Cloudy Water

[Boro]

Hi, first post and hope someone can help, i have a 2ft tank with 10 fish, it is a juwel tank and i have a problem with poor filtration, the water always seems to get cloudy very quick. So brought a Tetratec external pump, followed all the instructions to wash filters prior to using and also changed 50% of the water with the suitable chlorine control.But it has made the water very cloudy and i have lost two fish, i have stopped using the pump and gone back to the internal one. Can anybody suggest what i have done wrong?

Many thanks.

 

[Scotty001]

Hi, first post and hope someone can help, i have a 2ft tank with 10 fish, it is a juwel tank and i have a problem with poor filtration, the water always seems to get cloudy very quick. So brought a Tetratec external pump, followed all the instructions to wash filters prior to using and also changed 50% of the water with the suitable chlorine control.But it has made the water very cloudy and i have lost two fish, i have stopped using the pump and gone back to the internal one. Can anybody suggest what i have done wrong?

Many thanks.

this sounds like a backteria bllom as the new filter will not have any bacteria therefore not cycles, i am presuming that the previous internal filter you had may nothave cycled correctly either and could not handle the bio load from the fish you have, how long had that intrnal filter not beed used for as there is a chance the bacteria that had grown has since died therefore will not get rid of the cloudiness as needs to cycle,

The fish will be diying due to amonia poisoning, if you have 8 fish in there then you need to do an imediate 60 -70% water change to get rid of the ammonia as all this is going to do is kill all your fish.

Did you cycle the tank before you put fish in ???

Do you have a water test kit ?? if so what are you stats ??

How long have you had the tank and what fish are in it ??

With the above info we will be able to help a litte more and figure out the best course of action from here,

take a look HERE this is a post by Miss wiggle on cycling a tank with fish in it, its not the best way and is V stressful to the fish as they are affectivly being poisoned, if your able to rehome the fish with a friend or an LFS and cary out a Fishless cycle explained HERE

 

[Boro]

Hi, first post and hope someone can help, i have a 2ft tank with 10 fish, it is a juwel tank and i have a problem with poor filtration, the water always seems to get cloudy very quick. So brought a Tetratec external pump, followed all the instructions to wash filters prior to using and also changed 50% of the water with the suitable chlorine control.But it has made the water very cloudy and i have lost two fish, i have stopped using the pump and gone back to the internal one. Can anybody suggest what i have done wrong?

Many thanks.

this sounds like a backteria bllom as the new filter will not have any bacteria therefore not cycles, i am presuming that the previous internal filter you had may nothave cycled correctly either and could not handle the bio load from the fish you have, how long had that intrnal filter not beed used for as there is a chance the bacteria that had grown has since died therefore will not get rid of the cloudiness as needs to cycle,

The fish will be diying due to amonia poisoning, if you have 8 fish in there then you need to do an imediate 60 -70% water change to get rid of the ammonia as all this is going to do is kill all your fish.


Did you cycle the tank before you put fish in ???

Do you have a water test kit ?? if so what are you stats ??

How long hav you had the tank and what fish are in it ??

Hi the internal filter was not used for a day if that,
the fish are dalmations and 1 plec
the tank has been in use for 8 months
no i do not have a water test but can get one tommorrow
if i do a water change should i use the new fiter again?

Thank you for your help

 

[Scotty001]

Hi, first post and hope someone can help, i have a 2ft tank with 10 fish, it is a juwel tank and i have a problem with poor filtration, the water always seems to get cloudy very quick. So brought a Tetratec external pump, followed all the instructions to wash filters prior to using and also changed 50% of the water with the suitable chlorine control.But it has made the water very cloudy and i have lost two fish, i have stopped using the pump and gone back to the internal one. Can anybody suggest what i have done wrong?

Many thanks.

this sounds like a backteria bllom as the new filter will not have any bacteria therefore not cycles, i am presuming that the previous internal filter you had may nothave cycled correctly either and could not handle the bio load from the fish you have, how long had that intrnal filter not beed used for as there is a chance the bacteria that had grown has since died therefore will not get rid of the cloudiness as needs to cycle,

The fish will be diying due to amonia poisoning, if you have 8 fish in there then you need to do an imediate 60 -70% water change to get rid of the ammonia as all this is going to do is kill all your fish.


Did you cycle the tank before you put fish in ???

Do you have a water test kit ?? if so what are you stats ??

How long hav you had the tank and what fish are in it ??

Hi the internal filter was not used for a day if that,
the fish are dalmations and 1 plec
the tank has been in use for 8 months
no i do not have a water test but can get one tommorrow
if i do a water change should i use the new fiter again?

Thank you for your help

yeah you deff need a water test kit, id recomend a Liquid test kit (API MASTER KITS) £20 are worth theire weight in gold !! may seem pricey but for what it does and how accurate it is it is priceless, dont be fooled by the plastic test strips they are useless and as accurate as my big toe predicting the weather next week.

take a sample of your water to the lfs, most will test your water for you (ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate) normally free of charge or for a minimal fee.

the Internal filter bacteria may have pretty much died off.

Its not a case of IF you do a water change YOU NEED TO DO A WATER CHANGE ASAP,

Yes you can use the new filter again !! but would recomend keeping that old internal filter installed and running at the same time as some bacteria may have survived and will be able to help speed up the cycle again. when the tank has cycled you should then be able to remove the internal and run only on the external which are IMO much better than the internals.

you need to get good bacteria onto the filters, this is what keep the tank healthy for the fish,

Have you always had cloudy water or has this just happended ?? ie when you changed over to the new external ???

What type of Plec do you have ??? some get V LARGE 1m+

Do you know how many Ltr / Gallon your tank holds or the exact dimentions ?? as dependant on those there may be a large no of fish in the tank that the filters will struggle with.

What is the make and model of your new external,

Hope things get better soon scott

 

[OldMan47]

By putting your original filter back to work you are doing one of the best things you could to save your fish. The original filter had all the nitrogen converting bacteria in it and by returning it to operation you may get your chemistry to recover. It will have degraded a little by being turned off for a day but will have started recovering as soon as there was water flowing through it again. You should not turn off the new filter if it the one you will end up using. By running both, the old filter can help your fish stay healthy while the new one establishes the needed bacterial colony. As has been stated, a large partial water change will give the filters a chance to get caught up and will give you time to get a good water testing kit. As soon as you have the kit post your numbers here and we can probably help you sort out what to do next.