Cloudy water after pwc

[ndw]

I done a 20% water change on my aquarium yesterday and today my water seems a bit cloudy (white) my parameters are
Ph 8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0.1
Nitrate 20
Am I just worrying about nothing ?

 

[mrvincent]

I done a 20% water change on my aquarium yesterday and today my water seems a bit cloudy (white) my parameters are
Ph 8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0.1
Nitrate 20
Am I just worrying about nothing ?

Maybe... This may be an algae bloom or bacterial bloom... Take out some tank water to fill a white 5 gallon bucket. You'll see the true color.

When you do your water changes, do you clean the filters bio medias under tap water ?

 

[ndw]

I've only had the tank for over a month or so. I haven't cleaned any of the media yet as I was worried id kill all the good bacteria off. I know you should clean them in the tank water you've taken out and should only clean or replace one part of the media each time. Can I have an algae bloom within this amount of time in maturing ?

 

[mrvincent]

Yes, alright, never clean them under tap. Replace 1/4 or 1/3 of the bio media when it become too gunky to be cleaned. (I replace 1/3 of my total bio media in my Eheim canister each 6 months...).

You may be experiencing a bacterial bloom, we call this new tank syndrome too. Did you added fishs to that aquarium already ?

Also, what's your photo period ? (Light ON time/day) Is that on a timer ?

 

[ndw]

I added some fish 3 weeks ago and another few last week it's only a 12 gallon tank so I am still slightly unsure on wether I'm overstocked aswell, I have my timer on the light that is on for 8 hours a day. No live plants either

 

[mrvincent]

You didn't cycled the tank before adding the fishs ?

I doubt it's a algae bloom, it's probably a bacterial bloom due to non-cycling the tank before adding fishs. If I was you, I would monitor ammonia and nitrites, just to be sure not poisoning the fishs.

There's nothing to do with bacterial bloom, but time. Monitoring ammonia and nitrites, doing water changes if any spike occurs... It will go away by itself. Give it a week.

Also, on the first post, why you say 0.1ppm nitrites ?

 

[ndw]

Yes sorry I might not of been clear. I started cycling the tank first week of January. I done the fish less cycle for 2 weeks and then got the aquatics center to test my water and then I began adding my fish.

 

[mrvincent]

Yes sorry I might not of been clear. I started cycling the tank first week of January. I done the fish less cycle for 2 weeks and then got the aquatics center to test my water and then I began adding my fish.

How did you cycled it ? Did you added ammonia source ? Or you just put water and waited ?

Adding bacterias in bottle doesn't count as ammonia source.

From what I understand, you don't have test kits for ammonia and nitrites... Bacterias bloom can be a sign of your tank just started it's cycle.

 

[ndw]

I was told by the shop to just add the dechlorinator formula and this fluval cycle bio enhancer. Then never said anything about any ammonia source. I've tested my water from day 1 and always wondered why I never had any ammonia present. Have I messed up by listening to the aquatics assistant ?

I have a liquid test kit and it does nitrites nitrates ammonia and ph

 

[mrvincent]

Lol this is why here on the forum we tells people to don't listen to LFS dudes, and always do own researches on the web. So, cycling start when there's ammonia in the tank. A set of bacterias wich converts ammonia to nitrites develops, then another set of bacterias that convert toxic nitrites to non-toxic nitrates.

So you started the cycle by adding your first fishs, not by adding the bio enhancer. What you can do now is to test for ammonia and nitrites, and add some of your bio enchancer product (shaking the bottle first).

Read that:
"The most common cause of cloudy water in the freshwater aquarium is a bacterial bloom. Similar to an algae bloom, bacterial blooms occur when there is a sudden increase in the number of bacteria present in the tank – high concentrations of bacteria in tank water often results in a cloudy or milky appearance. Bacterial blooms are very common in tanks that have just been set up but have not been properly cycled. The nitrogen cycle is the process through which beneficial bacteria in your tank work to break down wastes, converting toxic substances like ammonia and nitrite into less harmful nitrates. These bacteria thrive in tanks where there is a significant accumulation of organic waste and in tanks where the ammonia and nitrite levels are very high. If your tank hasn’t been properly cycled, or if it has a significant amount of organic debris built up in the substrate, you might experience a bacterial bloom."

