Cloudy Water.

[nick1]

Hi everyone,
I have just bought a 60 litre tank from maidenhead aquatics which has all the filters/heater light included. I filled the tank up and put the drops in which the guy in the store told me to put in . (to remove any harmful chlorine). The water was crystal clear on day one. The heater is running at 22 deg at the moment. Day 2 I put one single goldfish in which we have had for a year in a small bowl (I wanted to sort of set him free!!!). Day 3 I had the water tested and the guy at the store said it was perfect for marine fish etc. Day 5, the water seems to be starting to go cloudy.

Has anyone any idea why? I wanted to start adding some fish next week but dont want to take a chance if the water is starting to cloud.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Nick.

 

[techen]

Hi everyone,
I have just bought a 60 litre tank from maidenhead aquatics which has all the filters/heater light included. I filled the tank up and put the drops in which the guy in the store told me to put in . (to remove any harmful chlorine). The water was crystal clear on day one. The heater is running at 22 deg at the moment. Day 2 I put one single goldfish in which we have had for a year in a small bowl (I wanted to sort of set him free!!!). Day 3 I had the water tested and the guy at the store said it was perfect for marine fish etc. Day 5, the water seems to be starting to go cloudy.

Has anyone any idea why? I wanted to start adding some fish next week but dont want to take a chance if the water is starting to cloud.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Nick.

You put a goldfish into a 60 litre uncycled tank? Goldfish belong in a pond. Do you have a water testing kit like a API master kit or something like that to check how much ammonia you have in the tank? I would do daily waterchanges around 50% of the water a day.

 

[nick1]

Thank you for such a quick reply. Yes, I popped the goldfish in, thinking it was quite a strong fish. I do have an outdoor pond with Koi etc but wanted to wait until about march before I put him out. I thought I could mix a small goldfish with some tropical fish. No I dont have any testing kits but I can pick one up in the morning , what type of levels will I be looking at? Do you think the cloudiness is amonia?
I am just starting off with the indoor set up having enjoyed the outdoor pond so much. So I am very much a beginner.
Thanks
Nick.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The cloudiness is likely a bacterial bloom.


There is no such thing as a "small goldfish". The more correct term would be a "young" goldfish. Goldfish really do grow much too large for a small tank. The rule of thumb with goldfish in tanks is 20 gallons for the first, and 10 gallons for each additional, but I think this is reserved for black moors, etc. The "feeder" type goldfish actually grow much larger than that and should be in a pond, not a tank.


Secondly, regardless of the size of the tank, goldfish and tropicals don't mix well. The biggest issue is the temperature. The goldfish can survive periods of warmer water, but it speeds up their metabolism and drastically shortens their lifespan if they are kept in tropical temperature water permanently.


Anyway, you are in a fish-in cycle. Change as much water as you can (leaving just enough water for the fish to swim upright in, and replace it. If you don't know the ammonia level you are dealing with, you need to lower it as much as possible. Goldfish in tropical set-ups will create far more waste than usual, so the build up of ammonia is very fast!

 

[nick1]

Thank you for that information. I have made my mind up, the goldfish will be coming out of the tank in the morning and back into his bowl until about March. I dont want to ruin my chances of a new adventure with some tropicals. A bacterial bloom doesnt sound great, would that be picked up in a testing kit? Will it settle down eventually so I can start to enjoy?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

He'll be far better off in the tank for now than the bowl. The bacterial bloom isn't an issue. Its normal. No need to panic.