Tiny particules in my fish tank.

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thoven78

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Messages
6
Location
Long Island, NY
Hi all, my fish has been up and running for 4 weeks now and whenever I turn on the light I notice a lot of small particle. what are they and how do i get rid of them. my PH is 7.0 ammonia is .4 thanks in advance for your answers.
 
Welcome to AA! :)

The particles can probably be removed by adding some fine filter floss to your filter. I'd be more concerned with the present ammonia. It doesn't look as if the tank is cycled completely.
 
oh yeah that ammonia is pretty high (been fighting a battle with it in one of my tanks myself).

Keep an eye out for redness near the gills of the fish. The ammonia levels being high will do that.

Do daily water changes to get that ammonia down!
 
When you have ammonia, you often get bacteria in the water, giving you a white cloudy look.

Get the ammonia down & the bacteria bloom (if that is what it is) will go away.
 
What do the particles look like? I ask because when I got mine up and running I thought the same thing but upon closer inspection it appears I just have alot of tiny air bubbles, I've just sort learned to live with it :p
 
if it is dirt floss is a fine way to keep the tank clean. might want to add another filter i know many times people under filter a tank. with out knowing its a guess on my part.
 
I found out that the tiny particules are tiny air bubbles, but my water is cloudy now (white cloudy) and I have three fish that died already. Any ideas?
 
keep on doing 30% to 50% water changes to get the ammonia down. Try it daily till the ammonia level drops to 0.
 
I haven't seen a test kit that read in the increments you're posting. You're sure that wasn't 2 and 4? (If so that would be what killed the fish for sure).
 
Ok, well, you have a tough fight ahead of you to keep your fish alive then. Next time fishless cycling will save you this headache. This is what you need to do:

Test daily for ammonia and nitrite. Nitrite probably reads zero right now, but you need to know as soon as it starts rising.

Do not add any new fish until both tests consistently indicate zero.

Change water as needed (based on test results) to ensure that ammonia doesn't exceed 1 ppm and nitrite does not exceed 0.5 ppm prior to the next water change. Gravel vacuuming can help, but won't make a huge difference at this stage.

Expect to see a reduction in ammonia beginning one to four weeks after the tank was first stocked with fish. At the same time nitrite, which is even more toxic, will begin to appear. Roughly a week after the first appearance of nitrite, you'll see it drop to zero and then you're good to go.

Estimated times may vary and are a function of water temperature (higher is better within the tolerance of the fish), concentration of ammonia in the water (higher goes faster, but tends to kill your fish), characteristics of your filter including flowrate and oxygen content of the water, and random effects such as the number of nitrifying bacteria initially present.
 
what size tank? i wouldnt wait until the ammonia hits 1ppm. .5ppm i would be doing major water change.
 
Ok, I just did another water check ammonia is 0 and Ph is 7. oh almost forgot, the write cloudiness goes away. It's a 75 gallon.
 
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