Also, there's a fish-in cycle article on the forum.... hmmm... here's the link:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/i-just-learned-about-cycling-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now/

 

[ndw]

Your right I really should of done my own research. Spoke to a lot of Lfs assistants all saying different things. So where do I go from here ? Just continue to so my regular water changes add the enhancer and keep testing my water ? Also is it a problem that I still don't seem to have ammonia in the tank even though I've had atleast one fish in there for 3 weeks ? Even though i had a time where my nitrites were very high

 

[mrvincent]

If nitrites are high, do a 50% waterchange. make sure the new water is same temperature of the tank water (you can mix hot and cold water from the tap as I do).

Fish-in cycle require testing for ammonia and nitrites each 2 days I would say... This process can take 2-3 weeks. If you didn't saw ammonia spike, but a nitrite spike, it means the bad from ammonia is already done. If you didn't lost fish during this process, that's a good thing. Some fishs are more tolerant to ammonia and nitrites than others sensitives fishs...

If you see nitrites and no ammonia, it means ammonia bacterias are present and working. You must wait for the nitrites bacterias set to develop, but keep doing water changes to prevent a too big nitrite spike.

THe enchancer won't do a great difference, most of the time, the bacterias in the bottle are dead... They need ammonia/nitrite source to survive.

Do water change if you see too much nitrites ( let's say near >2ppm)
or if fishs seems to be gasping for air at the surface of the water.


For your stocking, you can get general advice on www.aqadvisor.com

 

[ndw]

I went to get more fish a week after I put 1st fish in and he said I couldn't as I had a high level of nitrites so I'm hoping that's had its spike already, since then my levels have all been under control as I've been doing water changes 2 times a week. But I will keep a close eye on it. I put pretty hardy fish in so that's probably why they haven't snuffed it yet

 

[mrvincent]

There's few things that should come with a complete starter new aquarium kit.

Nitrogen cycle guide (cycle), filter, light, gravel or substrate, dechlorinator (I highly recommand "Seachem Prime", it's best cost efficient, AND A DAM BOTTLE OF FEW DROPS OF PURE AMMONIA !!!!!!!

So people can kickstart their cycle right on the first day then just wait 1 month.

What's your tank size ? (gallons I mean)

 

[ndw]

Il definitly be more careful next time. Hopefully il get through the cycle with no deaths. 12 gallon well 10 gallon us

 

[mrvincent]

I went to get more fish a week after I put 1st fish in and he said I couldn't as I had a high level of nitrites so I'm hoping that's had its spike already, since then my levels have all been under control as I've been doing water changes 2 times a week. But I will keep a close eye on it. I put pretty hardy fish in so that's probably why they haven't snuffed it yet

If you had(have) nitrites, it means you already had ammonia spike. Fishs don't poop nitrites, they poop only ammonia and solid waste.

 

[mrvincent]

Il definitly be more careful next time. Hopefully il get through the cycle with no deaths. 12 gallon well 10 gallon us

You got through the ammonia phase without death, seems your lucky, should be ok with nitrite phase. Adding more fish means adding more ammonia than ammonia bacterias can support, so you can predict a probable little ammonia raise ( >0ppm )

 

[ndw]

Il consider myself lucky for now and keep up with the research

 

[mrvincent]

Here your AqAdvisor recommendations.

AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

Fluval Edge are not good QT tanks if you want to buy another one... The best I know are the Hagen ones... Cheap (70$) for complete kit...

Edge are made to be display tanks...

If you feel comfortable with changing 10-15 gallons of water, then you could go for a 29g like mine... But before buying, check the precise thing you want to do... You may want to modify (edit?) upgrade the aquarium, and the upgrades can raise up the price so much, talking by experience... I have 1500$ put on my 29g hightech... Counting 300$ CO2 system, 200$ lights, expensive fishs and plants, expensive substrate, changed the HOB for a canister, etc...


Anyway, you can stay with this setup, I think you're now fully stocked, also your fishs may grow and become too big for this aquarium. Watch for the betta, he could become aggresive.