My 30 gallon love

[RedShark]

I just set up a new 30 gallon(long) tank. New Filter, gravel, heater, plants and two castles for decoration have all been rinsed and cleaned properly for the setup. I let the tank run for three days before putting my fish in there, on the fourth day I put in my 3inch rainbow shark and my inch long red finned shark, i know its not wise to put these species together b/c of possible conflict but they are pretty much to themselves, they must have made a good first impression when introduced or something i dont know, whatever. So the next day i wake up to see the water cloudy, not very cloudy but more of a hazy, so my nitrogen cycle started. Its been hazy now for 3 days. I went and got this chemical called bacter-vital, anyone hear of it. I got it b/c my girlfriend just got new 5 g tank and we used it for hers new tank, so i put it in mine for the hell of it. The guy at the local aquarium said it would be very beneficial for both mine and her tank. Has anyone heard of it or had any experience with it. Any feedback would be great.

 

[Mike&Diana]

I haven't heard of that particular product. However, I am sure it is the same as all the others. It is controversial whether or not they actually work. It is basically bacteria in a bottle. The idea behind the product is to add the bacteria to the tank (instead of letting it develop naturally). The hope is that you can speed up the "cycling" process and achieve ammonia and nitrIte levels of zero much quicker. If you have any more questions, please let me know.

Mike

 

[boxman]

At the end of the day you can't beat good old fishless cycling.

Not heard of that product - if it works then great. Just be careful before adding more fish for a bit, let things settle for a few weeks.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Yeah, keep an eye on the water parameters as you've already got fish in there. Be prepared to take them out if you get a particularly high spike of something though.

 

[RedShark]

Is it normal for the tank to not be clear by now? GOsh!!! maybe im being a bit impatient, but is there anything i can put in there to speed the cloudiness stage without affecting the cycle? It's one of the most annoying things.

 

[Teelie]

White cloudiness is a sign of a bacterial bloom. Harmless but it means you'll be running into a cycle soon as the bacteria establish themselves.Many of them die off and cause ammonia release and start up the cycle process.

 

[sylvia]

The 'cloudiness stage' doesn't exist The cycle shouldn't be causing any 'cloudy stage'.

You need to test your water daily and do water changes every other day. This is going to lengthen the time it takes to cycle but it's the only way of ensuring your fish survive and also don't have TOO much permanent damage.

Get some mature filter media/gravel and put it in this tank to speed up the cycle (maybe even make it instant).

As for why your tank's cloudy, sounds like a bacterial bloom. Add some plants. That'll usualy solve the problem (introduces infusoria which eat the bacteria). You may then get green water for a while but that'll pass eventualy on its own. Plus, with water changes every other day, it'll have to clear eventualy anyway.

As for why the sharks are getting along - they aren't yet mature. When they hit 4" or so, one will kill the other. Return one to your LFS (RTBS prefferably as it's the more aggressive) or re-home it before it's too late.

 

[RedShark]

thanks for the quick responses guys. Yeah im in my second week of this bacterial bloom, i was just unsure of whether or not it would be done soon. Yikes i hope i never get green water, is that b/c of real plants? I did end up moving the small red finned shark to another home after the first sign of agression though, so no harm done he is doing fine and dandy right now swimming in my other 5 gallon tank. By the way, how long are bacterial blooms known to take in a 30 gallon?

 

[sylvia]

No, most green water is caused by algae blooms. For these, plants are actualy a good thing as the plants compete for nutrients and the algae dies off.

Do water changes for the bacterial bloom and it'll go away.

BTW, if you are still adding that product, stop doing so as it's probably just adding to the biological stuff in your water and will result in more ammonia and more of this bacterial bloom. None of those products actualy work in the way they claim (most either introduce ammonia or a source of ammonia). The exception is biospira but even that isn't 100% reliable.

Like I said before, get some mature media/gravel. That'll help with everything.

 

[Teelie]

The 'cloudiness stage' doesn't exist The cycle shouldn't be causing any 'cloudy stage'.

Should've been clearer. The bloom isn't apart of the stage but a sign it will happen. A cycled tank wouldn't have cloudy water.