cloudy aquarium

[johnanthony74]

Hi guys, I am new here so pls be patient, I have a 20 gallon fresh water aquarium, i currently have in it a small electric blue jack dempsey and a clown pleco. My ammonia was @ 2.5 so i purchased ammo lock from api. I followed the instructions 10 ml first day and on day 3 another 10 ml. Problem is my tank went cloudy not to much but a little. pls any advice would help and just so ppl know i only use api products in the tanks i have. so stress coat and stress zyme are the other products i use to keep my tank levels fine. pls help i don't want to loose my electric blue.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Hi guys, I am new here so pls be patient, I have a 20 gallon fresh water aquarium, i currently have in it a small electric blue jack dempsey and a clown pleco. My ammonia was @ 2.5 so i purchased ammo lock from api. I followed the instructions 10 ml first day and on day 3 another 10 ml. Problem is my tank went cloudy not to much but a little. pls any advice would help and just so ppl know i only use api products in the tanks i have. so stress coat and stress zyme are the other products i use to keep my tank levels fine. pls help i don't want to loose my electric blue.

Hi and welcome to AA.

In order to help you, we will need more information from you.
How long you have been running the tank?
Are you familiar with the Nitrogen cycle?
Are you using liquid test or strips?

In my experience the API product called Ammolock it is not the best for the aquariums. The best way to control a healthy levels of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates is through Partial Water Changes.... Where you remove around 30 to 50% of the water in your tank and replace it with new fresh tap water (plus dechlorinator).

 

[eco23]

Welcome to AA, please follow this guide very closely and do your best to always keep the ammonia below .25. This guide will give you lots of good info and help you get your tank cycled and help your fish survive the process.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now-116287.html

The cloudiness is a bacterial bloom that indicates your tank is beginning to cycle, but it will take a lot of vigilance and pwc's to keep the ammo in relatively safe levels for your fish. We'll be happy to help.

If you can possibly return the fish and perform a fishless cycle, that is the best option. You can check out the guide in my signature for info on that.

 

[johnanthony74]

i have had my tank now for 3 months, My PH was low at 5 or something so I bought PH balanccer to recover it to 7.0. then my ammonia was at .25 so i use api ammo lock to stablize it. i just noticed today tho that it was a little cloudy not crystal clear anymore. my tank itself is a 20 gallon, i have the clown pleco and a electric blue dempsy, i have ammonia chips in the filter along with my charcoal. every week i add the stress zyme for the water. on water changes i do follow the label on the stress coat. should i be worried with the cloudiness??

 

[eco23]

i have had my tank now for 3 months, My PH was low at 5 or something so I bought PH balanccer to recover it to 7.0. then my ammonia was at .25 so i use api ammo lock to stablize it. i just noticed today tho that it was a little cloudy not crystal clear anymore. my tank itself is a 20 gallon, i have the clown pleco and a electric blue dempsy, i have ammonia chips in the filter along with my charcoal. every week i add the stress zyme for the water. on water changes i do follow the label on the stress coat. should i be worried with the cloudiness??

The cloudiness is not the issue to be concerned about...any ammonia level over .25 is highly toxic to fish and has to be brought down with daily water changes (it's all in the guide I linked). Do you have a API test kit? Do you know your full water parameters? We need to know your ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte levels to fully be able to help you.

 

[ejaramillo01]

i have had my tank now for 3 months, My PH was low at 5 or something so I bought PH balanccer to recover it to 7.0. then my ammonia was at .25 so i use api ammo lock to stablize it. i just noticed today tho that it was a little cloudy not crystal clear anymore. my tank itself is a 20 gallon, i have the clown pleco and a electric blue dempsy, i have ammonia chips in the filter along with my charcoal. every week i add the stress zyme for the water. on water changes i do follow the label on the stress coat. should i be worried with the cloudiness??

Don't worry about the cloudiness, that could be bacteria bloom, which is ok and will correct by itself.
But it is not normal to have ammonia levels in a established tank. The ammonia is your problem, as I said, adding Ammolock to control the levels of ammonia it's not good, neither the addition of chemicals to increase the pH.

Your best road now is to follow the tread recommended by eco23.

 

[eco23]

Don't worry about the cloudiness, that could be bacteria bloom, which is ok and will correct by itself.
But it is not normal to have ammonia levels in a established tank. The ammonia is your problem, as I said, adding Ammolock to control the levels of ammonia it's not good, neither the addition of chemicals to increase the pH.

