New Tank Syndrome

[hamster20]

Hello there;

i am new to fish keeping and i would like a lot advice if thats possible .

I had purchased a 120 litre tank, a week ago, there are no fish in at the moment. I was waiting for it to go through its `cycle' stage. I had set it up while also using the good bacteria and tap water conditioner. But the tank had then gone really quite cloudy on the fourth day. Now it seems to be going a browny colour...

please help?

thanks.

 

[Vin Swords]

similar thing happened to me years ago..

what i did was 100% water change..

remember friendly bacs on the surface.. not in the water.

 

[KittyKat]

Just a bacterial bloom, it will pass in a few days.

Are you adding household ammonia to 3-5 ppm to the tank? If not, you are currently just letting your tank sit, not actually cycling it. Please read the fish-less cycling information in the beginner's resource, then come back with any questions you may have.

Yes, fish-in cycling is a big pain, so do fish-less and welcome to the world of fishkeeping

 

[hamster20]

Thanks a lot

It was very useful. I also have a 60 litre tank which has been up and running for about a year. To do this fish-less cycling, shall i take the sponge from my 60 litre and squeeze it into my 120 litre? This would add ammonia to my new tank? Should i add more good bacteria too?

Sorry about all the questions..

 

[KittyKat]

Yes, clean the old sponge in the new tank. If your filter in the 60 litre has a number of sponges, move one to the new filter. This will hopefully dislodge some of the bacteria from the old sponge into the water of the new tank. No, this will not help with ammonia.

Buy ammonia in Boots if you are in UK, Ace hardware (or something like that) if you are in the US. Without a source of ammonia, the bacteria will only starve. It doesn't sound like you have read about the nitrogen cycle and how to preform a fish-less cycle, please do so.

How are you adding "good" bacteria? If you are buying cycle aids from your LFS, you should know that there is currently no proof that they work. At best, they may aid the process, at worst they give false water readings. It is best to not spend your money on them, from what I have seen, but do use any which came free with the tank.

 

[L_Plates]

Kat when you say clean the sponges do you mean wash the white foams etc in teh new tank water and this can help in cycling a new tank ? If so im going to do this tonight in mine

LP

 

[KittyKat]

Kat when you say clean the sponges do you mean wash the white foams etc in teh new tank water and this can help in cycling a new tank ? If so im going to do this tonight in mine

Yes, just wash everything in the new tank. It does not make anywhere near as much of a difference as decent seeding would, but still may have some effect.

 

[L_Plates]

Fantastic Cheers KK