So I Just Got Back To School,

[DropkickDragout]

And while i did have in a "Tetra Vacation" feeder my last guppy died. however that's not my concern. my concern is that the water in the tank is WHITE i'm not sure if this is from the feeder directly, from the effect of having that much food in there (bacteria bloom) or if it's part of cycling....there's still 2 platies and two zebra danios living in there and i want to clear out that water!! help much appreciated.

 

[shi24137]

ive heard that those feeder tabs will muck up the water. next time i suggest an automatic fish feeder. did you cycle your tank before you set it up? what are your water stats? i would do a 20-50% water change asap. how many gals is the tank and how many fish do you have in it?

 

[the duck]

I would take a water sample, do about a 60% water change, and then take another sample. Take both samples to the LFS and get them tested.

 

[DropkickDragout]

When I left the tank was mid cycle ammounia was .25 Nitrite was .25 Nitrate was 10. It's a 10 gal tank with 2 platys 2 danios and formerly a guppy. When i came back i removed the dead guppy and the feeder tab. water states were crazy like 10-2-20 i immediatly did i 60% water change waited an hour. retested (8-1-10), then did another 90% change. i'm waiting for the water to get all mixed together and then will retest.

 

[OldMan47]

The "vacation feeder" solid material is basically plaster of paris. It is quite high in calcium carbonate content which will give a dusting of white precipitate when it has dissolved into your water. You can indeed use a large water change with a gravel vac to remove the white precipitate and in the bargain remove some of the GH and KH that it will have added to your tank. The fish-in cycle really will have you change plenty of water to take care of any effects the vacation feeder may have had on your water. Get busy, even 80% changes are small with numbers as high as you have posted. It will take 2 or 3 of the 90% changes to get your chemistry back where it belongs. NB, the extra 10% of water change doubles the effectiveness of the water change. It is a simple ratio that you are working with.
Do not use vacation feeders when you will be gone less than 2 weeks, they are just not needed.

 

[DropkickDragout]

the onei got was actually not made of the white material...it was gelatin and claimed not to cloud water...shows what i know

 

[OldMan47]

I never had any water trouble with the feeder I used that was a gelatin type, but it did go fast when the fish got to it. They certainly did not respect the time estimate on the package. Stay on top of the water changes for your fish health and maybe it is just a bacterial bloom like we often see during a cycle.

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with OM47, large water changes with good technique (good conditioner to remove chlorine/chloramine and rough temperature matching.) WD