Cloudy water?

[luckypenny]

I have a newly set up 75 gallon tank with several african cichlids. The tank has a undergravel filter and a aquaclear 300 filter. The tank is fine and so are the fish except for the cloudy water that has occurred 4 days ago. From reading on here Im aware thats a bacterial bloom? (cycling)so I have several quaestions if someone can help me??

1) How long does the cycling process take? will the water clear?
2) Should I use a bigger filter or add another I also have a spare aquaclear 150??


Thanks for any replies!

 

[jrd77]

How long after setting up did you put those cichlids in there?

Was the tank not cycled before putting in the fish?

If I were you, I'd check all my levels (Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, pH, etc)...

I'm willing to bet you need a water change....

 

[luckypenny]

New aquarium that I set up a week ago. Let set for two day's before adding fish.

Ph level is fine at 7.2
nitrate is fine
amonia is .05 did spike to this

The fish are all fine --and i feed two small meals of flakes or cichlid crumbs so i dont overfeed?

Being a begginer I think I know were I screwed up? I read the box to the filter aquaclear 300 and the sponge box. It said to change the sponge or the charcoal pack once a week offsetting each other. Well after a week i change the sponge--so Im assuming the good bacteria was removed when i did so so it has to reistablish again?? Ive been watching the levels and testing daily??

What else should I do?? Should I use a cycle booster??

 

[jrd77]

This is tough because technically, one would allow the tank to cycle before adding fish...

I agree with you that removing the sponge probably caused the bacterial bloom.

You have a ways to go in terms of cycling...I would test your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates daily until all the values are at zero. I would put in 'cycle' or something like that to get the process going. I would also do water changes every single day that you have any value of ammonia other than 0 as it is highly toxic and really will kill your fish. When you do a water change though, do not siphon the gravel yet as you don't want to remove any bacteria that are growing on the glass at the bottom of your tank. Adding Stresscoat and Stresszyme will also help your fish cope, hopefully. Right now, focus on getting your tank cycled rather than your cloudiness; that will resolve itself as the tank matures in the coming weeks. Cichlids are pretty sensitive so keep an eye on them as you might see an Ich breakout (they love to get Ich) or some other disease like a fungus or bacterial infection. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I really wish you the best of luck and I hope you don't lose any fish...If you notice anything or have any questions, keep posting here and if I can't help you, someone can. There are really knowledgeable people in this forum; I'm still pretty new as well.....

Cheers!

 

[White Whale]

Change 25% of the water and let it sit a week. If it doesn't improve, do another 25% change. It should clear up by then.