Cloudy water new aquarium after 2 days

[freecorb]

I bought a 57Litre aquarium on Sunday. I ensured I rinsed the pebbles well, and the tank has been crystal clear until last night, Tuesday. I noticed it seemed a bit milk cloudy, and this morning it is even cloudier. The tank is empty apart from gravel. I am a bit confused what has caused this ? Any advice welcome thanks

 

[mikey11]

its normal and part of the cycling process.....it will clear up on its own, do NOT change any water or clean your filter, just leave it alone....read up on the cycling process

 

[Essjay]

This is the best way to cycle a tank http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/
The cloudiness will have gone by the time it has cycled.

Cloudiness is either dust from the substrate or a bacterial bloom - but these are not the bacteria we need to grow. These bloom bacteria live floating in the water which how we see them as cloudiness, and they multiply very quickly so water changes don't help. They will die off once their food has all been consumed.

 

[freecorb]

Thanks for the advice, so do I need to add ammonia or some fish food to help clear the tank ? Also am I ok to add plants at this point, or wait to add fish until the tank clears ?

 

[Byron]

Thanks for the advice, so do I need to add ammonia or some fish food to help clear the tank ? Also am I ok to add plants at this point, or wait to add fish until the tank clears ?

As was mentioned, the cloudiness is a bacterial bloom but this is not directly related to the "cycling" bacteria but to other different species of bacteria that feed on organics. There can often be high levels of microscopic organic particles in tap water, and the bacteria that consume these can multiply very rapidly, hence the "bloom." Sometimes water changes help, but not usually because fresh water only means more organics, depending upon the level of organics in the source water. It can take hours, a few days, even a few weeks to clear, depending upon numerous factors.

To your plant question, plant them now, before doing any "cycling." Once you have live plants that appear to be growing, you do not need to "cycle" as such. Plants need nitrogen, and aquatic plants prefer this as ammonium (ammonia) and can assimilate a lot of it. If the plants are growing, and there are some fast growing plants among them (floating plants are best for this), you will be able to add a few fish with no worries. I have never used any method other than live floating plants in newly setup tanks. Plants obviously need decent light, and nutrients.

Knowing the intended fish will allow us to suggest which and in what order. This is a 57 liter (15 gallon) tank, so obviously fish will be small species, and these are likely to be wild caught so knowing your water parameters (GH, pH, KH) will be helpful too.

 

[Essjay]

If this is your first fish tank, I would wait a week or two after planting to make sure the plants are thriving before getting fish. You need more than the odd plant or two.



If you decide to do a fishless cycle, fish food is not a good way to do this as you cannot know just how many bacteria you have grown. The link I gave in my previous post gives a step by step guide to cycling with ammonia. If you choose this method, plant the tank once the cycle has finished but before you get fish