help with cloudy water

[AndyH24]

Hi, I'm new to aquariums. I have a 10 gal with 4 small goldfish in it. I have had this aquarium for about 3 months now. I started with a whisper 10i filter which I discovered was not going to cut it. I then added an aquatech 5-15 gal filter from walmart. After a couple of weeks of the two filters together, I took out the whisper filter.

I have been doing water changes every few days. I change about 3 - 4 gals a time. I add prime to the water first as well. My problem is the water is staying cloudy. I have never had the water tested so I decided to take a sample to pet smart. The guy was shocked at the results. The ammonia was close to the stress level and the nitrates and nitrites were extremely high. The water was very hard as well. He said the only good thing I had, was no chlorine! He suqqested I get a fluval aquaclear 30 filter and an ammonia remover insert to put in place of the carbon. Also he said to get a bottle of tetra easy balance plus.

So, I bought the filter and the easy balance. I put one cap full in and the new filter in thursday 2-7-13. I took out the aquatech filter from walmart. The guy said to give it a week or so and that should help. I know it has only been 1 day but I wanted to get some other opinions. The water has not cleared up any.

Also, I have learned that 10 gal is not bigh enough for 4 gold fish. I have a friend with the same tank and he has 2 goldfish that 1 of his is bigger than all 4 of mine. His water is crystal clear and he hardly ever changes it. When my goldfish get too big, I have another friend with a goldfish pond and they said I could bring them there. Anyway, sorry for such a long post, but I would love to learn more and get some advice about my tank water.

 

[kanakaia]

It will clear up just keep doing the water changes. It seems like it going through a hard nitro cycle just give it time

 

[AndyH24]

Ok thanks! When should I put some more easy balance in? Also, should I put some prime in the tank?

 

[FreshyFresh]

Andy, are these Comet goldfish? Those babies can get a foot long if they've got the room. I'd re-home them if you can.

Read up on nitrogen cycle for aquariums. Ideally you do it w/out fish in the tank. You need a test kit for the whole process.

Comets are tough buggers apparently. They can tolerate some ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

Joel

 

[esoepr1976]

It's true the tank is too little for your fish. You will definitely need to keep doing all the water changes you do, and maybe then some. I would stick to using the prime, the easy balance I'm not so familiar with but I don't think it's going to do anything better. If your goldfish are the common comets often sold as feeder fish, they can get huge (well over a foot), and are already likely too big for your tank. If they are the fancy goldfish, then as long as you do lots of water changes regularly, so that the small size of the tank doesn't stunt their growth and make them unhealthy, it will take a little longer before they need rehoming. As for the cloudyness, it sounds like a bacterial bloom during cycling. This is common, though it usually doesn't last very long. I'm guessing it's lasting a while for you because your bioload is so heavy.

Emily

 

[AndyH24]

yes i believe they are common goldfish. Right now, they are about the size of my thumb. Is changing about 3-4 gallons each time sound good?

 

[kanakaia]

Without a test kit it's a guess if a water change of 3-4 gal every few days is enough. The common gold fish is pretty tough, they should make it through the cycle. I would not use easy balance plus or anything that changes the PH or Hardness of the water. The main thing is to keep the ph & hardness steady, they're just Goldfish not Discus. I would keep using Prime you should add more of it to detoxify the nitrite & ammonia. There are other issues that have been pointed out by others that you will have to deal with later, but for now I'm just trying to get you through your cloudy water & cycle. There are a lot of things that you are learning now and you will get better at it. Don't be discouraged, fish keeping is a wonderful hobby. Like everything we make mistakes along the way. Good Luck & Be Patient

 

[slayer5590]

you need to run the aqua tech filter along side the ac 30. one ac 30 isn't going to cut it with 4 goldfish in there.

 

[AndyH24]

Thanks everyone for your replies! I had recently bought an led hood from tetra. I will have to see if I can modify it to make room for the aquatech filter as well. Today is day 3 with the fluval ac30 and the water is still cloudy.

 

[AndyH24]

got the aquatech installed and did a 30% water change last night. It is looking a little better. Had the water tested this morning and the ammonia was normal and the nitrites and nitrates had come down a little but still too high. Here's a couple of pics. My son helped me decorate the tank! He loves fire trucks!