Help! Tank Went Cloudy And Fish Started Dying

[NewTankGuy]

Ok I am now officially freaking out!!! Please help! So I have my 29-gal that is over stocked, but everything has been running really smoothly, and water has been testing spot on.  But 3 days ago, I added some driftwood to my tank, then the next day my water got EXTREMELY cloudy, and then the following day one of my Dwarf Gourami’s died, (I did a 30%-ish w/c right after removing the dead fish) and today the water is super, SUPER, cloudy to the point I cant see most of the fish until they swim right up to the front glass. Also now my Ammonia is testing at 8 ppm!!! The worst part is, knowing my tank is over crowed, I went out and got a 75-gal that is now sitting in my garage, but I can set it up until tomorrow after work, because the substrate, and more importantly the filter, wont be delivered until tomorrow, and I only have a Whisper 40 right now, that I think is failing (I got the W40 from a friend that told me it’s a few years old already).  So HELP! What should I do!!! There is also a multi-colored oily looking film now at the top of the water in 29-gal.  Im also panicked because, by tomorrow night all the fish will have a beautiful new home, that’s more than double the size with way more than adequate filtration, I just need to keep them all alive for like 30-36 more hours (knowing I cant do the change till I get home from work tomorrow) to make the change!

 

[techen]

90% waterchange to remove all traces of ammonia, Test water every few hours until 2mro.
 
The wood would have removed some water and being overstocked it was just a matter of time before the balanced was kicked off and it spun into a mini cycle.

 

[NewTankGuy]

Ok, so with that advice, and knowing I am going to move everything, and all the fish tomorrow night into a new 75-gal, will doing that high of water change tonight, and then the move the next day stress them out too much?  Or would I be best just moving them tonight into the 75-gal, with only my limping Whisper 40 HOB filter for the night and following day, then just add the new SunSun canister, and air pump and substrate tomorrow to the 75 when I get off work?

 

[NewTankGuy]

So I did the move, and wow, even with the smaller filter, Iv never seen fish actually act happy, or even more, ecstatic! However, I think I found my real issue. When I was breaking down the 29-gal I found a large circle of "bubbles" in the top corner hidden behind the heater and the top cover. This combined with the oily substance floating at the surface makes me think that one of the kids either had soap on their hands, then stuck their hands in the tank, or put soap in there (my guess is they where thinking they would help "clean" the tank/fish as they always ask to hold them and pet them, as they dont understand they are not like our cats and dogs) So what can I do about this? When I changed tanks, due to the film and the darkness of the water. I only used about 40% or less of the water from the 29-gal into the 70, but this morning there still is a small residue on the top of the water (just now it no longer looks oily, but just a film), and the fish are all hanging out, nose up, at the very top of the water line. I left the tank (the new 75gal) about 3-4 inches short of being full, to ease the strain on my current HOB Whisper 40 filter, and to help with adding oxygen to the water. I do not currently have a air-pump, but one has been ordered and will be here sometime between today and Thursday 

 

[Ciddire]

So I did the move, and wow, even with the smaller filter, Iv never seen fish actually act happy, or even more, ecstatic! However, I think I found my real issue. When I was breaking down the 29-gal I found a large circle of "bubbles" in the top corner hidden behind the heater and the top cover. This combined with the oily substance floating at the surface makes me think that one of the kids either had soap on their hands, then stuck their hands in the tank, or put soap in there (my guess is they where thinking they would help "clean" the tank/fish as they always ask to hold them and pet them, as they dont understand they are not like our cats and dogs) So what can I do about this? When I changed tanks, due to the film and the darkness of the water. I only used about 40% or less of the water from the 29-gal into the 70, but this morning there still is a small residue on the top of the water (just now it no longer looks oily, but just a film), and the fish are all hanging out, nose up, at the very top of the water line. I left the tank (the new 75gal) about 3-4 inches short of being full, to ease the strain on my current HOB Whisper 40 filter, and to help with adding oxygen to the water. I do not currently have a air-pump, but one has been ordered and will be here sometime between today and Thursday 

There's no reason to transfer water from the old tank & in your case it actually did more harm than good. I think a large water change is in order to remove whatever that substance is, however I would wait before hearing from more experienced members. I think whatever the substance is, it may be interfering with the fishes ability to breathe. (Or it could just be due to stress)
 
Is the whisper the only filter you are currently running?Did you pick up the Sunsun or another canister filter? (I know you got some response from me & another member in your other thread)
 
Where are you located in the US?

