cloudy water please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Thread starter fishy...fishy
- Start date
Yes, I agree with laura. It's just a bacterial bloom. I had it for a few days when I first got my 3 Platies, but it went away in about a week. Don't worry, it's perfectly normal and EVERYONE experiences it. There's no need to freak out. For you, it might be gone within the next 5 days or so. 
It also indicates an uncycled tank and/or under-cleaning and/or overfeeding.
hey guys wow thanks for your feedback im stoked my tank is a 60L tank i have had it for about 3months i let it run with no fish for about 2 weeks before putting fish in it i have x5 approx 1inch albino guppies (2 females & 2 males) and 6 fry
ive 'just' done my readings
AMMONIA: 0
NITRITE: 0
PH: 6.6
Again thank yous all for helping me with this
ive 'just' done my readings
AMMONIA: 0
NITRITE: 0
PH: 6.6
Again thank yous all for helping me with this
ok... so here goes,i shall try and explain in the basic terms..
A fish tank is an ecosystem... there are microscopic bacteria that will live pretty much everywhere in the tank, (except in water) they basically consume wastes... if wastes are allowed to build up (even in an external filter) and there is not enough bacteria the water may become toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms.
basically with no fish in the tank there was little or no waste. so the bacteria were growing slowly if at all... it takes about two weeks for a tank to get a good amount of bacteria but i believe this is when waste is present... if you had plants and wood etc it may speed up..
So in your case.. two weeks was good but not much bacteria is present.. in time it will be, the guppy is a hardy (resilient) fish so it will likely survive.. the fry may not i'm afraid.. all you can do is wait for the bacteria to build up. Keep doing regular water changes of water that is around the same temperature as the tank..
And make sure it is treated with aqua safe.
The water will likely clear up in a week or two at the most. Keep doing ph/nitrite and ammonia checks every day or two and let us know if the levels are high (or low for ph)
Then when they seem normal for a while you can leave them and do them once every two weeks or so.
(it's not good i know but i haven't done one in my tank yet and it's only been running 4 weeks Naughty me)
I guess it's just because i know the cycle has happened... the water is crystal clear. and the fish can handle a nitrite spike, on top of that i've been doing regular water changes and keeping a close eye on the fish's behaviour.
A fish tank is an ecosystem... there are microscopic bacteria that will live pretty much everywhere in the tank, (except in water) they basically consume wastes... if wastes are allowed to build up (even in an external filter) and there is not enough bacteria the water may become toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms.
basically with no fish in the tank there was little or no waste. so the bacteria were growing slowly if at all... it takes about two weeks for a tank to get a good amount of bacteria but i believe this is when waste is present... if you had plants and wood etc it may speed up..
So in your case.. two weeks was good but not much bacteria is present.. in time it will be, the guppy is a hardy (resilient) fish so it will likely survive.. the fry may not i'm afraid.. all you can do is wait for the bacteria to build up. Keep doing regular water changes of water that is around the same temperature as the tank..
And make sure it is treated with aqua safe.
The water will likely clear up in a week or two at the most. Keep doing ph/nitrite and ammonia checks every day or two and let us know if the levels are high (or low for ph)
Then when they seem normal for a while you can leave them and do them once every two weeks or so.
(it's not good i know but i haven't done one in my tank yet and it's only been running 4 weeks
Naughty me)I guess it's just because i know the cycle has happened... the water is crystal clear. and the fish can handle a nitrite spike, on top of that i've been doing regular water changes and keeping a close eye on the fish's behaviour.
When in doubt, do a partial water change, making sure the water is properly treated and close to the tank temperature. I was treating an injured Bluegill in a 10 gallon hospital tank for two weeks once. Did a 100% water change every day. The fish is fine today
Don't let the ammonia get over .25 ppm or the nitrites over 1 ppm.
Don't let the ammonia get over .25 ppm or the nitrites over 1 ppm.
No problem Fishy,
This site will teach you a lot, i learnt almost everything i know from these guys on here.
The water changes sombunya described would be great, it makes the water clearer for your fish and less toxic for them too, however when you do them you have to take into account for:
PH- If your ph in your tank is lower/higher than your tap water and you change a huge amount of water very quickly, your fish could get even more stressed and die. Ph can be altered by ornament filter media etc so it's best to check that they both match.
Temperature-
Amount- Obviously you cant do 100%at once, as your fish would be flapping around dieing, The most i would do at once would be 50% Unless the fish are suffering from acid burns from low ph Then i'd do at least 75%. Then once that's settled you could do another 50% But anything over 30% will do fine for you at the moment,
When i do my weekly water changes i do around 25% But the water is clear and no issues to be recorded. And my filter copes realy well with the amount of water and the clarity.
If my tank was essy i'd forever be cleaning Haha
This site will teach you a lot, i learnt almost everything i know from these guys on here.
The water changes sombunya described would be great, it makes the water clearer for your fish and less toxic for them too, however when you do them you have to take into account for:
PH- If your ph in your tank is lower/higher than your tap water and you change a huge amount of water very quickly, your fish could get even more stressed and die. Ph can be altered by ornament filter media etc so it's best to check that they both match.
Temperature-
Amount- Obviously you cant do 100%at once, as your fish would be flapping around dieing, The most i would do at once would be 50% Unless the fish are suffering from acid burns from low ph Then i'd do at least 75%. Then once that's settled you could do another 50% But anything over 30% will do fine for you at the moment,
When i do my weekly water changes i do around 25% But the water is clear and no issues to be recorded. And my filter copes realy well with the amount of water and the clarity.
If my tank was essy i'd forever be cleaning Haha
One other thing is the hardness of the water, but that's a litte bit complicating even for me, Some fish like soft water, some like hard water,
Hard water is better as there are more minerals etc that stailise the water.
Soft water can cause PH 'crashes' which are a sudden change in ph these are acidic and will likely kill all fish.
If you wanted to be that picky with the water change then you could be haha
Hard water is better as there are more minerals etc that stailise the water.
Soft water can cause PH 'crashes' which are a sudden change in ph these are acidic and will likely kill all fish.
If you wanted to be that picky with the water change then you could be haha
hey fishy while danstevo is totally dead nuts accurate there his advice is a bit advanced
just suck half the water out every day and fill it back up with de chlorinated water that is the same temperature
keep testing your water and when ammonia and nitrites are gone and nitrates are detectable then do a water change weekly
dont try to change ph or hardness as it tends to cause more issues with your fish then help it could potentially give them
just suck half the water out every day and fill it back up with de chlorinated water that is the same temperature
keep testing your water and when ammonia and nitrites are gone and nitrates are detectable then do a water change weekly
dont try to change ph or hardness as it tends to cause more issues with your fish then help it could potentially give them