Bacteria colony...worked?

Fishman1995

Superstar Fish
May 11, 2010
1,341
0
0
North Carolina
#1
Its been about 2.5 weeks since i started up my 20 gallon tank and it hasnt got cloudy yet? Its gotten that brown stuff that collects on plants and rocks thou, is that bacteria colonys growing? Im going today to my LFS to get the water tested
 

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#4
cloudiness does happen but not as a common enough indicator of cycling a tank. the brown stuff is most likely diatoms growing. what are you feeding the tank in terms of ammonia? and are you feeding it every day? (you cant just add ammonia once and be done with it)
 

Fishman1995

Superstar Fish
May 11, 2010
1,341
0
0
North Carolina
#5
All my tanks got cloudy when they cycled. I used a bacteria supplement to start the tank and it WAS a success because i just got home and we stopped by the LFS and had them test the water. Everything was fine except PH which was a lil high at 7.6 so i added half a teaspoon of Vinegar like the LFS employee recomeneded to lower it and in the morning im going to get my next batch of fish. And no the brown stuff that gets on glass that you have to scrub off. Thou i do have the beginings of green algae growth on my Centerpiece decoration. The fish they had at the LFS that im interested in are: Upside Down Cats, they had 5 Kribs in a tank very young age, They had a Bolivian Ram, they had 4 or 5 species of rainbow including Celebes and Dwarf Neon, and they had a species of Barb ive never heard of before...they had long fins and were yellow all over, and they had Gold gouramis and Blue gouamis :eek:) Lots of Choices lol, il let you guys know in the morning what we get
 

Fishman1995

Superstar Fish
May 11, 2010
1,341
0
0
North Carolina
#7
Well i added some Vinegar because the LFS person said it would lower it some, she said the fish can adjust to it if i introduce them slowly by adding some of my water along the introduction part and they be ok but i wanted it to be 100% suitable because i want this tank done right :D
 

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#8
vinegar... ._.

wont vinegar kill your fish?

anyway what will you do when you have to change the water? new water change water will be coming in at 7.6pH...
that pH is fine for alkaline fish, i dont get what your problem is? you think that the tank has to be at 7pH in order to be right? I'd just work with w/e the tap water gives you. you can keep rainbowfish in that pH.

brown stuff that grows on glass is diatoms.
I dont think I have seen any of my tanks get cloudy outside of bothering sand into the water column and back when i stupidly added a pH buffer to my tank, that got my tank very cloudy for at least a day x_x
If I remember right, during cycling if the tank gets cloudy that means a spike in ammonia-consuming bacteria.

anyway good luck with the tank, we are all curious to see which fish you will go with.
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#10
vinegar... ._.

wont vinegar kill your fish?
Vinegar itself won't hurt the fish unless poured directly on them. But the pH swing it will cause will stres them and could kill, just as any sudden change in pH would do.

I dont think I have seen any of my tanks get cloudy outside of bothering sand into the water column and back when i stupidly added a pH buffer to my tank, that got my tank very cloudy for at least a day x_x
If I remember right, during cycling if the tank gets cloudy that means a spike in ammonia-consuming bacteria.
You won't see the common 'cloudy water' indicating the bacteria bloom unless you have had a spike in ammonia or nitrite. If you stock slowly and don't overfeed, you'd not see it.
 

Fishman1995

Superstar Fish
May 11, 2010
1,341
0
0
North Carolina
#11
Thanx for the help OC and Newman, The water is down to 7.1 now, Il just add some Ph fixer to every water change i do to keep it at that level. Right now i still have no idea what im getting, they had lots of cool fish. Il let you guys know what i get in a few hours. Im highly considering the Kribs :D Im just gonna have to watch the tank thou cause theres males and females in there and i just want 2 or 3 females NO MALES. If i dont get the Kribs then it'l prob be the Bolivian Ram. Il come home and get them in the tank and then il take pics and il upload them for all you guys :)
 

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
Sep 9, 2010
1,324
0
0
Chesapeake, Virginia
#16
Well i added some Vinegar because the LFS person said it would lower it some, she said the fish can adjust to it if i introduce them slowly by adding some of my water along the introduction part and they be ok but i wanted it to be 100% suitable because i want this tank done right :D
I cringed.

I've been at a PH of 7.6 since time began. It's not going to kill your fish. Your LFS person needs to be kicked in the head. NEVER EVER EVAR just take the advice of the LFS. They're in the market of selling you fish, not keeping them healthy.
 

Aug 13, 2010
870
0
0
Sicklerville, NJ
#19
Dude.....after all you went through and everyone here trying to help you, why on earth would think it was OK to mess with the PH? The LFS said add some Vinegar so you did? How much did they tell you to add? You said they tested the water and it is all good? What does that mean? Before you spend anymore money on fish, get a a API Fresh Water Master test kit yourself and learn how to use it.