My new tank water is very cloudy?

[Clairel]

Its my new set up, been cycling only for 2 days, the water is very cloudy still, looks slightly green, could this be my plants? I changed 75% of the water yesterday, and its still the same What can i do??

There are no fish in there....(just so you know)

Claire x

 

[collared_drifter]

do you use sand? maybe it should just settle

 

[Clairel]

Yes i have put sand in this set up, but surely it should have settled by now??

My brother changed his from gravel to sand, over the weekend, and re-added his fish after a few hours, and his water was completely clear the next day....

I have 8 living plants in there, could that be it?

Its very cloudy and a bit green....

Claire x

 

[smooth_bourbon]

what kind of setup did you end up getting? Sorry if I missed this in another post.

Are you using gravel, filter media, or water from a pre existing tank? Cause that could of done it.

Also are you using any ferts for your plants? I was using some plant food that turned my water green for a bit.

 

[Clairel]

Its a juwel 180 vision, sand, 8 living plants, i have ordered some foams for my filter, should be here today, so i set it up using the ones already left in from the previous owner...... I have checked the foams, and they look nearly new, not dirty at all, but i was going to get my new foams, put them in, and do another huge water change..... Do you think this will help??

Claire xx

 

[smooth_bourbon]

well I would say it cant hurt.

congrats on the new tank. I hope this one works out a lot better for you.

I would say dont stress on the cloudy water for now. Make sure when you add water you pour it into a bowl or something so as not to stir up the sand, and just give it some time.

What kind of plants did you get? and when are you going to post pics?

 

[trace1]

i know you probally did but did you eash the sand till water ran clear. also what type of sand is it ??? can't see it being the plants i,ve cycled with plants before & never had cloudy water with them. hth
trace x

 

[Clairel]

I gave the sand a rinse, and i bought it from the LFS, they said it had already been cleaned, but i still gave it a little clean myself, maybe not enough??

I dont know what plants i have either lol, i got them all from the lfs.....

Maybe its the sand then??

I will wait for my new sponges, put them in, then give the whole thing another water change....

See if that helps

Thanx Claire xx

 

[Clairel]

Also, if i can just say...

My brother has the same tank juwel 180, and he bought the same sand as me, from the same lfs, and changed his established tank over from gravel to sand, and his water was clear the next day, and he DIDNT even clean the sand...

Claire x

 

[smooth_bourbon]

Well if you keep doing water changes chances are you are stirring it up a bit each time you do.

You said you where getting a new "foam" Are you also getting new carbon?

Since your brother sounds like he has a very stable aquarium, why not use the filter media from his to help seed your cycle.

 

[collared_drifter]

if the next change dosent help, id stop doing water changes..

 

[Clairel]

Yes im getting 5 different kind of juwel filter foams.... which ones should i put in? Someone said not to put the black carbon in, as it will harm my plants, is this correct?

Should i put all the filter pads in that i get, (1 of each i mean) ??

Claire x

 

[Gourami Girl]

If it's a new tank set up that you've just done, there really isn't any need to be doing water changes already, unless the sand wasn't rinsed enough, which i am a little worried about. Although it was supposedly already clean, it's always best to clean it thoroughly just in case.

The best thing you can do is leave it alone, it's just settling down at the moment, keep the filter and heater and anything else going continuously. If you have all the required sponges etc from the previous owner and you've already set the tank up, i wouldn't start swapping them over now, or the problem will just get worse.

You should have 2 fine sponges and a gap in the bottom basket and 2 coarse sponges and a carbon and a fine white one in the top basket, or you can do away with one of the coarse ones and put one of the new nitrate sponges in instead.

keep adding live bacteria, don't worry about the plants, they're not a problem. Add a TINY pinch of food every 5 days or so, to help start the bacteria off.

A tank that size will need to be running for at least two weeks, ideally longer, don't rush to put any fish in, it's not worth it. When you do start adding them do so very gradually, just 3 or 4 at a time and leave a week in between. Don't feed them much either and only do it every other day, so you don't over load the tank.

Just be patient and see what happens, it should start to settle soon.

 

[Clairel]

Im not planning on putting any fish in yet, i already have 1 tank set up, so i can admire my fish in there

Another think i didnt mention, i filled this new tank up with a hose pipe, is this ok? or not? It would take me all day with buckets lmao !!

Claire x

 

[trace1]

i filled mine up with hose pipe when i first got it, the only thing i did was run hot water through it first for a couple of minutes, use buckets now to do any water changes as its now got fish in.
trace