New Tank Cloudiness

[newfishlover]

Greetings Fellow Fish Admirers,

I just started a new tank thoroughly cleaning the rocks and artificial plans with hot water and a sponge. After cycling the tank for one day without chemicals or fish it was clear. But I added Start Right and Tetra Easy Balance together and next morning it was cloudy. I have not added fish yet. Wanted to but I can be patient. I tested the Ammonia it was 0.25 and the PH was 7.0. Do I need to test for anything else? Will the cloudiness go away by itself. How long does the tank have to stand before adding fish? For a 10-gallon tank how much plant and structures are too much?

Thanks for your help!!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Greetings Fellow Fish Admirers,

I just started a new tank thoroughly cleaning the rocks and artificial plans with hot water and a sponge. After cycling the tank for one day without chemicals or fish it was clear. But I added Start Right and Tetra Easy Balance together and next morning it was cloudy. I have not added fish yet. Wanted to but I can be patient. I tested the Ammonia it was 0.25 and the PH was 7.0. Do I need to test for anything else? Will the cloudiness go away by itself. How long does the tank have to stand before adding fish? For a 10-gallon tank how much plant and structures are too much?

Thanks for your help!!

First thing is that your tank is NOT cycled! You are going to need to cycle it. You ran all the equipment for a day, but that has nothing to do with the nitrogen cycle (Ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate) which is what the term "cycling" is all about. You can do a fish-in cycle or a fishless cycle. I can't help you with why the water is cloudy or any of that, but wanted to make sure that you recognize that your tank is NOT "cycled".


Have you read any of the linked threads from the pinned "Beginners Resource" thread? That would be a good place to start.

 

[newfishlover]

Thanks for the advice but that is not going to help me with the cloudiness.

 

[hanny93]

eaglesaquarium's advice was spot on, your tank isnt cycled and needs to be.
at least you havent added any fish.

my guess would be that the cloudiness is a bacterial bloom, something that happens in every newly set up tank. its nothing to worry about really.

 

[mattbleasby]

Id you take the advice in the Beginners section, And do a "Propper" fishless cycle there will be no cloudyness. Chances are its just a bacteria bloom, and can be solved with a Water change. Or it will clear itself in a couple of day.

You NEED to read all the info there and do a Fishless cycle.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

please please read this Fishless Cycling! it will save ur fish lots of hard times!

 

[waterdrop]

Hello newfishlover and Welcome to our little beginners section!

To answer your question, it can take about 70 days or so to prepare a healthy working environment for fish. Sometimes you are lucky and it will only take about 30 days or so, but usually you have to be prepared for more if you don't have any previous running tanks from which to take live bacteria or friends in the hobby who can donate some to you. I realize this can come as quite a shock, especially if you gained ideas from the typical LFS (local fish shop.) You've stumbled on the real thing here, a serious hobbyist site and this can be a wonderful time saver in the long run as your friends here who are already members can share all sorts of experience from having done all this before. It may seem weird at first but they are great at it!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[This Old Spouse]

+1