Cloudy Water

[markruk]

Hello
i have a new 63l Tank i filled it up on sunday cleaned the substrate and the the plastic rock i got for a fish shop.
For 1 day the water was cristal clear, i then added some tetra safe start bacteria
and the day after it has gone all cloudy and has stayed like that.
Has anyone else used this and had the same happen
also the Ph is staying at 8.5 from day one i that ok or will that come down over time.
thanks very much sorry if there stupid questions as im quite new to tropical fish.

many thanks
MArk

 

[Uriel]

Hello
i have a new 63l Tank i filled it up on sunday cleaned the substrate and the the plastic rock i got for a fish shop.
For 1 day the water was cristal clear, i then added some tetra safe start bacteria
and the day after it has gone all cloudy and has stayed like that.
Has anyone else used this and had the same happen
also the Ph is staying at 8.5 from day one i that ok or will that come down over time.
thanks very much sorry if there stupid questions as im quite new to tropical fish.

many thanks
MArk

Unfortunately the safe start bacteria won't do a great deal to prepare your tank for fish. The tank need to be cycled either fish-in or fishless. There is a great resource at the top of the forum in beginner resource centre that covers cycling and the nitrogen cycle. Personally i would reccomend a fishless cycle. If after reading this you have anymore questions feel free to post them here and one of the many members will be happy to help you out.

Welcome to TFF

 

[Skins]

Hello Mark.
Agree with Uriel, as for your pH i would let your tank settle down then test again its also good practise to see what your tap water ph is.
Which test kit/kits are you using?

Keith.

 

[markruk]

Hello
i have a new 63l Tank i filled it up on sunday cleaned the substrate and the the plastic rock i got for a fish shop.
For 1 day the water was cristal clear, i then added some tetra safe start bacteria
and the day after it has gone all cloudy and has stayed like that.
Has anyone else used this and had the same happen
also the Ph is staying at 8.5 from day one i that ok or will that come down over time.
thanks very much sorry if there stupid questions as im quite new to tropical fish.

many thanks
MArk

Unfortunately the safe start bacteria won't do a great deal to prepare your tank for fish. The tank need to be cycled either fish-in or fishless. There is a great resource at the top of the forum in beginner resource centre that covers cycling and the nitrogen cycle. Personally i would reccomend a fishless cycle. If after reading this you have anymore questions feel free to post them here and one of the many members will be happy to help you out.

Welcome to TFF

thanks for reply i have read the guide after i put the safe start in !!
The guide is very helpful in deed
but do you think that is the cause of cloudy water or getting the Ph down if i need to
as cant find much info about clody water
thanks
mark

 

[Uriel]

Cloudy water is most often caused by bacterial bloom. This is most often caused by to much organic material in the tank which the bacteria then mutiplies to remove. In your case i don't really know what would be causing the bacterial bloom.

Don't worry about the ph of your water most fish with decent acclimisation will flourish in most water types. I would advise working with your water rather than against it. Trying to change PH,KH,GH is complicated even for the most experienced fish keepers.

Like i said i would reccomend starting your fishless cycle. Your PH may change with time as tap water and cycled fishtank water often have differing PH.

Also with time the cloudiness should clear if it's bacterial bloom.

 

[markruk]

Ok great thanks for your Help
I am going to do fish-less cycle now i have read all about it, shame i didnt find this site before i put the stuff in tank
i know Ph is hard to adust as i have Hot tub and has to be check ever day and Adjusted for PH and Bromine

thanks again for Help

Mark

 

[Curiosity101]

I guess the bacterial bloom has probably been caused by the filter start. Not some much from there being live bacteria in there. But more likely high ammonia/nitrites left over from all the dead bacteria...

 

[markruk]

I guess the bacterial bloom has probably been caused by the filter start. Not some much from there being live bacteria in there. But more likely high ammonia/nitrites left over from all the dead bacteria...

Ammonia and Nitrate is 0 and has been since water first went in
its all brand new so wont be any dead backteria in there will ther ??

Mark

 

[Curiosity101]

Do you mean ammonia and nitrIte? There are often nitrates in tap water so it's unlikely you will have 0 even in a freshly filled tank.

And yes it's all brand new. But the filter start is meant to have live bacteria in it. More often than not it doesnt, but that's not to say it didn't have live bacteria in it when it left the factory.
They then die in transit/while sat on a shelf and so will release ammonia (and any living ones may convert some of this to nitrite).

Although you're seeing 0 ammonia on a test kit that's not to say there isn't a very low level of it in the water. I don't think you actually need to register ammonia on a test kit for there to be enough for a bacterial bloom.

 

[markruk]

Hello Mark.
Agree with Uriel, as for your pH i would let your tank settle down then test again its also good practise to see what your tap water ph is.
Which test kit/kits are you using?

Keith.

Sory Keith missed your post not sure what kit it is as im at work but it is a fluid one with test tubes.
i will test the tap Ph
thanks

 

[waterdrop]

Always wonderful to have a new member in our beginners section.. Welcome!

Yes, in my opinion C101 is correct, the bottle of tetra safe start basically contains a ton of dead organic matter and that's a feast for the heterotrophic bacteria, which is the whitish/grayish milky cloud you see in the water. These dozens of bacterial species also can feast on some of the chemical side effects of the silicone that seals new tanks together, so you don't even need any of the bacteria-in-a-bottle products to start a bacterial bloom!

As a beginner of course, it's natural to be worrying about all the things that don't need worrying about but to be clueless about the ones that do! That's why you and we are here, luckily. Bacterial blooms are quite harmless and go away on there own! A pH of 8.5 is actually quite lucky right now, rather than a worry, as the bacteria will love it!

The real concerns to be focusing on are what type of test kit you have and how to find just the right type of household ammonia and to get that fishless cycle started. There are all sorts of details to be taken care of in that department. You need an aquarium notebook and you need to learn how to keep a good log and communicate well with the members about what's going on during this cycle.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[markruk]

Thanks for the Advice every one
will let yo know what hapends
very Helpful

Mark

 

[Skins]

Thanks for the Advice every one
will let yo know what hapends
very Helpful

Mark

Hi Mark,
Keep us all posted when you start your cycle

Good luck, Keith.

 

[markruk]

Hi im back have had no computer for over 4 weeks now been a pain but have got it back.
In the mean time i have been doing a cycle but have got 4 danios as my other half brought them after 2 weeks not knowing im doing a fishless cycle !!!!
anyway i have them and there doing fine.

i have been checking the water every other day and doing water changes
the amonia has been going up to 2.4,but mostly 1.6 and have been doing 20%-50%water changes and have brought it down to 0 but then 2 days later its up to 1.6 again.
nitrite has been practally nonexistence and nitrate has been max 5 but then do a water change and its down again to 0
ph has been steady 8.5

Am i doing the water changes to regularly and changing to much water so its taking the bactiria out the water so not getting a higher nitrate reading?
as after 7 weeks i would of thought i would of seen an increase in nitrate by now.

thanks very much
Mark

 

[Aqua Tom]

Welcome back mark. You need to keep that ammonia at 0.25 or less as even though the fish seem fine a level of 2.4ppm or even 1.6ppm is very harmfull to them. I sugest a 50% water change every day not every other day is the way to go here. How often do you feed them as this can effect the ppm quite dramaticly?

Dont worry about your nitrates as you will be doing so many water changes as to make testing for them counterproductive.