Stinky smelly cloudy water...need help!

Waverider

Waverider

I want my own ocean
Mar 1, 2006
59
0
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Wishin' I was on the North Shore
www.bjaday.com
Ok, I have been browsing this forum for three days now and I must admit. I am extemely overwhelmed. We got a 20 gallon tank to replace my daughters cat that recently died. I have to say.....I did no research :duh: . I have a long time love affair with the ocean and am disappointed at my first attempt at an aquarium.

I let the tank cycle for a week before I added 4 zebras. I also have two sucker fish in there. I not know that I overloaded my system and I am a little unclear on what to do now. My Ammonia has been at 1.5 for 4 days now, and I decided to purchase some Bio-Spira bacteria to give my system a good kick in the rear to get going. I thought this would be better than an ammonia scrubber or chemical to get rid of the ammonia.

Did I completely screw this up??? The water is very murky now and has a smell like mildew. I know that the ammonia is what is stinkin' but I need to know if I should try something else or just let the tank sit and do it's thing.

Has anyone used Bio-Spira before? In a tank that was already going...

I know that these are all stupid beginner mistakes, but I would like to correct the problem.

Thanks for reading!!
 
I think your going in the right direction. I'd give it some more time. The bio-spira is considered the only good product out there to help your cycle. Was it refrigerated when you bought it? Sometimes the stores don't know that it is supposed to be refrigerated and the bacteria will die otherwise. Sometimes theres just a bad batch of the stuff too. Many people though have huge success with using the bio-spira.

Definitely on the right track to stay away from chemicals. Let the bacteria grow. If its a white cloudy look then it could be the bacteria itself clouding the water.

Letting the tank run for a week didn't really do anything for the cycle. Your cycle began when you added your fish. To cycle without fish you have to dose the tank wtih ammonia everyday.
 
Curious - how did you cycle the tank for a week before you added the first fish ? Did you add ammonia or anything else (fish food) to start the cycle ?
If the filters just ran with water in the tank nothing really happened in that week.

I havent personally used Bio-Spira but people seem to have great results with it. I dont know when you put it in the tank - but you are supposed to not change any water for 1 or 2 days after. Once that time period has passed and you still have high ammonia or nitrite then either add more biospira or start changeing out a LOT of water every day to keep the levels as close to zero as possible.

About the suckerfish - common pleco ? If yes then those fish are the ones i'd try to return to the store as they will get way too big to be housed in a 20G and will also create so much waste your cycling time will be tough.
 
See proving my ignorance once again. I suppose I did not cycle the tank for a week. I was just told to let the tank run for a couple of days and I would be good. :sad:

I have not changed any water in the last three days, since the Bio-Spira instructions state not to. Which makes sense to me....I don't want to remove the bacteria correct??

When should I start getting worried? Or in other words, what levels? Or assume that the Bio-Spira was a bad batch? It was cool but not cold like it was in an icebox. This is going to suck if the batch was bad....that stuff was expensive!! Are there no test you can do to see how your bacteria levels are?

The water is a whitish cloudy, and if you look close it looks like microscopic bubbles. The smell though.....good god!

How do you return fish to the fish store?? I assumed they wouldn't do that due to sicknesses and tank contamination?
 
Again i havent used bio spira so i don't know what levels of bacteria bloom (cloudy water) are normal. When you do a normal cycle you see a few bacteria blooms in the process - at times with a little odd smell.

The bio-spira bacteria are supposed to colonize your filter, filter media, gravel - basically any porous surface in the tank where there is enough oxygen.

Thats why its ok to eventually do waterchanges - as the bacteria aren't supposed to float in the water forever. In an established (cycled) tank you will find very little bacteria floating around.

Unfortunalety there are no tests to reveal how your bacteria colony is doing. You can only judge by your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test results.

Besides ammonia - what are yours ?

Many stores take back fish - you might not get all your money back or they only give you store credit but its worth asking.

EDIT: Don't put yourself down over what you did. We all made mistakes at some point of time in our aquaria "career" - i am sure. At least you show the interest in educating yourself and trying to do whats best for the fish. Thats a great start and i am sure things will turn out good in the end.
 
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I appreciate that. A lot of the aquarium forums I have been reading, the people seem to act very "Superior" to other people. You guys have made me feel better that I am not being completely stupid. I spent so much on all the equipment just to let 5 $1.79 fish destroy it.....oh well. It was a learning experience.

Levels have been consistantly at:
Ammonia = 1.5
N02=0.8
PH= 7.5
KH or GH??=7

Another stupid question...but I test for N02. that is all that is in my test kit. Am I missing a test?

How long can I let the tank sit before I have to change the water.

Any behaviors I should be looking for to signal the fish can not take the current situation?

You guys are awesome...this is such a great site. I already got a ton of info just browsing the forum for three days.
 
hmm... NO2 showing up is a good sign, the cycle is moving on now... it looks like the biospira is working b/c that was fast...
change the water 2 days after you add the biospira... make shure you are useing dechlorinators. during the cycle change the water often to keep the fish alive!
 
Am I missing a test?

I test for NO2, but I am seeing people talking about Nitrate and Nitrite??? Are these different tests requiring different chemicals. People are talking about 200 ppm, and I know I have nothing in my kit with those types of numbers.
 
NO2 is Nitrite and it has similar effects to Carbon Monoxide. It binds the the hemoglobin rendering it useless in carrying oxygen. Pretty much it causes the fish to suffocate to death even in highly oxygenated water. During the cycle you want to keep this at 0.5 or less. 0.25 or lower is better. After 2 days from adding the bio-spira do some waterchanges to get your Nitrites (NO2) down. Nitrate (NO3) is a waste product from the bacteria that eat Nitrites. While it is not toxic in small amounts (less than 60 ppm), a buildup of this means lack of maintanance. Higher amounts than maybe 20 ppm of Nitrates is one of the big causes or algae problems. You want to keep this at 20 ppm or lower done by water changes.
 
That made sense. So there is another test for NO3?

I will keep everyone updated in a day or two and let you know how it is going.

Thanks everyone.
 
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