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new 50 gallon aquarium

3K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  qpc68 
#1 ·
Hey guys, i have just set up my 50 gallon freshwater tank, I dont have any fish in it yet but i plan on doing so in about a week. Yesterday i cleaned out the tank and filled it with fresh tap water, however i put the old gravel in and it made a huge mess inside the tank..... so i have removed the old gravel and changed approximately 75% of the water. The tank has nothing in it right now but water. But the water does not look to be clean, it looks cloudy and has a greenish tinge to it. I have used water conditioner when i have added water. I have not tested the ph levels or nitrate levels, could this be the cause of the cloudyness and green tinge?? If so what do i need to be able to test the water at home?
 
#3 ·
Cycle the tank?? does that meen plugging in the filter and letting it run for a couple days, if so then i have already done that. Sorry for the kindergarden questions but i've never had an aquarium before and this is all new to me.... alot more work then i thought! lol
 
#4 ·
it sounds like you tank is already started to cycle, the green water is a bacterial bloom. cycling is just letting you tank build up benifical bacteria.

before you cycle a tank you should put in your gravle, filter, decoration and whatever so your bacteria have a place to colonize. then add water then add an ammonia source, like fish food or pure ammonia. the bacteria change the ammonia into nitrite, then to nitrate. once you have your nitrate you need to do a 90% water change to bring it down.
ammonia should be 0
nitite should be 0
nitrate should be under 20
so yes you do need a liquid test kit that messures ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, (ph is good too) to track your tanks progress though the cycle

this process can take from a few weeks to a couple months. here is a link to more cycling info
http://www.fishforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=343
 
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