Your best road now is to follow the tread recommended by eco23.

+1 on the chemical additives. In a healthy tank you should never have to use any chemicals, virtually all problems can be solved with simple partial water changes (pwc's). I would read the article as soon as possible and get a good understanding on the situation. I would assume the pH would be corrected by doing the water changes recommended. The drop in pH is likely a cause of your tank trying to cycle during the 3 months. How many water changes have you done over that time?

 

[johnanthony74]

well what happened was that i did a water change incorrectly and stirred up the bottom of the tank,, my ammonia level is lower then .25 i have the api test kit with chemicals not strips. my nitrates and ph is perfect just when i stirred up the bottom it raised the ammonia level, the cloudiness is normal tho with ammo lock as i contacted api today to inquire about it. that is its way of working then after the 3rd dose of ammo lock it will cloud up again then the filter and my ammonia chips will do its work. so all is fine i was just worried as i am new to this and still learning but ty all for the guides and help i love this place ...

 

[eco23]

well what happened was that i did a water change incorrectly and stirred up the bottom of the tank,, my ammonia level is lower then .25 i have the api test kit with chemicals not strips. my nitrates and ph is perfect just when i stirred up the bottom it raised the ammonia level, the cloudiness is normal tho with ammo lock as i contacted api today to inquire about it. that is its way of working then after the 3rd dose of ammo lock it will cloud up again then the filter and my ammonia chips will do its work. so all is fine i was just worried as i am new to this and still learning but ty all for the guides and help i love this place ...

Happy to help...but there's no way stirring up your gravel would have caused that. I do it every week. Also remember, API wants your $, we're just here to help out. Out of curiosity, can you post your nitrIte and nitrAte readings for me?

 

[johnanthony74]

Happy to help...but there's no way stirring up your gravel would have caused that. I do it every week. Also remember, API wants your $, we're just here to help out. Out of curiosity, can you post your nitrIte and nitrAte readings for me?

ok scary news here and i am lost as to what to do, see i bought the api ammo lock to neutralize the ammonia, it was @.25 now here are my readings as of 5 mins ago

ph @ 7.0
nitrate 3 0 ppm
nitrate 2 0 ppm
ammonia is high i think @ 1.0 ppm ugh what to do here i have the tank treated with ammo lock so what now ?//

 

[eco23]

ok scary news here and i am lost as to what to do, see i bought the api ammo lock to neutralize the ammonia, it was @.25 now here are my readings as of 5 mins ago

ph @ 7.0
nitrate 3 0 ppm
nitrate 2 0 ppm
ammonia is high i think @ 1.0 ppm ugh what to do here i have the tank treated with ammo lock so what now ?//

Dude, please follow the guide I first linked to you. It covers everything and gives instructions. You've got a major mini-cycle happening and have some serious pwc's to do. Don't trust the Ammo-lock, you have to do it yourself with large, daily water changes if you want your fish to survive. Read the article.

 

[johnanthony74]

ok so what i did right now was a 30% water change, added my stress coat ( declorinizer ) and now how long before i run a test again on the water levels???

 

[eco23]

ok so what i did right now was a 30% water change, added my stress coat ( declorinizer ) and now how long before i run a test again on the water levels???

You need to test now. You need to get the ammo under .25. A 30% pwc won't be enough. Think about it like this...the ammo is in the water, so changing 50% of the water should reduce the level of ammo also by 50%. I'd also suggest buying a bottle of Seachem Prime to use as your dechlorinator and to help with the ammo. Did you read the article?

 

[johnanthony74]

yes eco i did read that whole write up and posts there on after, makes alot more sense now... so i did a test and ammo was @ .5 right, so what i did was another 50% water change and i would say now i am @ .125 nitrates and ph are still perfect aswell it didn't change them @ all... ty so much for your help and don't worry i will keep you posted tomorrow after work with another test.

 

[eco23]

yes eco i did read that whole write up and posts there on after, makes alot more sense now... so i did a test and ammo was @ .5 right, so what i did was another 50% water change and i would say now i am @ .125 nitrates and ph are still perfect aswell it didn't change them @ all... ty so much for your help and don't worry i will keep you posted tomorrow after work with another test.

Sounds good . It's awesome you're making the effort to keep everyone alive and swimming. Keep us updated.