Cloudy?!

[colonebez]

I have white cloudy "bacteria bloom" apparently, and i plan to buy fish tomorrow is it safe, also how likely are they to die?

 

[Corleone]

Do you have a test kit? The bloom itself is harmless, but often results from excess waste, and may cause an ammonia spike, which isn't harmless.

Ultimately you'll have to wait it out, but water changes may be in order to control ammonia/nitrite levels, as well as gravel vacuuming to try to get as much detritus out and cut off their food supply (this might have little effect on the bloom, but it is good for the overall health of the tank either way).

 

[colonebez]

Do you have a test kit? The bloom itself is harmless, but often results from excess waste, and may cause an ammonia spike, which isn't harmless.

Ultimately you'll have to wait it out, but water changes may be in order to control ammonia/nitrite levels, as well as gravel vacuuming to try to get as much detritus out and cut off their food supply (this might have little effect on the bloom, but it is good for the overall health of the tank either way).

i have this second tested the water and its clear of nitrates and the ph is bang on 7, its not a cloud per say the water isnt as clear as it was this morning (crystal) so im...confussed

 

[RushingChamp28]

i have this second tested the water and its clear of nitrates and the ph is bang on 7, its not a cloud per say the water isnt as clear as it was this morning (crystal) so im...confussed

Nitrates (NO[sub]3[/sub][sup]-[/sup]) are the least of your worry. What you need to worry about are your ammonia/ammonium (NH[sub]3[/sub] & NH[sub]4[/sub][sup]+[/sup])readings and your nitrITE readings (NO[sub]2[/sub][sup]-[/sup]). Nitrifying bacteria in the tank break down nitrogen wastes from ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate. No nitrates and cloudy water "blooms" such as this could indicate potential disaster (an uncycled tank). I would wait on new fish, and keep testing the water, because if ammonia and nitrite spike you will need to take the appropriate actions to bring the level down out of the lethal range. (Ideally zero in a cycled tank, anything greater than a non-measureable amount would indicate your tank has not completely cycled) Try reading some of the posts here about cycling a tank if you are unsure what this means or whether your tank has been cycled.

How long have you had the tank set up? Size? Filters? Stocking?

 

[rabbut]

Are there fish in the tank ATM? If so, how may of what type?

What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite? What test kit are you using (brand and strips/tablets/liquid-drop)?

How long has the tank been running?

Answer those q's and then we can answer yours

All the best
Rabbut

 

[colonebez]

Are there fish in the tank ATM? If so, how may of what type?

What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite? What test kit are you using (brand and strips/tablets/liquid-drop)?

How long has the tank been running?

Answer those q's and then we can answer yours

All the best
Rabbut

all i have is an aquarium start up kit from pets at home, it only has ph test and nitrate, i have conditioned the water and used the filter start, which promotes the bacteria in the filter, i have no fish, its been running 4 days, i am a complete noob so please try and be patient with my complete lack of knowledge, thanks eveyone for trying to help me

 

[RushingChamp28]

Are there fish in the tank ATM? If so, how may of what type?

What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite? What test kit are you using (brand and strips/tablets/liquid-drop)?

How long has the tank been running?

Answer those q's and then we can answer yours

All the best
Rabbut

all i have is an aquarium start up kit from pets at home, it only has ph test and nitrate, i have conditioned the water and used the filter start, which promotes the bacteria in the filter, i have no fish, its been running 4 days, i am a complete noob so please try and be patient with my complete lack of knowledge, thanks eveyone for trying to help me

Water conditioner is good, it removes harmful chemicals from the water (chlorine/chloramine) from the water. Filter start and related products (in my opinion) are useless, most contain dead bacteria that the market as live cultures (or something along those lines, they don't help).

Since this is your first tank, im assuming its not a huge size, either way that should not matter too much (the only concern is that smaller tanks have much more sensitive water chemistry because any toxins/pollutants in the water will be less diluted because of less water volume), but I would recommend doing a FISHLESS cycle.

Look at some of the pinned posts here and read about how to do a fishless cycle. Even though fish-in cycles can be done, in the long run it can be very harmful to your fish, as cycling will cause ammonia and nitrite spikes which can cause lethal damage to fish (if not lethal, it can still cause long term damage and will shorten the life of the fish). Fishless cycles will prevent you from getting fish right away, but is more than worth the stress and heartache of having your prized pets die.

As far as test kits, I would invest in a good LIQUID (not test strips) kit to test the water parameters. Make sure you have:

pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
(if you already have pH and nitrate you can find them individually, whole sets are available tho)

These are the necessities, you can also look for test kits for water hardless, dissolved gases in the water, etc but these are not as critical. I own a liquid test kit from API (Aquarium Pharmeceuticals), I bought it for about $20 US at petsolutions online. If you are in the UK im sure there are similar kits available, one of the UK members might have to tell you where to find it and what to buy.

Fishless Cycling: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861

Ill be back on at 11PM US EST when im home from work, Ill check back then. Let me know if you need anything.

 

[Corleone]

if your test kit only covers nitrate, and there's 0, then chances are there's ammonia and/or nitrite.

Fish produce highly toxic ammonia from their gills as they breathe, and certain bacteria break down fish poop and leftover food to produce additional ammonia (These are the bacteria that cause a bloom). Your filter will over time grow a colony of two types of bacteria that convert ammonia to less toxic nitrIte, and nitrIte to mostly non-toxic nitrAte. A cycled tank will almost always have some level of nitrAte - this is normal and harmless in controlled levels, but should have 0 ammonia and nitrIte, as neither are good.

Definitely review the fishless cycling thread, also go over Miss Wiggle's setup guide, as it'll include a rough shopping list. The list will cover things Pets at Home will try to sell you that are junk or even harmful to your fish, as well as things they'll almost never mention (test kit, gravel cleaner) that are the most important tools of the hobby.

 

[colonebez]

everything you all said is a big help, i will do a fishless cycle, and see how things are then, i didnt realise just how much of a science this is, thanks alot nguys