Cloudy Water

[Byron]

I really would not add any ammonia to this tank, not with bacteria seeded from elsewhere.  There is a real risk of killing the bacteria with ammonia.
 
We had a thread a couple of weeks back in which several of us were discussing bacteria, and how difficult it is to kill them off by not having ammonia (food), as in a tank where there are no fish.  It is a myth that the bacteria will die off, they just will not.  They go into a sort of hibernation or suspended state, so to speak.
 
Ammonia is a deadly toxin to all forms of life, which is why it is used in cleaning products.  While in a new tank adding pure ammonia will obviously speed up the establishment of nitrifying bacteria, once the bacteria are present you can easily kill the lot with too much ammonia.  The second point is that the second stage bacteria, the Nitrospira species that use the nitrite, can be inhibited and even killed by too much ammonia.
 
We can assume there is an establishment of nitrifying bacteria from the seeding.  I would now begin to add fish, just a few (one species together, never break up species groups).  Adding the fish food as Akasha mentioned is fine, that will work as it is much the same as the fish, though taking much longer.
 
Re the eyes, I agree with Akasha that this is not something you can cure.  It is probably cataracts.  I spotted one yey like this on one of my Diamond Tetra the other day.  It is not contagious, and just leave things.  I had a Congo Tetra many years ago that became blind in both eyes, and he lived for many months afterwards.  It was interesting feeding him, as of course he detected the food by smell alone.
 
Byron.

 

[GuppieMike]

Ok thanks for the help guys, I will get some treatment for the popping eye.

I've added a few more food since the last one.

I did notice this time when I put the food in it stayed stationery now I thought the surface of the water should be moving all the time to allow oxygen in the tank.

The filter I have is a fuval 155ltr which I enough for my 125ltr, however it just doesn't feel like it has a strong flow.

I just want to check that is ok as I don't want anymore problems.
I know you can add extra filters, so would it be beneficial that i add my 55ltr fluval just for aid.

Let me get this straight as I don't want to ness anything up, I will do another water test, but then I can add a group of same species today?

 

[Akasha72]

Hi ... you don't need a treatment for pop-eye so save your money. Pop-eye is quite rare, it's not something we see a lot of. My cichlids had it because a new angelfish had introduced something called Hexamita to my tank - another fish illness that is quite rare but it causes an over build up of bacteria within the fish and pop-eye is a side effect of that (at least that's what I was told when I had it. I'd never heard of Hexamita until that point)
 
As to extra filters - I run two on my 4ft as one didn't create enough flow, I was getting a greasy film at the opposite side, I also have a lot of fish and needed extra filtration. It made sense to run two and maintain them on a cycle so one is cleaned and the other picks up any slack if I over-do it a  bit. Then 2 weeks later the other is cleaned and so on... it works for me.
 
If Byron thinks you can add back a few fish then I'm going to agree with him but do it slowly... don't got adding a dozen fish and expecting the filter to cope. Add them in small groups of 5 or 6 (if they are small fish, less if they are big fish) keep checking the water daily for signs of ammonia and nitrite. If it remains stable for a week then add a few more. Add them too fast and the filter won't get chance to catch up to the extra ammonia and nitrite. 
 
We're here if you need any more help. Just shout and one of us will be along

 

[the_lock_man]

Mollies with a single swollen eye seems to be very common, when I dabbled with mollies when I was first starting out, I think every single one that I had suffered from it and one time or another - keep the water clean and it goes away pretty quickly.

 

[GuppieMike]

That's good news about the swollen eye thing, hopefully it will go away.

When I finish work, I will add the second filter and add my three remaining mollies, then leave it for a few days and keep an eye on the water.

