Problem With Murky Water!

[LisanCraig]

just a quick question when i recently purchased my roma 200 aquarium i opted for aquarium sand from pets at home rather than gravel but my tanks looking really murky could this be caused by the sand ?

 

[glolite]

Yes, sand will make the water cloudy but will settle after 2 or 3 days.

How long has the tank been set up for?

 

[LisanCraig]

the tank has been set up for just over a week now and seems to be getting murkier by the day

 

[Azeron]

did u wash it

 

[glolite]

As above and try doing a 50% water change using dechlorinator.

 

[waterdrop]

It could still be the sand of course but if it has a milky look and has become worse over the week, it could be a bacterial bloom. Have you figured out where you will be getting household ammonia for your Add&Wait process yet? Bacterial blooms are extremely common in new tanks and will go away as your fishless cycling process gets underway. What are your tap and tank water stats? What exact media types have you decided to use in your filter?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[LisanCraig]

i never washed the sand before i put it in the tank i didn't know i had to and couldn't think of any way of doin it i am using everything that came with the tank set up the filter is called a fluval u4 the filter media is foam pads, polycarbon cartridge and biomax nodes i'm reletively new to this so don't understand what you mean by "where you will be getting household ammonia for your Add&Wait process yet?" we did the ammonia, ph and nitrate test using the API master test kit we purchased from pets at home. if its any help the ph level is 7.5 but idealy i think it should be 7.0 the nitrates is 0 and the ammonia is 0.50. when i enquired about keeping tropicals at pets at home they told me to set the tank up and start the cycle for a week then i would be able to have a few small fish, so i have got 6 guppies in there at the moment that seem to be healthy they are swimming around actively and feeding fine too. I have ordered a u.v steriliser which i should have in a few days time thanks for your help

 

[mbsqw1d]

no offence to petsathome but i have been given some 'dodgy' advice from them in the past. You're in safe hands here at tff since were not running a shop concerned about their profits!

The wait&see ammonia cycle is a way of making the beneficial bacteria that will grow within the sponge of your filter to fulfill the nitrogen cycle. But, since you have already put fish in there you need to be doing 50% water changes daily (at least). until your beneficial bacteria grows.

That's if you want to keep the fish you've got. Because your filter lacks beneficial bacteria (can take weeks to build up) Ammonia build up (spikes) from the fish and food waste won't be broken down and will do serious, permanent damage to your fish. So the water changes will prevent this! Also try to feed as little as possible and collect any uneaten food.

I wouldn't worry about the PH at the moment, it's not that high.

What water treatments did you pick up from petsathome? i.e. biological booster, water conditioner?

 

[LisanCraig]

hi there i got two bottles with the set one of which is water conditioner and the other is called cycle which it saya on the bottle that is to help produce bacteria... thanks once again craig..

 

[raptorrex]

hi there i got two bottles with the set one of which is water conditioner and the other is called cycle which it saya on the bottle that is to help produce bacteria... thanks once again craig..

even so, it will take some weeks before you can, safely, add fish. unfortunately, "bottled cycle" products (off the shelf and unrefrigerated), do little more than empty your wallet. and, perhaps, make you feel happier. they do little, if anything, to the speed of the cycle.

its a fact of "fishkeeping" life. getting a tank fit for fish takes time. unfortunately, retailers feel the need to, err, "miss advise" (polite term for lie), to shift more fish and gear.

 

[waterdrop]

hi there i got two bottles with the set one of which is water conditioner and the other is called cycle which it saya on the bottle that is to help produce bacteria... thanks once again craig..

even so, it will take some weeks before you can, safely, add fish. unfortunately, "bottled cycle" products (off the shelf and unrefrigerated), do little more than empty your wallet. and, perhaps, make you feel happier. they do little, if anything, to the speed of the cycle.

its a fact of "fishkeeping" life. getting a tank fit for fish takes time. unfortunately, retailers feel the need to, err, "miss advise" (polite term for lie), to shift more fish and gear.

Yes, another 6 little innocent guppies placed at the top of the Mayan pyramid ready to suffocate for the god Prophet, right? P@H strikes fast, the cash registers ring out!

Don't worry Craig, we get a little sarcastic from the dozens of cases we get each week but you'll be ok. If you can't take the guppies back successfully, the members will swing into action (come on guys!) and help you to lean the very best "Fish-In Cycling" techniques so that your fish will survive. It does indeed take a month or two before a filter is ready to handle fish, but the fish-in method will allow you to be a "manual" filter and clean the water for your fish via water changes, a very exciting prospect, right?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[razer121]

and just to add to this....i was in the same boat as you a few months back, the bloom sand everything the same! but the guys on here helped me out and i did a fish-less cycle and now my tanks water is crystal clear, my fish are happy and my tank looks nice i would if you could find somewhere for your guppys and do a fish-less cycle but if you have to do a fish-in cycle the guys will def help you out

 

[LisanCraig]

i have brought a uv filter which should be delivered tomorrow and i have also done a 50% water change today and as far as it goes the water is perfectly clear looks a lot better.. looks like i have got to do a fish-in cycle so any other advice would be greatly appreciated please could u put it in the simplest form so i understand what u mean as i am completly new to this and as a matter of speaking have been thrown in at the deep end thanks to pets at home!! thanks guys for making us feel so welcome and being so helpful

 

[mbsqw1d]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=224306

this thread takes a moment to read through but explains what to do in your case really well (thanks to rabbut). Tropical fish are as easy to keep as you would expect, but following pet stores advise will undoubtedly have you going back for more chemicals, medicines, potions! and when all else fails.. new fish!

be warned, keeping fish is addictive and time consuming

 

[LisanCraig]

thanks for all your help guys!! and for making us feel so welcome