New Tank is Cloudy

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jc102

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Feb 12, 2017
Messages
142
Location
Trumann, Arkansas
Hey,

I am new here and I was hoping to get advice on my new 10 gallon Glofish tank. I set it up two days ago with a filter, heater, gravel, a few fake plants, and a house. I added my fish and everything was fine.

Now the water is getting cloudy. It's not horrible (yet?) but it has kind of a haze to it. Is this normal?
 
Hey,

I am new here and I was hoping to get advice on my new 10 gallon Glofish tank. I set it up two days ago with a filter, heater, gravel, a few fake plants, and a house. I added my fish and everything was fine.

Now the water is getting cloudy. It's not horrible (yet?) but it has kind of a haze to it. Is this normal?
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Hi jc102:

That's not unusual in a brand-new uncycled tank. The cloudiness could be anything from a bacterial bloom to dust from your substrate.

What is your ammonia reading? Did you use a bacterial additive to begin your cycle? What type of water conditioner are you using?
 
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Hi jc102:

That's not unusual in a brand-new uncycled tank. The cloudiness could be anything from a bacterial bloom to dust from your substrate.

What is your ammonia reading? Did you use a bacterial additive to begin your cycle? What type of water conditioner are you using?


Thanks for replying! :thanks: I don't have a water test kit, but I can get one if needed. What would you recommend for a 10 gallon? I can go to PetCo to get one.

I used Tetra AquaSafe Chlorinate and Condition during setup.
 
Thanks for replying! :thanks: I don't have a water test kit, but I can get one if needed. What would you recommend for a 10 gallon? I can go to PetCo to get one.

I use Tetra AquaSafe Chlorinate and Condition during setup.
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Hi jc102:

I'd recommend the API master kit. You will need to get a baseline of your water's ph, and you will also need to test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate daily while the cycle establishes and afterward for routine maintenance.

Since you have fish in an uncycled tank I would recommend that you switch water conditioners to Seachem's Prime. It not only takes care of any chlorine or chloramine in your tapwater but will also give your fish some protection from ammonia and nitrite poisoning while the cycle is getting established.
 
Okay, thanks for the advice! Should I do a partial water change or just add the new conditioner? I'll go get a test kit and check the levels as well. Hopefully this won't be too hard to get under control.
 
Okay, thanks for the advice! Should I do a partial water change or just add the new conditioner? I'll go get a test kit and check the levels as well. Hopefully this won't be too hard to get under control.
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A partial water change would be a good idea. Once you've tested the water and know how much ammonia there is, you can dose the Prime daily to protect your fish from it (and from the nitrite, once it begins to form). When your cycle is established (consistently zero ammonia and nitrite) then you can go back to the maintenance dosage that the manufacturer recommends.

Quick note about the API test kit: the ph, ammonia, and nitrite tests are pretty easy to do, but the nitrate test requires you to add reagent from two different bottles. You have to violently shake the living daylights out of the second reagent bottle for at least 30 seconds (or longer, if your arm can stand it) before adding it to the test tube, otherwise you're unlikely to get an accurate reading. Not an issue for you right now since you haven't even started your cycle yet, but something to keep in mind down the road.
 
Okay, thanks for the advice! I am going to go get the test kit and check the ammonia levels. Then I'll do a partial water change and add the Prime. I'll come back this afternoon and post what the levels are.
 
Hi and welcome to fish keeping and Aquarium Advice!

Please read the article in my signature line for getting started it will give you a bunch or really important info on doing a fish-in cycle, meaning you have fish already and need to establish a nitrification cycle of beneficial bacteria aka BB for your tank.

You have received good advice already. If you do a search here at AA, you will see a few recent threads on cloudy water which should also help with some additional info.
 
Test Results

Thanks for the article! I'm still trying to figure all of this out, but here is what I have so far.

I bought the API Freshwater Master Test Kit and tested the water. The readings weren't what I expected (but I'm not familiar with the chemistry of an aquarium). Here's what I got:

ph 7.6 (the kit maxes out at 7.6, so it could be higher)
ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 0ppm

I also bought the Seachem Prime Concentrated Conditioner for Marine & Freshwater, but I haven't done anything to the tank yet.
 
Thanks for the article! I'm still trying to figure all of this out, but here is what I have so far.

