hhelp !! cloudy tank, CLOUDY

[rey1rey]

HELLO,, have a 55 gl with 10 goldfish..(i know..been scolded already), however prior to last change of water, the water was crystal clear.... now it is very cloudy...i cannot see the back of the tank... i have changed the water every other day for 8 days now...it gets a little clearer,,,but about two days and that is it.... i am afraid of my fishies..... i add the dechlorinator and some aquarium salt to tank.... did clean out the underground tubes..they were very built up...also did change the filters.... what am I doing wrong?????:help:

:O(

[InR reason]

HELLO,, have a 55 gl with 10 goldfish..(i know..been scolded already), however prior to last change of water, the water was crystal clear.... now it is very cloudy...i cannot see the back of the tank... i have changed the water every other day for 8 days now...it gets a little clearer,,,but about two days and that is it.... i am afraid of my fishies..... i add the dechlorinator and some aquarium salt to tank.... did clean out the underground tubes..they were very built up...also did change the filters.... what am I doing wrong?????:help:

:O(

I'm afraid for your fish too! How did you end up with 8 goldfish in 55 gallons (at absolute minimum they need 15-20g EACH so you could have 3 in there safely) and how long has this tank been set up as is? I'm surprised they lasted this long even with water changes. Do you have some Prime or Amquel Plus?

[jm1212]

do you use a Python or buckets? if you use buckets, do you use anything else with the buckets?

your ammoina is through the roof, and your nitrite is probably getting up there to. you should do another water change.

BTW, you shouldnt add aquarium salt. it doesnt do anything for the fish (except if you are treating for ich, but if you use it continuously, the disease will become tolerant of it)

[liv2padl]

prior to last change of water, the water was crystal clear.... now it is very cloudy your severe overstocking has finally caught up with you. you evidently already know you cannot keep ten goldfish in 55 gallons ... the only way to solve your problem is to remove 7 of your fish.

check your ammonia and nitrite levels ... the next step after cloudy water is dead fish.

[rey1rey]

... i have checked the nitrate levels... good, the ammonia...not existant... or barely.... ph is good.. all levels are reading fine.... i just cannot get the water clear.... i will retest tonight...make sure of the readings.... at this point, i realize i have more fish in the tanks than most people would place... im looking for something to help disfuze the situation...i cannot move any of the fish right now.... not place to put them.... did i make tooo many changes to the tank when i changed the water last???

[Dangerdoll]

stop changing the filter and continue doing the water changes. Do nothing but the water changes and lighten up on the feeding. You have a lot of goldies in there and your best bet is to off some to the LFS. What you may be going through is a bacteria explosion, the bacteria are so thick because of the amount of fish in the tank and it all needs to figure out where it's part of the tank is. Changing the filter cartridges will only make it worse..... just continue on with the water changes and get rid of some of the fish and keep your patience. It will all work itself out eventually.

[rey1rey]

THANK YOU DANGERDOLL... HELPED ME WITH MY STRESS LEVEL... I will find a place for the fishes...and will not change the filters..... see what that helps...I will also cut back on the food.... muchas gracias..... thanks!!!!

[rey1rey]

thank you again dangerdolll ;o) thank you lots.... i have a clear tank...and have a better understanding of how bacteria is working in the tank itself....I am going to change the cycling of new water and filter changes.... what if anything else can I do at this time to help maintain a bareable environment for the gold fish.... another tank is out of the question... right now at least....i have a 110 gallon...SPRANG A LEAK ON ME!!.. seem on one of the plates started separating...so i have to repair that one and save those fisheeeeessss..... thanks again....happy fish and me now...

[Rbishop]

Frequent if not daily water changes to keep ammonia/nitrite less than .25

Light feeding as DD said, effective gravel cleaning. Maximize filtration, run some carbon if you haven't been.

Then get that big tank fixed up.

[rey1rey]

THNX bishop... i have one 30gl biofilter...use nothing but zeolyte chips, have a 60 gal bio with nothig but carbon, have underground filter with both zeolyte and carbon filter tops... this last time, i know i just ended up changing too much of the filter media and such when i did a water change and through it all into a loopp... bacteria has settled down...clear now....and levels are all OK....so just maintain moving forward....till i can make another tanks after i fix the 110... eeek.... thank again for all the help!!!