 

[Byron]

At this stage, I would do a series of tests for a couple days before adding fish.  Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.  If ammonia and nitrite read zero, and you have a number for nitrate, you should be OK to add a fish.  Go slowly, not all at once, just to be safe.  I'm not meaning to sound elitist, but those of us with considerable experience can easily see things in fish and take remedial action better than those with less experience, so going slow is better.  I would leave the mollies until other fish are in and numbers still zero for ammonia and nitrite, then add them one at a time.  [I realize that due to our time zone differences, I may be late with this; if so, and you have added the fish, just do the tests.]
 
Also test the pH initially (before adding fish), and then periodically afterwards.  Testing pH should be done just before the water change so you see the situation.  This need not go on once you see relative stability (remains close week to week).
 
Byron.

 

[GuppieMike]

I was still at work when you posted, so none of the fish are in the tank yet. I'm glad they not as somehow, I did another water test and the results are worse.

PH 7.6
High Range PH 7.4
Ammonia 1.0 ppm
Nitrite 5.0 ppm
Nitrate 80

What am I doing wrong? Is there anything else I can do to help improve the results.

 

[Akasha72]

wow ... nitrites of 5?! 
 
Your doing nothing wrong ... this is just a tank in the process of cycling from what I can see. Don't add the fish - with readings like that they'd be dead by morning
 
Are you still throwing in some fish food to feed the bacteria?

 

[Byron]

These numbers may make sense...on Apr 22 (post 54) you had ammonia 0.25 and nitrite 2.0, and the latter has increased which should mean the ammonia is being changed to nitrite.  Are these with the API liquid tests now?
 
Byron.
 
Edit.  Akasha posted as I was typing, we seem to be on the same page.

 

[Akasha72]

I don't understand the high nitrate reading though Byron - from my understanding of cycling tanks the Nitrate reading should be either non-existant or just beginning to show up? Perhaps I have something to learn here too

 

[Byron]

I don't understand the high nitrate reading though Byron - from my understanding of cycling tanks the Nitrate reading should be either non-existant or just beginning to show up? Perhaps I have something to learn here too

 
I'm certainly not the expert that some are when it comes to this, but I would surmise that the bacteria seeding probably brought organics with it, and we are seeing increases from more than one source.
 
And another issue is the test itself; if this is the API liquid test now, the nitrate can be off if the regents are not shaken sufficiently.

 

[Akasha72]

well yes, I had considered that the test for Nitrate could be a bit off. I have the JBL test kit now and the test for Nitrate is just as poor as the API. I tend to read the colour now with a small pinch of salt as I don't really trust it. The API one was terrible for giving false readings

 

[GuppieMike]

The tests are from the api liquid tests, I've been following the instructions on what to do while testing. I am still putting bits are food in.

 

[Akasha72]

if you are still adding food to the tank as I suggested then that is where the readings are coming from. It's not just our fish that create ammonia and nitrite. Uneaten/rotting food creates ammonia and nitrite, dead and rotting plant leaves do too. If you have a dead fish decaying unseen that will also create it. 
 
This is often why we will sometimes suggest not to feed fish in a tank that perhaps had it's filter over cleaned and has gone into a mini cycle. We will recommend you remove any dead leaves from natural plants ... all these things create ammonia and nitrite. In your case this is what we want to happen as we want to feed the bacteria seed that you got from your friends tank. We want them to start mutilplying rapidly now so that you can get your fish home but we need you to keep testing the water for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. We're looking for signs that it's beginning to cycle. What you are seeing now is a fall in Ammonia and a rise in Nitrite. This means that the Ammonia bacteria are almost formed and now the Nitrite bacteria are forming. Once we see Ammonia at zero and then Nitrite begin to fall too then we know we're almost there. 
Keep doing as you are - the more decaying food in the tank the more ammonia and nitrite there will be to feed the bacteria and the quicker your filter will create bacteria to support your fishes.
 
Your doing well... keep at it

 

[GuppieMike]

New water results

PH 7.6
Hard PH 7.4
Ammonia 0.5ppm
Nitrite 5.0ppm
Nitrate 40/80ppm

Is it meant to be this slow? I'm still adding some food.