New Tank all cloudy!

[Revenantwing]

Its been 4 days in my tank (5 gallon) that has a betta and apple snail. Its cloudy and not sure whats wrong I'm still new to i don't really understand these kinda stuff :]

 

[daileene]

Hi, welcome to AA!

Did you know about the nitrogen cycle? I would say you just had an ammonia bloom.

If it has only been 4 days since setting it up, then you are indeed in the cycling process still.

 

[daileene]

Since you already have fish in, this link might be of interest to you:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now-116287.html

It will help you in the proper way of cycling your tank.

Hope that helps.

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Welcome to AA! You came to the right place.

If you've not learned about the nitrogen cycle, I would strongly recommend you read up on tank cycling. What daileene is referring to is ammonia that has been introduced to your tank because of fish and snail waste. This will start your cycling process, which can take up to a month or two.

I strongly recommend getting yourself an Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kit. This will help you monitor your Nitrogen levels and ensure that none of these are too high. Too high levels will stress (and possibly kill) your fish... :-\ If you're unable to buy one for now, I recommend doing a Partial Water Change (PWC) twice a week. Just siphon out a gallon of the water in your tank, dump it in the sink, fill it with new water, treat with a dechlorinator (yes, you need to treat the water before putting it in your tank), and add it back into the current tank water.

Also, a common mistake is to change the ENTIRE tank's water. Don't do that or you might find your betta floating belly up. :-\ We're here to help step by step, so please don't be afraid to ask any questions that might come up!

 

[Revenantwing]

thanks for the help i will be studying up on my nitrogen cycle :]

 

[daileene]

Coyote is right. I would recommend Seachem PRIME for treating your water. If you finally get a test kit (API Freshwater Master Kit is recommended by most hobbyist here), check that the ammonia and nitrite is not over 0.25ppm as it is not good for the fish.

And when you change water and you see your filter media all gunky and stuff, do not, I repeat, DO NOT change the catridge as recommended in the box as the good bacteria lives in it. If it is really dirty, just swoosh it in the tank water when you water change, and put it back. Never clean it with tap water or the good bacteria will be gone too. Just change the filter cartridge when it is really falling apart.

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Great to hear! Believe it or not, I didn't learn about the tank cycle either until after I added fish... And so far, I have yet for a fish to die on me, so don't stress. You'll be well on your way to happy, healthy fish!

 

[daileene]

Me too...And believe me, I have all the heavy bioloaders in my tank (koi, 2 fancy goldfishes, and 2 common plecos) and they are still alive as well...it does call for a little effort in our part when we already have fish coz we want to make sure that the levels will not kill them, that's why water change is so vital. I used to do two 50-70% PWC everyday just to keep up with the ammonia and nitrite from going up.

Don't worry, you'll be fine.

 

[Revenantwing]

is water change everyday bad too?

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Not really. Most of your biological filter (good bacteria) adheres to surfaces... Gravel, sides of the tank, your filter cartridge, decorations, etc. Changing the water removes excess Ammonia, Nitrite or Nitrate. It's a very safe bet when doing a fish-in cycle and you don't have any test kits.

Just be sure that the water is roughly the same temperature or you'll shock your fish. And don't forget to dechlorinate!

 

[daileene]

oh no....that is good...but it is really recommended to have a test kit too so you will know when to do water change...but if you don't have one yet, yeah, water change everyday is really recommended.

 

[Revenantwing]

thank you! ^^

 

[Revenantwing]

Is there anything else i really need to know besides all this wonderful information?

 

[daileene]

for now, water change, treat water, and test water parameters until everything is finished cycling is the most important thing to know as far as my opinion is concern.

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

It may be good to invest in a gravel vacuum. It's a helpful little device that sucks water and you can use it to stir up and siphon out the gunk that collects in your substrate.

The long tube on the other end can be fed directly into a jug if you like and that'll help you do your PWC and clean up the waste and uneaten food in the gravel at the same time. Apple Snail waste is really easy to clean out with a vacuum too.

 

[daileene]

good bacteria lives in the substrate though so if you do vacuum it, don't vacuum the whole area all at once, do it in quaters every PWC. JMHO.

 

[Revenantwing]

thank you daileene. Coyote yes you told me about the gravel Vac. Which would be a good brand with a good price?

 

[daileene]

you are welcome reve...always happy yo help. thank u too for the rep point.

 

[Revenantwing]

oh yes 1 more thing i only have about a 3 pounds of gravel. Should i get more or will that ruin the cycle?

 

[daileene]

hmm...do you have live plants? I think 3 pounds is quite enough if you don't have live plants. Live plants normally requires 2-3" of gravel/substrate for their roots to grow..