I have a 10 gallon freshwater tank. I have 3 (1 1/2") comets,no real plants. I don't know anything about fish tanks.I have a charcoal filter,a 5" airstone, about 1 1/2" to 2 " of colored pebbles in the bottom and 6-8 plastic plants and a fake rock.and an aqaurium light.I turn the light on at 5:30 am and feed the fish tetra flake food,not too much in the morning. I shut the light off at 8:30 pm. the tank is not in direct sunlight at any time. it is however next to a window. no tank heater. my problem is that the water turns brown and is cloudy after only 2 days even when I do a water change and cleaning.what am I doing wrong? HELP!!!
brown water...Help!!!
- Thread starter darkk
- Start date
Hmmmm...I'd say your lights are on for too long for a start; 8 - 10 hours is plenty if not in a lit/sunlit room.
Otherwise ; how long is the tank set up ? How often are you doing a water change and how much ? How often are you vacuuming substrate ? How often to you do filter maintenance and what kind of filter do you have ?
Could be just that there is so much waste building up you can't keep the water clean but it sounds more like a bacterial bloom in an uncycled tank. For info on cycling see here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598
The real problem with this tank is the 3 comets in the medium to long term. Check here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=26 in the threads at the top (stickies) and the general threads for some information about Goldfish care and maintenance, necessary tank size etc.
And Welcome to AC !
Otherwise ; how long is the tank set up ? How often are you doing a water change and how much ? How often are you vacuuming substrate ? How often to you do filter maintenance and what kind of filter do you have ?
Could be just that there is so much waste building up you can't keep the water clean but it sounds more like a bacterial bloom in an uncycled tank. For info on cycling see here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598
The real problem with this tank is the 3 comets in the medium to long term. Check here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=26 in the threads at the top (stickies) and the general threads for some information about Goldfish care and maintenance, necessary tank size etc.
And Welcome to AC !
the filter looks like the whisper filter (charcoal element),tank has been set up for about 5-6 weeks,we had 6 tiny barbs in there at first and they died very quickly, ( 4 days) I moved on to some feeder comets to get the tank set but it isn't working out so well.we started changing water (2-3 gal) once a week and it didn't help,vacuum once a week with water change,wash all the plants and rock with clear water,filter changed twice now,the water got so bad so fast,I did about 8 gallons two days ago and it's very cloudy and brown already.
Try to just rinse out your filter media in old tank water, rather than replacing it as you are throwing away the beneficial bacteria when you throw the media away. What kind of filter is it?
whisper filter type with charcoal in it. came with the tank.I squeeze old dripping into new filter and my comets are only about 1 1/2" long. they are small right now.
The problem is that even as that size they are poop machines, so full of poop. I had an emergency and the only qt I had was a 10 gallon(the fish were around that size), so i moved them inside with the same filter you have. I couldn't keep the tank clean, it was ridiculous.
At this point, large water changes everyday to clear thing up. Try 50% a day for now. Keep feedings light, and make sure it is goldfish food, not tropical fish food. Every day swish the filter cartridge into the removed tank water to make sure it is clear of debris.
As this tank probably gets some light during the day as it is near a window, I would suggest only turning the tank lights on when it is dark and you want to see the fish. they will be fine in subdued lighting. It would only be with live plants that leaving the lights on all day is important.
As this tank probably gets some light during the day as it is near a window, I would suggest only turning the tank lights on when it is dark and you want to see the fish. they will be fine in subdued lighting. It would only be with live plants that leaving the lights on all day is important.
I'll try the frequent water changes,goldfish food,lights only when we get home from work. I noticed last night when we got home,the water color has changed from brownish to a more greenish look but still so cloudy you can't see through the other end of the tank and the water is only 2-3 days old. I don't want to kill the fish because my wife loves the **** things...