hi im very new to looking after fish but have been interested in it for a few years. I bought my first tank (4 gallon) last week and got told to set it up with the filters and everything for about a week before i put fish in it. I also got told to put a flake of food in everyday to create bacteria? but after 2 days my tank went cloudy. Ive checked all my ph, nitrite etc levels and they are all ok. Any ideas would be appreciated, thank you :help:
Cloudy Water
- Thread starter suzi_75
- Start date
Hiya thank you for replying. Its white. I did a 50% water change yesterday and its starting to look a lot clearer this morning. I read somewhere that it might be the uneaten food that i got told to put in the tank. Getting my fish on saturday so fingers crossed it all goes well LOL x
Most likely it is normal bacterial bloom you are seeing upon starting up a tank.
Your tank will not be ready for fish on Saturday. The fish food they have you putting in can be the sorce of ammonia you need to develop your bacteria. Fishless cycling will take 3-6 weeks to develop a proper bacteria colony to support the bio load you fish will be.
The bacteria will consume the ammonia from rotting food and fish wastes into N I T R I T E S. Ammonia and nitrites are extremly damaging to fish.
Another bacteria will change nitirtes to N I T R A T E S.
The nirates will be removed from your tank by regular water changes.
Please post what your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels are.
Your tank will not be ready for fish on Saturday. The fish food they have you putting in can be the sorce of ammonia you need to develop your bacteria. Fishless cycling will take 3-6 weeks to develop a proper bacteria colony to support the bio load you fish will be.
The bacteria will consume the ammonia from rotting food and fish wastes into N I T R I T E S. Ammonia and nitrites are extremly damaging to fish.
Another bacteria will change nitirtes to N I T R A T E S.
The nirates will be removed from your tank by regular water changes.
Please post what your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels are.
Yeah, what rbishop said. Sounds like your tanks cycling. That's what I suspected. I'm sure your fine but hey, post those readings anyway. Have fun:thm:
have you added any fish food to the tank? have you done a water change since you set the tank up?