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New to the forum, new to having fish!

6K views 34 replies 7 participants last post by  crazie.eddie 
#1 ·
Hello all, I found this forum and signed up immediately! As the subject says, I'm new to having fish. Already I love having them, but I'm worried about my limited experience/knowlege. Right away my tank clouded up, but I read on another site it may be from just having set it up and/or adding my new fish from the pet store. Does that sounds right?

Right now I have a Blood Parot Cichlid, a Tiger Oscar, and a goldfish. The goldfish was meant to be food, but they are all coexisting at the moment. I'm sure that will change through growth, but it makes for an entertaining mix at the moment. My plecastumus died within 2 days of purchase, which made me worry about the cloudiness, causing me to get online in the first place. I am going to purchase another one today, though.

I'm definitely a newbie to the board and to fish, so any suggestions or advice will never be scoffed at, it's all welcome! I look forward to meeting all of you!
 
#2 ·
Almost forgot a question I did have, I purchased the chemicals to dechlorinate my water, but I have not run any other chemicals. The pet store employee said that is all I need, but I don't know how to check my PH levels, or how to adjust them. Is there anything I have or have not done that may need to be changed?
 
#3 ·
Almost forgot a question I did have, I purchased the chemicals to dechlorinate my water, but I have not run any other chemicals. The pet store employee said that is all I need, but I don't know how to check my PH levels, or how to adjust them. Is there anything I have or have not done that may need to be changed?
 
#4 ·
Hi, welcome! As for pH, KH, Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, you can pick up a "Master Test Kit" at your LFS. It will run you about 30$. I'm sure other people here will ask if you cycled your tank before adding fish? As for chemicals, you only want to use dechlorinator. I hear that the other chemicals (ph Up/down, cycle chems.) are not good to use and may screw up your tank's eco system. So post some more info about your setup: tank size, water stats (after you get the test kit) filter, etc and I'm sure someone will help you!
 
#5 ·
jsm11482 said:
Hi, welcome! As for pH, KH, Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, you can pick up a "Master Test Kit" at your LFS. It will run you about 30$. I'm sure other people here will ask if you cycled your tank before adding fish? As for chemicals, you only want to use dechlorinator. I hear that the other chemicals (ph Up/down, cycle chems.) are not good to use and may screw up your tank's eco system. So post some more info about your setup: tank size, water stats (after you get the test kit) filter, etc and I'm sure someone will help you!
jsm11482, thanks for the reply! I'll be sure to purchase that later today and I'll post the results once available. In terms of your other questions, it is a 30 gallon tank. The water is 81 degrees, any advice to get that cooled down a few degrees most welcome. My filter appears to give great ciruclation and works out well.
 
#6 ·
I know you can buy a 'chiller' tho it is probably not necessary. Do you not have A/C?
 
#7 ·
Have an AC, but it's really not too hot outside, certainly not in the 80s--I don't know where the heat is. Good news for me right now is, all the resouces I find say to keep my Tiger Oscar in 76-84 temps, Still need to look up and make sure that is okay for my blood parot.
 
#8 ·
I think the blood parrot should be in 72-80 deg water. Do you have a heater in your tank? And where is the thermometer located in/on the tank?
 
#9 ·
No, no heater yet. The thermometer is located on the outside of the glass, 3 inches from the bottom. The tank is not one of the "box" aquariums, it's octogon in shape and it taller than it is wide, meaning that the temperature towards the top is likely warmer.
 
#10 ·
Since you are asking about the temp of the tank, I assume the house ambient temp is NOT 80-ish. Is there a lamp, etc near the tank? Is it near a window? What type of light do you have? If it is not fluorescent then that would be the heat source (incandescent).
 
#12 ·
I see. Well fluorescent's shouldnt give off too much heat. But still, that could be the source!
 
#13 ·
do you know what you have your heater set to? what temp? i have to set my heater lower than the desired temp b/c it actually makes it warmer than i want it to...that might be your problem. try lowering the temp that you have it set on and observe for a day...if it drops rapidly then i would def readjust to normal settings, but if not then you may have the same problem as me...

<3 bri
 
#14 ·
Could be. The fish look to be fine in there, obviously it's no big deal for the Tiger Oscar. The blood parot hangs out at the top and swims back down a lot, so it must not be too much worse at the top of the aquarium. I'm going to monitor it, but our season in Illinois is about to change and it will cool off, then i'll be heating the tank back up

I appreciate the brainstorming session though, you wouldn't happen to know how long it takes for the tank to uncloud would you? I'm considering changing out a few gallons, but some sites say it's just the tank "settling".
 
#15 ·
Hi Bri - dprUsh83 doesn't have a heater in the tank!
 
#16 ·
Did you cycle the tank before adding the fish? (just curious) and what is your substrate? If it is sand or something similar it could take a few days to clear up.
 
#17 ·
I have gravel in the tank--and as far as my preperation, I added the water and dechlorinized it. I then let the filter run for a day and the tank was clear. The next day bought and added my fish (2 days ago) It is a little less cloudy today than yesterday, but it is still hard to see the back of the tank from a distance.
 
#18 ·
I'm not an expert but maybe you can post a pic?
 
#21 ·
girlofgod said:
did you rinse your gravel at all? it is recommended that you rinse it for several minutes to remove tiny particles so that your water won't cloud...it could be that...

bri
Bri, yeah I did that. The fish tank was handed down to me after many years of storage. I rinsed the rocks, then I boiled them to make sure there was no risk of bacteria, rinsed once more, then put them in the tank.
 
#23 ·
sorry josh...i should have paid closer attention.
on, no prob!

dprUsh83: I've reached the limit of my expertise so it is up to the other forum members now!
 
#25 ·
Well, maybe a few more questions:

Is your filter an OK size for the tank?
Is the filter clogged?
Does the filter media need to be replaced?
Have you been doing water changes regularly?
 
#26 ·
jsm11482 said:
Well, maybe a few more questions:

Is your filter an OK size for the tank?
Is the filter clogged?
Does the filter media need to be replaced?
Have you been doing water changes regularly?
My filter is a Secondnature Whisper Powerfilter :)?:). I'm going to buy some new filters today, just to be sure...but the filter looks pretty clean. I checked to make sure there were no clogs and it was okay.

As far as water changes, it has been up under a week...I planned to change water weekly, maybe I need to give it an early change since everything is new?
 
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