help me please.... I'm confused and in a pickle

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emsbird

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
May 14, 2010
Messages
1
Hi all,

I am hoping someone can help me with my tank.

I have a 60litre tank, with an elite filter. My tank temp is at 26 degrees c, I have been cycling for 4 weeks and introduced 5 small glass fish this friday just gone. I have been using a product that cycles the tanks quickly, so in all the tank was deemed good enough to introduce fish into.

I test using strips, and a list of products im using are...
* Aqua test strips
*Proper pH 7.0
*Nutrafin Cycle
*Nutrafin Aqua Plus
* Accu clear

I tested my tank water on friday and all parameters were within acceptable ranges except PH, which was at 8.4. So in a panic I went and bought the Proper Ph and added this to the tank, for a few hours the water clarity was the same clear, PH was a lovely 7.0...then after about 4 hours it went cloudy. So I put some Accu clear in, and since then my tank has been a nightmare.

I did a 20% water change yesterday, and added Aqua Plus to sort the tap water out, the water was still very cloudy. Last night the cloudyness was terrible so I added 2drop more of Accu clear ( as per instructions) and this morning the tank water is still cloudy, but there seems to be formations of 'fuzz' at the bottom of the tank, on the filter and actually floating around my tank.

Now, I probably have completely jiggered up my cycle, and I am actually very upset by this, but Is there anything I can do to rectify the situation??

I have probably over chemically treated my tank, but in all honesty, I have been LED to believe these treatments are safe to use and also safe to use in conjuction with each other. I also thought that the treatments were essential.

What can i do? I am in such a tizz.. I am thinking of syphoning the gravel of its 'fuzz' to remove it, do a 50% water change ( even though I did a 20% one yesterday) and wash the filter in the water I remove out of the tank so as not to remove any of its beneficial stuff. Add some Nutrafin Cycle and hope for the best? But then Im thinking Im adding MORE chemicals... will that do more harm than good Please help me someone?

Levels today are...

nitrate between 10-25
nitrite between 0 -1
KH -3d
PH -7.0

Thanks in advance

Eva
 
Cloudy tanks are normal when setting up. Just a bacterial bloom that will soon clear up.

A stable pH is better than "the perfect pH" you don't want to create pH swings. If you have to lower your pH make sure the water you put into th tank is at the same pH as the water already in the tank.
 
Sounds like you are still cycling. Like Matt said, it is a bacteria bloom.

I would stay away from water altering chems, would you like to swin in a chemical bath?

If you really want to lower your PH there are better ways. You can put peat moss in your filter, use RO water or even add co2 if it a planted tank. Go out and invest in a liquid test, far more accurate. You have not screwed up your cycle but now you have to watch it everyday, be prepared to do lots of water changes. Her this might help http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ady-have-fish-what-now-116287.html#post983258
 
Did you add all the fish at once? Even if you were done cycling, if you add them all at once you could go back into a mini cylce due to the bio load being more than the amount of bacteria you have. Fish produce waste which ends up as ammonia, the bacteria needs to grow to keep it all in check. Don't believe everything the LFS tells you, most are just trying to make sales. Some are good but the majority of them will sell you everything in the book. Chemicals are not good to use unless you absolutely have to.

If your fish were in the tank when the pH went from 8.4 to 7.0 then you they could be stressed out because that is a massive swing. If you lower the pH it needs to be lowered 1 to 2 (ppms i think) for every 24 hours.
 
First I would get a liquid test kit, strips are not very accurate. API freshwater master kit is highly recommended but I'm sure there are others that are just as good.

Secondly, don't add any chemicals except for the water conditioner to remove chlorine etc. Prime is a very good choice, as is NovAqua and Jungle Labs Start Right. I have used all 3 at any given time and always with great results. Prime is now my product of choice for all our tanks. Anything else, like the clear water stuff is a quick fix compared to actually resolving the problem. Same with pH controlling products, pure hogwash.


Thirdly, right now you should keep doing water changes. I'd suggest at least 20%-30% daily until everything clears up. You can never go wrong with fresh water.


Fourthly (is that a word?) Lightly skim over your gravel the first few times, don't give it a full clean yet. The good bacteria live on your gravel, decor and in the filter, hardly any are in your water column.


Fifthly, do not add any more "cycling" products. That can be a part of your problem. Let me tell you a story. Those are good for first set up only. I used one of those type products on our 20 and 55 with regular water changes. Lost all our fish in the 20 and most of the fish in the 55. Most of those products has very little live bacteria in them by time we buy them. All you're adding is mainly dead bacteria which slaps the tank back into a cycle. Refer back to # 2, only use water dechlor from here on out. Trust me on this.

Sixthly yes it is very normal for a properly set up tank to get cloudy water. However, again refer to 2 & 5, water changes and dechlor only.

Seventhly since you have added fish, water changes are more vital. Keep your ammonia .25 or below, anything higher will burn gills and eventually cause death. Refer to #1, get a liquid kit that has ammonia, pH (as long as it's stable not an issue) nitrAtes, nitrItes, these are your key issues.
 
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If you lower the pH it needs to be lowered 1 to 2 (ppms i think) for every 24 hours.

The acceptable pH change is 0.1-0.2 units per day ... (not 1-2! :)

<Incidentally, pH = -log (hydrogen ion concentration in moles per liter), by convention it is unit-less.>

I agree with everyone else. Don't try to alter your water's pH (esp. with chemicals). It is far better to have a stable pH then the "perfect" one. Water with high pH will have a high buffer content. That will tend to keep the pH at the level it is. Putting chemicals in may change the pH for a while, but the buffers will push it back to the original values. Basically, your pH will yo-yo up & down. This is far worse than any "non-ideal" pH.

Also, pH tend to be up during cycling (ammonia is basic), so what you are reading will not be the true pH of the water .... doctoring the tank based on a false reading is asking for trouble. Anyways, doctoring water is an advanced part of the hobby, and is not needed for 99% of all aquatists. I would suggest you leave your water alone. Do water changes to control your parameters. The only thing you need to add to the tank would be a dechlorinator.
 
glad you cleared that one up for me ^ lol. I knew it was 1 and 2 something! :D Now I won't go killing my fish by making the pH all crazy .
 
Another thing the cloudiness could be from is calcium precipitating out of the water due to the proper PH you added. When you add a 7.0 PH buffer to hard water like you did, that happens. Think of it like when you exhale on a really cold night.
 
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