Ok it's been less than a month when I purchased this 55 gal. set up on craiglist. It came with an undergravel filter(which I disposed of quickly) and a whisper 60. So I get everything set up and running. After a week I decided to add a couple fish. My son chose a three inch oscar, a firemouth and two small silver dollar fish. A couple days had past and I got the cloudy water thing going. So I did some research and figured that I need better filtration. so I purchased a Eheim 2215 and within a day most of the cloudiness was gone. Now after three weeks of this running my water is still somewhat cloudy. Oh and yes i have been doing weekly 15% water changes. Is this because the tank is still new and cycling or do I need to add the whisper back on the tank along with the Eheim. Other than that fish are fine. I only been feeding once a day also. Any ideas and suggestions would be greatful.
New here and New 55 gal problems.
- Thread starter itzazoo
- Start date
I would say that the cloudy water is from a bacterial bloom, just a part of the cycling proses. Just keep up on your water changes and it should clear up. Do you have a test kit? If so what are your water params?
edit: There is a good article on cycling at the top of the newbie forum if you are not familiar with the proses.
edit: There is a good article on cycling at the top of the newbie forum if you are not familiar with the proses.
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
your tank is cycling, and what you are doing is what's called a 'fish in' cycle. daily water changes are a must to keep ammonia and nitrite below toxic levels. the cloudiness could remain until it cycles fully, as the bacteria are establishing.
good work getting more filtration! oscars are very messy fish and it is good to overfilter a tank with an oscar as much as you can. i have a 55 with a 7.5 inch oscar in it along with three other cichlids and my filtration is rated for a tank at least three times that size and i'm still doing weekly water changes at the minimum, sometimes more often. yes, put the whisper filter back on, as you need both filters, IMO, just in case one should konk out on you, and more filtration is always better than not enough.
invest in an API freshwater master test kit. this is the one with the glass vials and the drops you add to the water. test for ammonia and nitrite at least once per day for the first few weeks and depending on your test results that will denote how much of a water change to do that day. in the absence of a test kit i would recommend a minimum of 50% daily water changes to keep the fish free of ammonia and nitrite poisoning. once you start showing nitrates then your tank is nearing the end of the cycling process.
good luck with your tank and keep us updated!
good work getting more filtration! oscars are very messy fish and it is good to overfilter a tank with an oscar as much as you can. i have a 55 with a 7.5 inch oscar in it along with three other cichlids and my filtration is rated for a tank at least three times that size and i'm still doing weekly water changes at the minimum, sometimes more often. yes, put the whisper filter back on, as you need both filters, IMO, just in case one should konk out on you, and more filtration is always better than not enough.
invest in an API freshwater master test kit. this is the one with the glass vials and the drops you add to the water. test for ammonia and nitrite at least once per day for the first few weeks and depending on your test results that will denote how much of a water change to do that day. in the absence of a test kit i would recommend a minimum of 50% daily water changes to keep the fish free of ammonia and nitrite poisoning. once you start showing nitrates then your tank is nearing the end of the cycling process.
good luck with your tank and keep us updated!
Hello, :welcome: to AC
I would take the oscar back, he will out grow a 55g tank and quickly foul up your water. Oscars can grow to 14-16" and need a tank they can turn around in. They also grow very quickly mine grew 1-2" a month until he got to 10", i had him in a 180g tank with some other fish and i had to do 50% water changes twice a week to keep on top of the mess he made.
I would take the oscar back, he will out grow a 55g tank and quickly foul up your water. Oscars can grow to 14-16" and need a tank they can turn around in. They also grow very quickly mine grew 1-2" a month until he got to 10", i had him in a 180g tank with some other fish and i had to do 50% water changes twice a week to keep on top of the mess he made.
I'd keep the setup, see how it plays out, might take the SDs back, but IMHO an Oscar and Firemouth are fine in a 55. Just keep up 15% weekly water changes (though At the moment you don't need to) and your setup will be fine. Oscars are also hardy fish and can take fish in cycling.
actually with oscars I would recommend you do 30 - 40% water changes.
Oscars are waste machines so they require larger volumes of water changes.
I wouldnt recommend an oscar in a 55 gallon, but if you are going to go this route you will need to do extra upkeep.
Oscars are waste machines so they require larger volumes of water changes.
I wouldnt recommend an oscar in a 55 gallon, but if you are going to go this route you will need to do extra upkeep.
