New Aquarium, cloudy water, other questions

[dmac]

Well, I'm not exactly a newbie, but I haven't had an auquarium since I was younger and I just bought a 30 Gallon tall hexagon setup for my condo.....................Its freshwater

Questions:

1)How much space at the top of the tank should I leave in regards to the top water level?

1b)I bought an emperor 280 overhang filter for the back and the "waterfall" return has about 1.5" space down to the top of the water. I filled the tank last night and ran the filter on "full flow" and came home today to find about a half inch of "foam" bubbles along the top.....I reduced filter to "medium flow" and the foam dissipated. I put filter back on "full" and I have some foam bubbles, but not much. IS it the chemicals I've added? Is it my filter churning it up? I added the cyrstal clear and I added 3 tablets of Dechlorinator (1 tablet per 10 gallons).

2Yesterday, after filling the tank, I put in Aquarium Products "Crystal Clear", but despite that my water appears cloudy. I just put in another recommended dose of the crystal clear. I wonder if my problem is related to the cap of foam?


3)I plan on stabilizing the chemicals and clearing the water by the weekend, and then adding a few cheapo fish like platty's or something. Any advice? My future plans are to add nicer and slightly more expensive fish like sharks and angel fish, after a few weeks of getting the tank stabilized.

 

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA!
First you need only need an inch at the top of the tank IMO. I fill to the bottom of the plastic retainer. I have 2 emporer 280's and both the outputs are below the water level in my tanks.

The bubbles are normal in a new tank. Also Crystal clear will cause bubbles and not clear your tank. New tanks are cloudy it is normal. For new tanks adding products to clear the water do not do anything beneficial IMO.

I would recommend a fishless cycle as it is easier on the fish obviously and faster than doing tons of water changes to keep the fish alive. For a 30 gal most aquarium sharks will get too large for that tank.

If you want to cycle the tank faster get biospira if you are able. It contains live bacteria. I haven't used it personally as it isn't available around me,but several members have used it with varying degrees of success.

 

[dmac]

Thanks for the quick reply. This looks like a great forum.


My main priority at the moment is clearing this water, you think I ought to raise the water level? I didn't know you could actually have the return under water on the filters.....I just raised it up, and its quieter and less foam (and the water appears to be clearing a bit). The return is about level with the water line, and the water line is about 1" now from my top cover, before it was about 2.5" gap...Looks better too....

Also, when I do the weekly or monthly water changes, whats the best way to do that, a gravel vacuum? How do I add dechlorinated water with a tablet that says its for 10 gallons? Drop the tablet in the tank with existing fish or dechlorinate the 10 gallons first somehow? I am talking on water changes now, after the fish are in there.


I noticed that the sharks and some other fish can grow to be 8" or larger, but I always thought in a small 30 gallon tank they'd die first or stay small.....bumber, cause they look really cool when they are like 1-2" long....

 

[Zagz]

There are a couple of methods to changing water. I use a python gravel vac but I have 11 tanks. You can use a regular gravel vac and pails, and can either treat the water in the pail in advance or treat it right as you add it. I use Prime for dechlorinator. Very good product and very concentrated so it is economical.

Don't worry about any cloudiness, as the tank matures it will clear. It is perfectly ok to have the emporer output below the water line.

 

[dmac]

Water is noticebaly improving, I can actually see a plant in the far back that was blurry before.............I think the excessive distance between my return and the water was fussing up the inside of the tank.....


So you think that crystal clear I bought is junk? Any other suggestions, or just patience?

 

[Zagz]

Patience is key. A lot of the products available don't do what they claim to. I bought countless different product to clear water, cycle water, you name it. Nothing changed the natural process the tank takes. If you know someone with an established tank, swiping some of their media will help speed up the process.

You will not regret getting back into the hobby, or joining us here at AA!

 

[dmac]

I'm happy to report that I came home last night to a crystal clear tank......I tested again today and am going to get 2 starter fish.

What is the ideal alkalinity (KH) for most freshwater fish?

 

[exodus]

That "Crystal Clear" stuff works well. Usually clears up both my tanks in a few hours.