Cloudy Water

[Smyth]

Well Hi guys, just started this today because I have a problem,I've had a 12L fish tank with heater pump and a tiny box filter all running for 6 days, and 2 days ago the water has turned cloudy, i have no fish and no plants apart from a plastic one, i have used tap safe to make tap water safe, and the water is now cloudy could someone please help, I'm a complete novice when it comes to owning an aquarium and I've spent loads of money on it already and I haven't even bought fish yet

Box Filter, Tetra APS 50, 12L Rectangle Tank, Plastic plant, Tubing, Green Gravel, Interpet Gold Tap Safe 100ml(tap water safe - removes chlorine)

If there is anything else you need to know please reply, I wanted to buy fish this afternoon as well

 

[Joshwainwright]

I'm not sure what the cloudiness is but have you researched cycling? It needs to be done before fish are added or they will just die...

 

[Smyth]

I'm not sure what the cloudiness is but have you researched cycling? It needs to be done before fish are added or they will just die...

Yeah but im not quite sure at what stage I am? i was going to buy a hardy fish to help with cycling, thats what one website said..

 

[fluttermoth]

The cloudiness is a bacterial bloom; very common in new tanks and will clear up, either on it's own, or with a few large water changes.

Please don't think about buying fish yet; you need to understand 'cycling' and the nitrogen cycle first.

There are good articles in the beginner's resource centre (link is in my sig) on both 'fish-in' and 'fishless' cycling; we always recommend fishless cycles as it means that there's no risk of illness or death to the new fishes.

12l is very small; you'll only be able to have two or three small fish in there and a lot of people will tell you a tank that size is not suitable for fish at all...tbh, snails and/or shrimps would be my recommendation...

 

[SamLovesCorys]

if it's like a grey mist, this is likely a bacterial bloom, which is (usually) good- The bacteria helps to convert harmful substances from organic waste into ones that are less harmful. These bacteria will only start to colonise your tank if organic waste is present (This could have happened without you noticing, it could be a minute amount.)

To understand this, which you're going to have to if you want to keep fish, read the sections under the cycling heading here

It could also be algae, or a number of other things, such as dust from a dirty substrate. See link here

Good luck, Sam

The cloudiness is a bacterial bloom; very common in new tanks and will clear up, either on it's own, or with a few large water changes.

Please don't think about buying fish yet; you need to understand 'cycling' and the nitrogen cycle first.

There are good articles in the beginner's resource centre (link is in my sig) on both 'fish-in' and 'fishless' cycling; we always recommend fishless cycles as it means that there's no risk of illness or death to the new fishes.

12l is very small; you'll only be able to have two or three small fish in there and a lot of people will tell you a tank that size is not suitable for fish at all...tbh, snails and/or shrimps would be my recommendation...

Nooo, beat me to it!

 

[Smyth]

Okay Thanks For The Help Guys, I'll Just leave it for a while then and wait :'(

 

[fluttermoth]

Unfortunately you can't 'just wait'.

Unless you're adding a source of ammonia (either household ammonia sold for cleaning; that's a 'fishless' cycle, or fish that produce ammonia through their wastes; that's fish-in cycling) the bacteria you want won't have anything to feed on and they won't grow.

The bacteria in the 'bacterial bloom', are not the ones you need in your filter.

 

[Smyth]

So you add ammonia to it? And then just wait?

 

[fluttermoth]

It's a little more complex than that.

You add ammonia and wait for that to disappear. That will mean you have the bacteria that eat ammonia.

From eating the ammonia, those bacteria produce nitrIte and you need another family of bacteria to eat that, as nitrite is as poisonous to fish as the ammonia is.

So you carry on adding ammonia until the nitrite levels have gone up and back down again.

That is what a fishless cycle is, and it takes around six weeks to do, but it does mean less work for you and no risk to any fish.

If you chose to do a fish IN cycle, the fish would produce the ammonia, but would also be at risk from being poisoned by it, so you have to do a lot of water changes (sometimes twice a day) to keep the ammonia levels as low as possible for the fish's sake.

 

[Smyth]

So about how much ammonia would you add to a 12 litre tank? And I'm guessing I need a test kit

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, you'd need test kits for ammonia and nitrite. And about 0.5 mls of ammonia. It's cheap though; Homebase do a 500ml bottle for about £3.

In all honesty, I'd suggest you get a larger tank and start again; you'll be so limited as to what you can have in 12l; probably 3 male Endler's or guppies and it would be full.

 

[Joshwainwright]

If you want to be serious with this hobby then you will certainly need a bigger tank. Have a look on eBay, you can get them fairly cheap

 

[fluttermoth]

Agreed; whilst newcomers to the hobby often think they'd be better off with a small tank, in reality they're very difficult to look after (because the levels can swing so rapidly) and very much limit what and how many fish you can have,

I always recommend beginners to start off with something more in the region of a three foot/100l tank, although a two foot/60l is also not a bad choice.

Seriously, Smyth; do you really want to spend six weeks cycling a tank and then be able to have only three guppies/Endler's? 'Cos there really is nothing else that would be able to live in only 12l, apart from shrimp or snails; it's not even big enough for a single betta.

 

[Smyth]

Well I'm don't really mind not having many fish because it's in my bedroom and it's small anyway, and this tank fits my desk, I dont really want a bigger tank to be honest but I'm not sure at the moment because my water is clear now and I haven't done anything to it, is the cycle finished? In a week? The woman in pets at home said I could buy fish in 3 days from I got the tank but the whole cycle thing is so confusing!!!

 

[Smyth]

http/t.co/Z5dvr7HK there's a pic of my cloudy tank from last night