Help Needed

[twistedminx]

Hi

I have a fluval 180 tropical tank with an external filter. My hubbie mistakenly cleaned the filter with tap water
instead of tank water. The tank was ok at first but then started getting cloudy, I rang the aquatic centre where we
buy fish and they said it is bacteria and is not harmful to the fish but will take two weeks to clear.

Its been nearly 3 weeks now and its getting worse its really thick and now green.

We have been testing the water most days and it is fine, no dead fish ....that we can see!!!

Any ideas what I can do? I have still be doing 20% water change each week.

Poor fishes cant be happy in there so would really appreciate any advice.

 

[Wills]

Hi! how much of the filter was cleaned in tap water? How old is the tank? Whats the stock, and when you say the tests were fine were ammonia and nitrite both 0? Are any of the fish looking gaspy at all? The cloudiness might cut the oxygen in the water which needs to be addressed if thats the case.

If its turning green it could be algae. Additionally what filter do you have? You could buy some polishing pads for it which will keep the water clear also there are some products you can add to the tank which makes all the small cloudy particles clog and get caught in the filter I forget the name of the product but its part of the brand in blue boxes lol sorry to be so vague its years since I used it. I would probably go for the filter pads though its a bit more of a controlled approach than the products.

 

[twistedminx]

hi, its a new tank got it in january, dont know the name of the filter but came with the fluval tank. He cleaned the
whole filter with tap water - each component.

ammonia and nitrate both 0, PH ok. Fish seem fine none of them gasping. Is only in the last couple of days the tank
has started to go green, before it was cloudy.

Fish we have is catfish , disc fish, molleys, lobster, and some orange ones cant remember the name, something like
guana?

Will pop into my nearest aquatic centre tonight to see what they have there

thanks

 

[Wills]

Woah okay, so January to February you are most likely still in the cycling stages. What kind of test kit are you using? And with the filter did he wash the sponges and other media under the tap or just the plastic? If its just the plastic I imagine you should be okay as the bacteria live mainly in the sponges.

Also your fish list worries me, it is never a good idea to mix lobsters with fish. Most lobsters will eat fish or at the very least damage them with their claws. Also Disc fish I will assume you mean discus which need specialist conditions and do not normally do well in a community environment because they need very soft water. The orange fish I would assume to be gourami? Or on an off chance guinacaras but these are pretty rare. But still both are okay for the tank. Mollies are okay. Catfish, quite a broad term for fish, what do they look like? Do they look like this?

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=172

or

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=177

or lastly

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=51

Wills

 

[steelhealr]

I agree. I think is is cloudy tank syndrome (CTS),plain and simple. Continue to do your regular water changes, avoid overfeeding and have patience. Fish aren't killed by algae per se. The tank should clear up. Avoid additives and read up on CTS. SH

PS...I agree also re: lobster. I had one. They can be quick and lethal. Don't let their early passiveness fool you. They should be in a species tank. They caught a ram of mine once and to the horror of my kids, it was shaved down in seconds. They can climb and 'divebomb' fish and nail them while they sleep. Keep it in mind before you start wondering 'what happened to my catfish'. SH

 

[Assaye]

Hi

I have a fluval 180 tropical tank with an external filter. My hubbie mistakenly cleaned the filter with tap water
instead of tank water. The tank was ok at first but then started getting cloudy, I rang the aquatic centre where we
buy fish and they said it is bacteria and is not harmful to the fish but will take two weeks to clear.

Its been nearly 3 weeks now and its getting worse its really thick and now green.

We have been testing the water most days and it is fine, no dead fish ....that we can see!!!

Any ideas what I can do? I have still be doing 20% water change each week.

Poor fishes cant be happy in there so would really appreciate any advice.

Hmm, not good.

You say ammonia and nitrate are zero, what is your nitrite levels?

Green water is an algal bloom. This is usually caused when you have a large ammonia spike as algae loves ammonia. You may have missed the spike but the algae won't have done! You need to keep testing your water and do some very large water changes to get rid of the algal spores fast. Algae won't kill fish but the algae removing oxygen from the water (as they it does at night) might.

The cloudy (but not green) water you originally had was a bacterial bloom. This happens when there is an excess of organic matter in the tank and some water-borne bacteria reproduce very fast in reaction to it. They eat the organic matter, produce ammonia and voila, ammonia spike. You may have missed it with your testing (it might only have lasted 12-24 hours) but it will have done it's damage. The ammonia from the bacterial bloom probably cause the algal bloom you are now seeing.

Keep testing your water and do a large water change to see if that helps. As long as your water is clean and your fish seem OK, don't worry too much.