cloudy water

squandel

Greetings all. my first posting: I have just set up my 55 G after being down for about a year.It's fresh water planned for community fish. After about 2 days, the water clouded up significantly which a number of fish-store folks say is normal. It has been about 5 days now and water is still pretty cloudy. How long will this remain the case? Thanks

leogtr

hi there!!! welcome the forums!!!!!

give us some information about your tank( filter,heater, test kit using, declorinator, substrate, fetilizer, plants,air stones, powerhead, how did you cycle?,fish anything in particular) it will help us know somethings before really telling you what it could be. most likely it is very normal it should be gone soon.

you havent added fish right? hopefully your doing a fishless cycle!

Im happy you've joined our community!! and again welcome to the tropical fish keeping forums!!!!

squandel

thanks for the welcome!! As far as some of the basics, the filter is an Eheim 2215 which I've had for awhile. It was cleaned and serviced after the tank was disassembled (had a house fire and did an addition while being repaired), substrate is gravel, I purchased a fairly elaborate heater but couldn't tell you the brand while the plants are plastic. As far as fish, I added the artificial bacteria treatment suggested by my local shop and against my better judgement, added 4 small Angels as my grandchildren 'insisted'. The fish seem fine but as mentioned, the water is cloudy. thanks again!!

leogtr

oh gosh...okay...well the ehiem is a good brand for filters.what kind of bacteria booster? Im guessing your not familiar with cycling a tank but im not sure? well just in case you arent heres a basic guide as it is really important to cycle a tank before adding any fish...im not sure if your angels with survive the cycle...keep doing frequent water changes(prefibly 50% water changes everyday) that will increase the angel's chances of survival!!!dont forget declorinator!!!!

A Beginner's Guide to the Freshwater Aquarium Cycle

squandel

Thanks again. I do understand the principle of recycling but my shop guy mentioned that with this treatment system, I could begin adding fish right away. He suggested Zebra Danios as being pretty hardy but as mentioned, the kids and I opted for the Angels. My shop guy thought they'd be OK as long as that was it but maybe he was as disinclined to argue with two formidible rugrats as I was! I'm sorry, I don't remembeer the brand of the treatment but the other thing he mentioned was that to be affective, fish had to be added immediately. I'll report back as time goes on!!

leogtr

okay then. Some supplements claim that you can add fish right away but I have never heard of any of them succeeding. Those bacteria boosters are just to jump start cycles with some bacteria but by the time your fish begin making their bioloads and begins to accumilatate the levels of ammonia will rise no matter what. that is why you really have to keep changing half of the water everyday. zebra danios will survive the cycle but that doesnt mean that its humane. I could survive in a room partially filled with carbon dioxide and other harmful toxins but that doesnt mean im going to enjoy it very much you know? your fish will be stressed out and their immune system will go down because of it. all I can recommend you is to do 50% water changes everyday for now. If you dont have an API master test kit I would get one. Dont rely on testing strips they are really inacurate. hopefully your angels will get through the process.

just keep us posted about whats going on okay?

take care!

squandel

Just a follow up... Tank looks great! Water has cleared up and it would seem that so far, the cycle I'm doing has worked fairly well. The only problem I've run into is the loss of 5 out of 6 Tiger Barbs. I've put in 4 Angels, 4 Zebra Danios, 4 Serpae Tetras and a Corey Cat (not all at once, mind you)which have all seemingly thrived but not so the Barbs. Water is still very high as far as PH but I'm working on gradually lowering it.

leogtr

oh okay its good you didnt loose more fish! Im not sure how you could lower the ph thats tricky..you should make a thread about it maybe someone has a good way to lower it!

Byron

First off, welcome to Tropical Fish Keeping forum. Now to your issues.

The loss of the Tiger Barbs is a blessing in disguise. You have some very serious compatibility issues looming with your selection of fish. And the p|H adjustment may well kill other fish, I'll explain momentarily, but first the compatibility problems.

First, angelfish are slow, sedate fish with long fins. Tankmates have to be carefully selected, as many will find the angels' fins too tempting and start nipping them off, which is highly stressful to the angels and if allowed to continue the angels will almost certainly die from this. Also, fish that are quite active can stress out angels just by swimming around them.

Tiger Barb and Serpae Tetra are two of the worst fish to put in with angels for the fin-nipping aspect. Both these fish tend to be fin nippers at any time, even with each other. You can read more in our profiles. Click on the shaded name to see that fish's profile, it will explain all this. You need to remove these from the tank, return them, give them away, whatever.

The Zebra danio are too active to be in with angels; this applies to all danio species, and all barbs.

Fish that are under stress, even if nothing "appears" to you, will have weakened immune systems which makes them more likely to come down with other health issues, and almost invariably have shorter lifespans. No different than humans under severe stress.

Now for the pH. The pH of water is connected to the hardness. Carbonate hardness (KH) acts as a buffer to keep the pH stable, whatever it is in the tap water. Adding chemicals to lower it will usually not work; they may lower it briefly, but as the KH buffers work to bring it back up, the pH fluctuates down and up, and this is highly stressful to all fish. If you can tell us the hardness of your tap water--and your water supply folks will know this, some have websites with the water analysis posted--we will be able to offer advice on how to lower the pH naturally and safely, if that is really necessary. It is preferable to select fish that will manage in your tap water, rather than adjusting tap water. And many fish that are commercially raised, as those you have mentioned are, can be quite tolerant, at least up to a point. I can go into this more when I know the hardness number(s).

Byron.