I bought the API Freshwater Master Test Kit and tested the water. The readings weren't what I expected (but I'm not familiar with the chemistry of an aquarium). Here's what I got:

ph 7.6 (the kit maxes out at 7.6, so it could be higher)
ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 0ppm

I also bought the Seachem Prime Concentrated Conditioner for Marine & Freshwater, but I haven't done anything to the tank yet.
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That's great, jc102! Your ph is good for the growth of the beneficial nitrifying bacteria. Over the next few days you'll want to test for ammonia daily; you should start to see it shortly. When you do, that will be the time to start daily dosing of the Prime to protect your fish. Ideally, the ammonia will shoot up and then gradually begin to drop, at which time you should be seeing nitrite. In a textbook cycle, you'd then see a spike in nitrite, after which it too would taper off and you'd begin to detect nitrate. When the ammonia and nitrite hold consistently at zero, you have the nitrogen cycle established.

People have different experiences with cycling, though, so it may not go exactly that smoothly. The real key is patience and protecting your fish.

Some people have had success in speeding up the establishment of the cycle by using a bacterial additive containing the nitrifying bacteria. A lot of folks here on the forum have had good luck with a product called SafeStart made by the Tetra corporation. It's not necessary to use them but just something to think about.
 
Thank you so much for the help! I did a 50% water change just a few minutes ago and added the required dose of Prime. Should I continue with frequent water changes over the next few days?

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That's great, jc102! Your ph is good for the growth of the beneficial nitrifying bacteria. Over the next few days you'll want to test for ammonia daily; you should start to see it shortly. When you do, that will be the time to start daily dosing of the Prime to protect your fish. Ideally, the ammonia will shoot up and then gradually begin to drop, at which time you should be seeing nitrite. In a textbook cycle, you'd then see a spike in nitrite, after which it too would taper off and you'd begin to detect nitrate. When the ammonia and nitrite hold consistently at zero, you have the nitrogen cycle established.

People have different experiences with cycling, though, so it may not go exactly that smoothly. The real key is patience and protecting your fish.

Some people have had success in speeding up the establishment of the cycle by using a bacterial additive containing the nitrifying bacteria. A lot of folks here on the forum have had good luck with a product called SafeStart made by the Tetra corporation. It's not necessary to use them but just something to think about.
 
Thank you so much for the help! I did a 50% water change just a few minutes ago and added the required dose of Prime. Should I continue with frequent water changes over the next few days?
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When you start to see ammonia it might be a good idea to do frequent small water changes. Otherwise, it's best to let the bacteria begin to colonize with as little disturbance as possible. If your fish show any signs of distress then that would be a good time to increase the frequency and size of the water changes.
 
Okay. I'll keep an eye on things and see how it goes! I feel a lot more confident about the process now :D
 
It is amazing to find out that there is a process (nitrification) which will help you keep a great, safe place for your aquarium inhabitants.

There is a never ending stream of things to learn and we'll be around for the process.
 
Update: I have been checking the ammonia every day for the past 4 days. It's been between 0ppm and 0.25ppm ever since. Is this normal? I haven't noticed a rise in it at all, and the other levels are the same (PH - 7.6, Nitrite and NItrate -0ppm)
 
Update: I have been checking the ammonia every day for the past 4 days. It's been between 0ppm and 0.25ppm ever since. Is this normal? I haven't noticed a rise in it at all, and the other levels are the same (PH - 7.6, Nitrite and NItrate -0ppm)
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I'd keep monitoring it for a few more days, jc102. Now that the ammonia has started to register the bacteria will begin to colonize. In the meantime, the Prime will help your protect your fish.
 
Thank you. So one of my fish died today. I found it at the bottom of the tank. It had been acting a little weird, not eating and staying in the corner all the time. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm about to do another round of tests. Should I do a water change too?
 
Pwc always for deaths (unless it was a case of having meds in the tank for treatment type thing). It is just a good thing to change the water.
 
Hi jc102, welcome to the forum, i just wanted to add that goldfish like a higher ph reading than some other fish, your reading of 7.6 ppm is just about perfect for them. Also, be careful not to over feed your fish while your tank cycles, this will just cause excess ammonia in your tank. I would recommend feeding a small amount once a day for now. Also, Yorg's advice is spot on,so you shouldn't have any problems, enjoy your tank.
 
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