10 gal ( woohoo 3 babies made it ! )
just thought id let you know
and the red gill question i had was because of looking at a fish upside down you really see there gills LOL !
been testing regularly and im really pleased
this is the best forum !!!
update on 20 gal ( ive had 3 deaths this month )
my sons 10 gal ( woohoo 3 babies made it ! )
just thought id let you know
and the red gill question i had was because of looking at a fish upside down you really see there gills LOL !
been testing regularly and im really pleased
this is the best forum !!!