 

[NewTankGuy]

 

So I did the move, and wow, even with the smaller filter, Iv never seen fish actually act happy, or even more, ecstatic! However, I think I found my real issue. When I was breaking down the 29-gal I found a large circle of "bubbles" in the top corner hidden behind the heater and the top cover. This combined with the oily substance floating at the surface makes me think that one of the kids either had soap on their hands, then stuck their hands in the tank, or put soap in there (my guess is they where thinking they would help "clean" the tank/fish as they always ask to hold them and pet them, as they dont understand they are not like our cats and dogs) So what can I do about this? When I changed tanks, due to the film and the darkness of the water. I only used about 40% or less of the water from the 29-gal into the 70, but this morning there still is a small residue on the top of the water (just now it no longer looks oily, but just a film), and the fish are all hanging out, nose up, at the very top of the water line. I left the tank (the new 75gal) about 3-4 inches short of being full, to ease the strain on my current HOB Whisper 40 filter, and to help with adding oxygen to the water. I do not currently have a air-pump, but one has been ordered and will be here sometime between today and Thursday 

There's no reason to transfer water from the old tank & in your case it actually did more harm than good. I think a large water change is in order to remove whatever that substance is, however I would wait before hearing from more experienced members. I think whatever the substance is, it may be interfering with the fishes ability to breathe. (Or it could just be due to stress)
 
Is the whisper the only filter you are currently running?Did you pick up the Sunsun or another canister filter? (I know you got some response from me & another member in your other thread)
 
Where are you located in the US?
 

Thanks for the tip, as stress, on top of water conditions is one of my big concerns right now.  As in, due to all the stress should I just leave things alone for a bit as I am doing more harm than good.  Also right at this moment the Whisper 40 is all I have.  However, the SunSun canister filter (which EVERYONE seems to absolutely love, so thanks for pointing me in the right direction) is being delivered today, and the air pump to add a little more O2 will be here sometime between today and Thursday.  I just did the move because of the stress, I thought if I did a major w/c in the 29-gal, then the next day move them to the 75-gal I would stress them out too much. 
 
I am in Toledo, OH
 
P.S. Just checked my water conditions, and ammonia is down from what it was in the 29, but still scary high at about 4 ppm, and then pH seems like its dropped to 6.0 (or less, as its a very faint yellow and the lowest my kit measures too), Nitrite is at about 1 ppm (I have no idea what this means, or if its good or bad), and Nitrate is actually 0, which I heard is bad also, or at least weird.....
soooo what should I do now? I would say in the 75-gal tank I have about 65-70 gallons actually in it, with around 15ish gallons of old water from my 29-gal tank.....

 

[Xzavier247]

Forgive me as I didn't read through just skimmed.
To me the cycle hasn't finished. Those numbers for part per million are fairly high. The cloudiness is a bacteria bloom. By buying the bigger tank you will still continue the cycle. Since transfered you are going to do bigger water changes. Stay on top of things. Old water doesn't do anything. There really isn't bacteria in the water column. As to filter. You need to pick up a filter that can turn the tank 10x the capacity. Such as 20gal 200gph. Ect. Look iinto canister filters they're great.

 

[b3cca]

Don't worry about stressing the fish.... Safe Water parameters always come first and an ammonia/ammonium reading of 4 ppm is crazy deadly high-- If a large water change is needed then do it.
They are hanging out at the top because of the 4 ppm ammonia and likely high nitrites too
 
With a new filter and what sounds like an uncycled older filter you will need to be doing some very regular large PWC during the next few weeks as you will be doing a fish in cycle.
 
Also don't be scared to do as many large PWC are needed to keep your parameters at a safe level.  During my fish in cycle I sometimes did 2-3 PWC per day just to keep on top of things it won't harm anything.
 
I would google and read up on fish-in cycle and understand and follow that.