CLOUDY WATER ? Help Me Please . . .

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Wolverines

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Nov 3, 2003
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CAN ANYONE OUT THERE TELL ME WHAT IM DOING WRONG. I BOUGHT A STARTER 10 GALLON AQUARIUM LAST JULY AND I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH CLOUDY WATER. I CHANGE FROM 20% TO 70% OF THE WATER EACH WEEK, I MAKE SURE MY FILTER ON TOP OF THE AQUARIUM IS CLEAN, I TRY TO KEEP THE UNDERGRAVEL FILTER CLEAN. THE WATER GOT SO CLOUDY THIS WEEK THAT LAST NIGHT I TOOK EVERYTHING OUT OF IT (DECORATIONS,FILTERS,GRAVEL AND FISH ) AND CLEANED IT ALL AND NOW THIS MORNING THE WATER IS STARTING TO GO CLOUDY AGAIN . . . WHAT ARE MY DOING HERE ?? I JUST BOUGHT A 55 GALLON AQUARIUM THAT IS ALMOST READY BUT IM FEELING DISCOURAGED BECAUSE I CANT EVEN KEEP MY 10 GALLON UNDER CONTROL. I HAVE 4 SMALL TIGER BARBS, 3 SMALL TINFOIL BARBS, 1 GREEN SEVERUM, AND 1 SMALL ALAGE EATER IN THIS 10 GALLON.

DISCOURAGED IN MEMPHIS :(
 
Please don't use all-caps for future posts--it's the online equivalent of yelling. ;)

How did you cycle that tank? How do you clean the filter?

It sounds like the tank has never been allowed to fully cycle and stabilize, and also it's really overstocked. Too many fish in too small a volume is a recipe for problems, especially in a tank that doesn't get regular, small water changes. Huge water changes can encourage instability, which will promote the growth of other bacteria (not the nitrifiers needed for processing fish wastes).
 
go to the nearest fish store, ask for a scoup of some of their gravel out of one of their tanks, drop it in yours, and over night it will clear up, has to do with a bacteria bloom
 
Yup, sounds like your tank never cycled correctly. Oh, and 9 semi-aggressive fish in a 10g tank is WAY too many fish. One tinfoil barb is too big for a 10g.
 
thankyou for your replies . . .

thankyou everyone for your replies I appreciate it. Im very new to this hobby im still in the learning stages. What do you mean by cycling the tank through a process what is this ? I know I have too many fish in this 10 gallon I hope to move some of them to my 55 gallon here very soon. Does my tank have to go cloudy before it cycles through ? I think this is my problem . . . also sorry about the caps Oriongrl.

Thanks

Martin
 
Cycling refers to the process of developing bacteria beds that process the waste ammonia from fish. Do some searches for 'cycling' and 'nitrogen cycle', and you'll have lots of important bed time reading. There are several threads on this in the newbie forum, and the archives contain lots of good info.

Not a biggie on the caps...Just easier to have me point it out than have someone think you're yelling. ;)
 
Thanks for the Info.

OrionGrl

Thankyou very very much for the info. you seem to have a great deal of knowledge and know how in this field. Like I said im new to this wonderful hobby that im enjoying a great deal. I have almost completed my 55 gallon set up,should be up and running by November 15th ( hopefully ).

Martin
 
I am sorry to hear you are having problems with your tank. My husband and I are also fairly new to fish keeping and have been kind of overwhelmed with the huge volumes of information out there.

Another search you may want to conduct is "New Tank Syndrome." Here are a few of our favorite sites that have good information on freshwater basics.

This has basic aquarium maintenance, FAQ's, etc.
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/maintenance1/

http://www.oursimplejoys.com/freshwateraquaria/

Here are a few sites specifically on the nitrogen cycle:
http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html
http://www.epetpals.com/cycle.htm
http://www.reefcorner.com/Manual/nitrogen_cycle.htm
http://www.petprovision.com/Articles/NitrogenCycle.html

LiveAquaria.com and Centralpets.com have awesome fish profile information to help you determine which species are compatible, requirements (size, socialization, feeding, etc).

And of course, AquariaCentral is great for fish information :)

I hope these can help you in your search. Have fun reading!
 
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