Yesterday I did a COMPLETE cleaning of my juvenile EBDJ. I cleaned out the entire tank and filter. I just used water and a paper towel to get rid of all the gunk. Before I put my fish Bowie back in the tank I added the solution to prevent “new tank syndrome” and some to prevent algae. His tank water had suddenly turned really murky super fast and was getting algae on the glass. Since putting Bowie back in the tank he hasn’t been acting like he usually does. He barely touched any food. Not even the bloodworms which are his favorite. It’s been under 24 hours. Please help!!
HELP! WATER CHANGE ISSUE!
- Thread starter Fishie Mama
- Start date
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Fishie Mama
, did you remember to add a dechlorinator product?
What algae prevent product did you use? BTW, not really recommended for algae control.
What algae prevent product did you use? BTW, not really recommended for algae control.
When you say "complete cleaning" do you mean you took out the decor & cleaned it? Substrate too? Did you just rinse the filter media? Replace it? I think you may have caused at least a "mini-cycle" by too much cleaning. Beneficial bacteria live on all tank surfaces : substrate, decor, filter media & glass. I know you have another tank. You could take some of it's filter media & add it to the smaller tank's filter.
I too would like to know what products you used & test numbers or at least a range, I think you use strip tests?
I too would like to know what products you used & test numbers or at least a range, I think you use strip tests?
I just used a test strip and it’s FINALLY saying that the water is soft. We have well water and before it was testing hard to very hard. The alkalinity is at 180 ppm & ph of 8.4. I added a capful of this stuff called “Stability” made by Seachem that is supposed to help with new tank syndrome. I also added a teaspoon on Neutral Regulator by Seachem to help lower the ph. Everything else is testing in the safe range. Right now he’s just swimming in place in his plant.
He has no substrate in his tank. My mom never put any in there. I only used water to rinse everything. The one big difference in the water that I used was that now it seems the water softener is working properly. About a week ago when I tested a glass of water it was hard & very alkaline.
I only used water to clean everything. I didn’t add new filter media, just rinsed it off. I added 2 Seachem products called Stability which is supposed to prevent new tank syndrome, & a teaspoon of Neutral Regulator. I also used a product call Algaefix by API because the tank had suddenly turned green & was growing algae everywhere after I did a 75% water change a week ago. The test strip this time finally said that the water was soft but very alkaline. PH is 8.4. Everything else tested super safe.
Maybe the cloudiness is from dead algae or a slight bacteria bloom. Since you have unchlorinated well water just rinsing media should be fine.
Might be your fish is stressed from getting netted, put in a bucket & returned. I would still do another water change to help get rid of some of the cloudiness & additives. It's usually much better to use few, if any, additives & let your fish adapt to your tap water. The constant yoyo effect of changing parameters is hard on fish.
I'm confused by your "soft water" but high alkaline...I think you may be mixed up about "alkalinity" (KH). High GH (general hardness) can be called alkaline. Similar words but different meanings...This is another reason people hate test strips...
With well water there's no telling what you might have as "usual". There can be seasonal variations in well or city water...drought, spring floods, snow melt can all make a difference & change from year to year & seasonally too. It doesn't hurt to test at least every 2 or 3 months to see if things have changed.
My big hint is to use less additives!
Might be your fish is stressed from getting netted, put in a bucket & returned. I would still do another water change to help get rid of some of the cloudiness & additives. It's usually much better to use few, if any, additives & let your fish adapt to your tap water. The constant yoyo effect of changing parameters is hard on fish.
I'm confused by your "soft water" but high alkaline...I think you may be mixed up about "alkalinity" (KH). High GH (general hardness) can be called alkaline. Similar words but different meanings...This is another reason people hate test strips...
With well water there's no telling what you might have as "usual". There can be seasonal variations in well or city water...drought, spring floods, snow melt can all make a difference & change from year to year & seasonally too. It doesn't hurt to test at least every 2 or 3 months to see if things have changed.
My big hint is to use less additives!
