How Long Should I Wait?

[Macaroni]

I just finished transporting my aquarium, and changed the horribly nasty substrate while I was at it. I saved about 13 of the 20 gallons of already cycled water for the tank, but the new sand has made the water much much cloudier than I expected. My fish are sitting in a 3.5gallon bucket (with the heater and air pump going into it at this point), but I doubt my fish can last much longer. Some of them are already starting to show signs of immense stress.

The 20gallon aquarium has about 5 inches of visibility in it right now, im gaining about another inch every two hours. The aquarium has been set up with the new substrate and filtering for about 17 hours at this point.

Long story short, is that cloudy cloudy murky water bad for my fish? I can't think it can be all too much worse than the luxury bucket at this point (They've current;y spent about 24 hours in the bucket). I don't plan on going another night with them in the bucket, but aside from aesthetics, is the unsettled water harmful to my fish?

Thanks for the help! SAVE MY BICHIR!

 

[Truck]

I just finished transporting my aquarium, and changed the horribly nasty substrate while I was at it. I saved about 13 of the 20 gallons of already cycled water for the tank, but the new sand has made the water much much cloudier than I expected. My fish are sitting in a 3.5gallon bucket (with the heater and air pump going into it at this point), but I doubt my fish can last much longer. Some of them are already starting to show signs of immense stress.

The 20gallon aquarium has about 5 inches of visibility in it right now, im gaining about another inch every two hours. The aquarium has been set up with the new substrate and filtering for about 17 hours at this point.

Long story short, is that cloudy cloudy murky water bad for my fish? I can't think it can be all too much worse than the luxury bucket at this point (They've current;y spent about 24 hours in the bucket). I don't plan on going another night with them in the bucket, but aside from aesthetics, is the unsettled water harmful to my fish?

Thanks for the help! SAVE MY BICHIR!

can i add that you dont cycle your water, you cycle your filters, and i hope they didnt dry out? or you will experience a fish-in cycle

 

[WILDER]

I agree you cycle your filter not water.
Just add alot of filter floss to the filter that should clear the water up faster.
You don't turn filters on till the sand settled down.

 

[Macaroni]

I kept my filter submerged in aquarium water and I have some floss I put in this morning. Overall though, is the the cloudiness of the water detrimental to fish health? (or I guess at the least is it better than a couple of gallons of water in a bucket with a heater/pump stuck in it)

thanks

 

[WILDER]

It will be fine if the sands settled.
It when the sand hasn't it can affect there gills.

 

[pippoodle]

it sounds like you didnt wash you sand properly - which is an easy mistake to make
swish your filter around in the water every so often as long as the fish are in clean water thats aerated they will be better in the bucket than in the tank until the sand has settled as wilder says - it can get in the gills which would not be a good thing

good luck sand should be settled by the morning

Sarah xx

easy test put your hand in the tank and see if the water feels a bit gritty - if it does you still have sand flowing around if not then its dirt/dust floating in your water from not rinsing the sand enough and if thats the case just add some carbon and floss to help clear the water up - you can remove the carbon afterwards+

 

[Macaroni]

Thanks for the help! You really think it will take a whole day more to settle? Looks like i'll be needing to say goodbye to my leopard ctenopoma. They dont look like they will make it through another day

 

[WILDER]

If temp and ph is the same I would risk adding them to the tank.

 

[pippoodle]

good luck and let us know how you go
if the fish are struggling in the bucket then the tank isnt going to be any worse - hopefully

 

[Macaroni]

I added many more plants to the bucket-quarium and it seems to have calmed the leopards down quite a bit. Silly me forgetting how shy they are then putting them in a bucket with only one plant.

It's been about 32 hours and the sand still hasn't settled completely. How settled is settled enough? I know the water doesn't have to be pristine for the fishes return, but whats the threshold for the water clearness for the fish? Should I wait for it to return normal, is slightly cloudy alright?

I'd say right now I can barely see halfway from front to back, so I definitely need to wait at least another 12 hours.

update: 1 leopard down . Now i've lost four leopards in a month (roommate decided turning off the heater to aquarium was a good idea before vacation. just as good an idea as not consulting me even though it is my aquarium . Lost three leopards there, among many other innocent life-loving fish.) Guess this last little guy is the sole survivor.

 

[Macaroni]

Those hardy few who braved the journey have upgraded from the bucket to the aquarium. At least my single remaining leopard ctenopoma made it, those things are kind of hard to find around here. Thanks for all the help I would have been pretty grief stricken had I lost all my fish in this transition.

Maybe I'll hunt for some more leopards now so that little guy has a pack to swim around with again.

 

[WILDER]

Glad they made it.
Good Luck.

 

[pippoodle]

glad the move went well in the end and sorry to hear of the loss of the leopard hopefully you will be able to find some more

take care sarah xx