Fishless tank has fizzy water???

[Mandy]

I bought a 26 gallon bowfront tank 2 days ago and started setting it up. As of yesterday, I added all of the gravel and artificial rocks and plants. When I woke up this morning, the tank seemed clear. Today I rearranged the decorations and added about 12 live plants from the pet store. Within about 10 minutes of redecorating I noticed the tank is EXTREMELY bubbly. I know this probably isn't an accurate or helpful description, but it's the only word I can think of that describes it. The filter is pouring out water, which seems to fizz, somewhat loudly, every ten minutes or so. I'm new to aquariums, so I have lots of questions, but I haven't seen any other comments or threads with something like this listed. I'd post of picture of this crazy bubbly water, but I'm not any sharper with blogs than I am with aquariums I wasn't planning on checking the chemical levels in the tank, as the pet store said I can bring them a sample and they'd do it for me in about a week or so when it gets closer to being ready for fish. I don't know - any advice is appreciated.
Thanks for reading...

 

[pigpen]

just in case you were mis informed or just did not know. you can not just set up a tank without fish in it and run ot for a week or two and expect any levels of anything to rise.missfishy has a great link in her signature that will completly explain the art of cycling a tank.and as for the bubbles did you overdo it on the waterconditioner.i notice when i accidently overdo it my water bubbles more than usual.hope that helps and if im way off someone else sort us out please?

 

[exhumed07]

well first off did u clean all the gravel and other deco? if not then there was something on it and that floated up to the top of the tank. whenever u get new deco make sure u wash it with no soap or chemicals. I like to boil everything that is small and has no glue on it. simple explanation is u had something that contaminated the water.

 

[Mandy]

@ pigpen - I added a little gravel from my 10 gallon tank - I'm hoping that's enough to help out the cycling
@ exhumed07 - Hmm - it's quite possible I contaminated the water with the new plants today. I didn't wash them very thoroughly because the container just said I needed to rinse off the extra non-toxic/non-harmful gel they were stored in. I didn't want to break them, so I just gave a quick rinse. If this is the case, contaminating the water, what should I do?

 

[exhumed07]

the plants should not have done anything. I'm talking like fake plants, fresh new gravle, or some other artificial deco. as for getting rid of it I'd try to scoop it off as much as possible. and maybe a 75% water change. most likly it is nontoxic. but that should clear it up.

 

[Mandy]

Thanks for the quick responses and help...
I'm off to scoop up fish tank water before I pass out from exhaustion. Who knew this hobby, which recently started from the very tired cliche of winning a fish at the carnival, would be so much work?
Thanks again

 

[exhumed07]

may seem like work now but once u get into it and get a schedual going it's pretty simple and rewarding. With being new it can seem somewhat overwhelming. We have all been there before. I've had fish for about 4 years and I still have questions. just keep at it and don't give up.

 

[homebunnyj]

@ pigpen - I added a little gravel from my 10 gallon tank - I'm hoping that's enough to help out the cycling

The only time that adding gravel from an established tank can help the cycling is if you have fish in the new tank. The bacteria you added when you added the gravel-- they died of starvation. To establish a healthy colony of nitrifying bacteria, you need to add the bacteria, and a source of food for them.

Please do read up on cycling before you go any further, it will save you a lot of money and aggravation.

 

[bmoraski]

Who knew this hobby, which recently started from the very tired cliche of winning a fish at the carnival, would be so much work?
Thanks again

LOL
We have all been there. But like exhumed said keep at it and it will be very rewarding. And read up on cycling as homebunnyj suggested, it will save you so much time,money and aggravation.
check out MissFishys site.

MissFishy's Guide to Fish