Help! Murky tank!

[Squiffy]

I won't have a testing kit until Friday. And I can't get to the LFS until then either. Is this bacterial bloom or something else? The fish seem happy as clams but my female mystery snail seems a little stressed. I did a 50% water change and it seemed to get worse after that which is why I'm thinking it's bacterial bloom.

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[Squiffy]

I've also vacuumed the gravel to get any gunk out.

In the tank are 2 mystery snails, 3 platy, 5 danios, and a few ghost shrimp

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[BigRedsReefs10]

Looks like a bacteria bloom, is the tank cycled?

 

[Squiffy]

It cycled for 2 weeks prior to adding fish.

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[BigRedsReefs10]

How'd you cycle it? How high did your levels climb?

 

[Squiffy]

I don't have a testing kit. So I don't know about my levels. And I can't remember what the store said my levels were when I brought in sample water. http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php I followed those steps using 2 platy borrowed from my dad.

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[BigRedsReefs10]

Sounds like your tank is cycling. A test kit is the most important purchase in this hobby, otherwise you have no clue about what's going on in your tank.

 

[Squiffy]

How long until it's pretty again? Anything I can do to help the process along, (other than the obvious purchase of a testing kit)?

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[BigRedsReefs10]

The bloom is pretty IMO because it means things are moving as they should , but it should clear in a few days probably. Test kit won't speed anything up it will just allow you to monitor your params and head off any problems before they start. If this is your first tank you should run tests weekly or every other and record your numbers, eventually you'll be able to see when your numbers are getting out of whack just by looking at the tank but it takes time. Look up soft cycling a tank, there are good articles on it here on the forum, and be ready to do a lot of wc's based on what your levels are at. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions, there are a lot if very knowledgable fw aquarists on here that are extremely helpful.

 

[Squiffy]

Thank you!

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[gilpi]

Maybe I missed something but a filter needs more than 2 weeks to cycle. Keep doing water changes, don't change filter media, don't over feed and it will be ok.

 

[tazzy_toon]

If you re read the link that you posted, cycling takes aprox 6 weeks. At which time you would introduce new fish slowly! When a tank is properly cycled ammonia, nitrites should be zero and nitrates around 20 for a healthy tank! Try not to over clean your tank at this time! Just water changes! Make sure to ask the store the numbers, one time I went to my LFS and they said my tank must be new because there was no ammonia, he told me all tanks have it! I took some time talking to him and I hope he changed his opinion of proper parameters! I did the same thing with my first tank! All the best to you and good luck with your tank