Help ! cloudy water - what do i do ???

thank you so much for your time Roan - it is VERY much appreciated.

Ok. this time i'll try and cover all your questions in the one response.

Salt: I put in two teaspoons for the whole tank (20G) and a proportion thereof when i do a water change (25% water = 1/2 teaspoon). This is the amount the LFS told me to put in. It seems to raise the GH from about 3 to 5. Current GH is 5.

Ammonia: There is no ammonia in the tap water. The tank is testing about 0.5 ppm ammonia.

Adding bicarb and doing the MASSIVE water change: Thank you, I am glad I got something right !! I feel like absolute dunce at the moment.

Did the pH drop to 6 ?: I don't know because I freaked out when it got really cloudy and didn't check the pH until AFTER I had done the 25% and 40% water changes (stupid, but i know better for next time). But the night before the tank turned to milk the pH was 6.8 - so i would say it is possible that it got to 6.

KH: I am going to get some coral today, and am immediately stopping messing around with using pH down in the tap water. I think I might try a different LFS.

It sounds like I have lost my biological filter and will be starting from scratch cycling the tank...at least this time I actually have a complete test kit.

I just want to say again how much I appreciate you helping me out.
 
Just one question before I head out to get some coral - how much do I need to put in ?

I'll keep up the frequent water changes and minimum daily testing (probably more often considering how worried I am about it). No more pH down, but I guess until the coral gets going I should continue to add bicarb to keep the KH at 4; is that right ?

Thanks
 
Darwin said:
Just one question before I head out to get some coral - how much do I need to put in ?
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Just a handful or so. I like using pantyhose because I think the water flows through better and it doesn't get as much of a stinky mulm build-up like socks do.

Ask the LFS if they will just give you some. Sometimes they feel gracious ;)

I'll keep up the frequent water changes and minimum daily testing (probably more often considering how worried I am about it). No more pH down, but I guess until the coral gets going I should continue to add bicarb to keep the KH at 4; is that right ?
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Yes on all counts. Once your KH rises to 5 on its own, 50% water change and check it. If it's at 4 or 5 without baking soda, then you probably won't need the bicarb any more. You do need to keep an eye on it though.

Test your tap periodically as well for all parameters. Water companies are always futzing with things and I don't think Darwin is any different in that respect :D You never know when they might start throwing chloramine at you.

Actually, shoot, it's summer there, right? Ach, okay, most places (here anyway) use chlorine in the summer and chloramine in the winter. Contact your water department and ask them what their schedule is. See if you can get a water report as well. You might start seeing chloramine in a few months when winter comes to Aussieland.

Roan
 
Thanks again. From what I understand in Australia the main cities use chlorine and rural areas use chloramine but they don't change according to the season (maybe because the seasonal temperature differences aren't as big as in the US).

I'll let you know how I go...all things going well I'll be asking for advice after my tank has cycled, as to what fish would mix well with the four giant danios and two cories !!! Not Clown Loaches in a 20G (I have learnt my lesson there).
 
Darwin said:
thank you so much for your time Roan - it is VERY much appreciated.
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Not a problem at all.

Salt: I put in two teaspoons for the whole tank (20G) and a proportion thereof when i do a water change (25% water = 1/2 teaspoon). This is the amount the LFS told me to put in. It seems to raise the GH from about 3 to 5. Current GH is 5.
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Okay, that should help with the nitrites.

Ammonia: There is no ammonia in the tap water. The tank is testing about 0.5 ppm ammonia.
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Okay, try to get that down to .25 if you can. Never let it get above .5, though.

Adding bicarb and doing the MASSIVE water change: Thank you, I am glad I got something right !! I feel like absolute dunce at the moment.
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You shouldn't. I crashed my own tank a few weeks ago two days into a cycle. Wasted two packages of 90g Bio Spira and almost an entire box of baking soda trying to re-establish it.

The water department had done another dance on my tap water again. KH was at 3 last I had checked, just a few days before, and then it was 2 dKH. Coral hadn't had time to dissolve and the Bio Spira just ate up all the bicarb I had put in. Massive water changes to fix it, more soda, more Bio Spira and I finally had it under control. Didn't bother the dang fish at all.

So, it happens even when you know it can happen :)

Did the pH drop to 6 ?: I don't know because I freaked out when it got really cloudy and didn't check the pH until AFTER I had done the 25% and 40% water changes (stupid, but i know better for next time). But the night before the tank turned to milk the pH was 6.8 - so i would say it is possible that it got to 6.
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Nod. You did what anyone would do. Save the fish first, heck with the test. I would have done the same.

KH: I am going to get some coral today, and am immediately stopping messing around with using pH down in the tap water. I think I might try a different LFS.
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Sometimes they *do* get things right. Best thing to do is either know more than they do, or take what they tell you and verify it before doing it.

It sounds like I have lost my biological filter and will be starting from scratch cycling the tank...at least this time I actually have a complete test kit.
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Yes, but you still have *some* bacteria, so it shouldn't take to long to get it re-established.

I just want to say again how much I appreciate you helping me out.
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It's definitely not a problem. I like to help when I can.

Roan
 
Just letting you know - I picked up some crushed coral today and put a handful in some pantyhose, rinsed it in dechlorinated water and put it in the filter.

Did a water change this evening ammonia is between 0.25 and 0.5 ppm.

The fish are looking settled again (the danios are back to their usual busy selves and their appetite is well and truely back to normal), so hopefully they'll bounce back from this horrible experience !
 
I actually bought some Accu-Clear from a local Aquarium. You have to put 2 drops for every gallon of water, and it started working for me in less than half an hour. I didnt think it would work- but it works GREAT
 
goldfishPOGO said:
I actually bought some Accu-Clear from a local Aquarium. You have to put 2 drops for every gallon of water, and it started working for me in less than half an hour. I didnt think it would work- but it works GREAT
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Most of the time using a product such as Accu-Clear will only mask the problem, not solve it.

The best thing to do is find out *why* you have cloudy water and deal with that.

Roan
 
Update

Hi,

Just an update;

All is going well in the tank and the water has stayed clear. Have been keeping ammonia below 0.5 ppm with daily water changes and today the ammonia started dropping without a water change, to between 0 and 0.25 ppm .

Interestingly, I haven't seen any nitrite at all when testing and up until today nitrate was also 0. So I was worried that the cycle wasn't progressing. But today the nitrate is 0 - 5 ppm, so the cycle seems to be going o.k. Maybe the nitrite to nitrate bacteria must have survived the crash better than the ammonia to nitriate bacteria and that's why nitrite has stayed at 0. I am maintaining KH at 4 (still adding a bit of bicarb with the water changes).

I agree with Roan about finding out why you have the problem, hopefully now I can prevent it from happening again !
 
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