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Speed

Aquarium Advice Activist
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Jun 14, 2013
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Hey everyone, I'm a new freshwater hobbyist. Currently using a 20 & a 40 gal tanks, soon upgrading to 75 gal. We have city water that taste funny & has a lot of calcium/minerals in it that's turning the top glass all white & can't seem to get it off. I'm trying to stick the tank, but seems for about every 3rd or 4th fish we buy, one dies. I do 20-30% weekly water changes, feed twice a day, lights on 8 hrs a day. Water seems to stay cloudy looking, fish randomly die & water deposit build-up on top. Please help. Any suggestions ?
 
I'm getting test strips later today, but never have used them. We've had several die, but we've had the tanks for several months & the majority of them do fine. Some just dnt make it long. Thought as long as it was changed weekly, that kept all in control.
 
Haven't cycled the tank & had it for about a month now. Currently holding about 11 fish. Bought a new clown & he died 2 days later. Got a gold goumari & he lasted a few days. Hoping the test strips will fix the problem. Dnt understand why all the others are doing ok though. If the strips show something isn't right in levels, I wldnt know how to correct them.
 
And have you changed any filter media recently?
Cloudiness (milky) usually suggests a bacterial bloom. They are most common in cycling, unstable tanks. The white build up is just hard water stains. I get them on all my tanks also. Water hardness is usually not an issue unless you are keeping sensitive fish.
 
Yes, I change the filters usually every 3-4 wks. Currently holding 3 neon tetras, 1 pleco, 2 clown loachs, 2 cory cats, 1 Mickey Mouse platy, & a bala shark. All seem to get along well as their all pretty small still. The goumari, a clown, a tetra, drafonfish, & I.d shark has died in the past few months. It's a learning process & I'm trying & spending a ton of $ but I dnt wanna keep killing fish.
 
Skip the strips and get a liquid test kit. The strips are useless and normally don't have an ammonia test.

I was looking at one. Was called a masters freshwater kit. I may go that route. Sounded complicated but I'll figure it out. Is there anyway, to get that calcium buildup off the top glass ? It looks horrible & can't hardly see through it. Sure I sound like a retard with all this lol, but I'm learning & it's getting expensive. Have got a 10, 20, & 40 gal tank in the past few months. Keep upgrading, wanting more & bigger. Just gotta get this water under control.
 
Sounds like the tanks not cycled. By changing the filter every month you are removing the majority of the bacteria needed to keep the tank stable. When the filter gets too dirty to function correctly, take the cartridges and impeller and gently clean them in a bucket of tank water. That will remove the waste but preserve the bacteria colony. Never replace the cartridges unless they are literally falling apart. Even then you needed to run old next to new for a number of weeks to help seed the new media with bacteria.
 
I was looking at one. Was called a masters freshwater kit. I may go that route. Sounded complicated but I'll figure it out. Is there anyway, to get that calcium buildup off the top glass ? It looks horrible & can't hardly see through it. Sure I sound like a retard with all this lol, but I'm learning & it's getting expensive. Have got a 10, 20, & 40 gal tank in the past few months. Keep upgrading, wanting more & bigger. Just gotta get this water under control.

A razor blade works well on hard water stains.

We all have to start somewhere :)

Give these a read:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...-to-Starting-a-Freshwater-Aquarium/Page1.html

http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/246850-bacterial-blooms-explained/
 
I would suggest you just keep your tank filled to the trim on your tank. Then you don't have to worry about the water stains :) But yes, a razor blade works best as long as you don't have an acrylic tank. Had to use them extensively because almost all of the tanks I buy are second hand.
 
Hmmm. Snds like I need to research or watch some videos on cycling. I thought it would help the water & the fish by replacing them often. Even on the box of filters, says to replace every 3-4 wks. I'll definitely look into that & will get the water strips/ masters kit later today. Have a new gravel pump coming into today too which hoping will help some.
 
I would suggest you just keep your tank filled to the trim on your tank. Then you don't have to worry about the water stains :) But yes, a razor blade works best as long as you don't have an acrylic tank. Had to use them extensively because almost all of the tanks I buy are second hand.

No they're glass tanks. I try to keep them filled but with humidity & 2 bubble curtains it seems to drop quick. Will try that razor blade. Was afraid it'd scratch the glass to pieces.
 
The top article I linked above contains information on cycling.
Of course the box says to replace them. They want you to buy more of their product! ;)
Keep the razor on an angle and go slow and carefully and it won't scratch.
 
The top article I linked above contains information on cycling.
Of course the box says to replace them. They want you to buy more of their product! ;)
Keep the razor on an angle and go slow and carefully and it won't scratch.

So fill a bucket with water from the tank, take the filter out & scrub it with an old brush or something & put it back about once a month or when really dirty ?
 
Man you are going to have problems the bala shark will kill everything in there

Yeah, I bought it from wal mart that said it was a community fish. After going to other stores for different fish, I've seen & heard he's semi aggressive. I only have 1 now & they're schooling fish. He's grown quite a bit but still small - maybe 4 or 5 in long. He doesn't seem to bother anyone - yet.
 
So fill a bucket with water from the tank, take the filter out & scrub it with an old brush or something & put it back about once a month or when really dirty ?


With cleaning the filter itself, I usually ignore it until the flow seems to get restricted. I would just swish the filter pad in old tank water once per month at most and call it good. The only filter I have that I've had to clean monthly is my canister filter because there tends to be a lot of buildup in the tubes.
 
With cleaning the filter itself, I usually ignore it until the flow seems to get restricted. I would just swish the filter pad in old tank water once per month at most and call it good. The only filter I have that I've had to clean monthly is my canister filter because there tends to be a lot of buildup in the tubes.
Can't really tell how cloudy it is from this but it seems to stay that way. Here's my filter set up. Rated for 50 gallon I believe, in my 40 gal. Ok, quit changing filters lol. Got it. Looks like it would be essential to keeping water clean but I see what are saying too. Also makes me think the water will never clear up if I dnt change them though.
 

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It will clear in time. It might take a couple of weeks. The cloudiness you are seeing is actually bacteria. They will die off when the nitrifying bacteria are more stable in the filter/tank. They aren't a sign of dirty tank water but they can be a sign that something is out of whack in the tank.
 
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