New Topic Old Topic New Tank !

[colin1325]

Hi I have finally got me tank . size roughly 5 foot x 18 inch x 27 inch high
2 x 205 and over head built in trickle filter in trickle filter i have spounge and gravel
water is de clorinated have added filter start also some plant feed as i intend to have some or rather a lot of plants. subtrate sand which i washed very well.
running at 80 + degrees
the water is cloudy no surprise
i have added some pelleted fish food which is on the bottom breaking up very nicely
will the cloudiness disapate on its own ?
will i have to perform small water changes
what should i do next
i dont really want to start messing around with loads of chemical agents

 

[darknirvana217]

Its called new tank syndrom. Mine generally just goes away after a while, but you shouldn't add very delicate fish until your tank is ready and the beneficial bacteria are colonized enough in your filter. I always liked to add a hardy fish first when the water is right, just to help strengthen the cycle. I have heard of some fish stores actually renting out filter media to help people start their bacteria colony. i wouldn' change the water unless teh ammonia, nitrates, or nitritres are really high.

 

[colin1325]

hi thanks for that this morning i changed about 5 bowl fulls of water from the top layers where the problem seems to be worse , it could just be the way the light appears to make it look worse, it appeared to lessen the problem. I hav e plants coming within the next few days and will need to take a few inches of water out again anyway.
i havnt yet put any fish in i have two plecs that are in another tank to be transfered ' could i use some water from the other tank to help matters?

 

[darkwolf29a]

Moving water from one tank to another won't help matters. In fact, if there's anything in the water...it'll come along with it. Unless you are sure the water is clear, I wouldn't risk it.

The cloudiness should go away on it's own.

To speed up the cycle, you could take some gravel, put it in a mesh bag, bowl like container, and put it in the new tank. If the substrate is the same color...I'd just put it together...if that makes any sense. You could also squeeze your old filter into the new tank, releasing the bacteria into it....that would help too.

 

[fmervin]

Not sure if you've heard of a product called Soll bactinettes. I used this for my tank and it cycled within a couple of days. It comes in black capsules in an ammonia solution. You need to add the capsules to the filter after chucking away the ammonia, I think it is highly concentrated. Just make sure you refrigerate it if you plan to put it into the filter later. I found it really useful and I added 3 fish on the 2nd day and the ammonia was 0 throughout with trace nitrite which I believe takes time to come down anyway. Give it a try

P.S: Before anyone asks, I'm not a salesman just a happy customer