How long till water clears?

[molliebub]

Bought a small 20 litre tank for my wee boy, set it up, it got cloudy so asked at the nearest aquarium dealership and was told it's a build up of bacteria and that it will clear. It's been over a week with filter running, water well aeriated, tank isn't near the window.

Will it clear on it's own or do I need to treat it with anything?

I don't want to put fish in until I know it's settled, but I'm new to this and reading the newbie section has made this obvious! It all seems to refer to much larger tanks than mine too.

Any comments much appreciated!

 

[LyndaB]

It is a bacterial bloom and is quite normal for a cycling tank. What method of cycling are you doing?

 

[molliebub]

My ignorance is showing big time! Didn't know what cycling was - done a bit more homework now, have ordered a test kit and think small water change weekly will be sufficient till my tank stabilises.

Do you think that will do it?

I will do more research, don't want to put fish in and have them get ill or die right away!

Thanks

 

[RonJon40]

New Tank

Molliebub,
Just set up a 130 Gallon tank here a couple of days ago and had some trouble getting the water to clear myself. Come to find out it was my filtration system causing the problems. The filters were becoming filled with the debris and had to be cleaned a few times in order to clear the water. The tank can be ready to add fish on the first day if the PH is good, water temp is correct due to type of fish (mine is at 77 degrees F), and chlorine/amonia is removed using drops and filtration. I saw immediate results with the Clear Water drops after the filters were cleaned. Took 24 hours to fully clear once the filtration was corrected. I have a tank full of community fish within 4 days and have only lost one rosy barb. If you want I can send you my tank PH and testing labels as a reference. Good luck and hang in there. I am a retired military veteran and it does wonders for the stress level for sure.
Ron
(Pensacola, FL)

 

[paytertot]

Without an ammonia source (either fish or a source of pure ammonia) the tank won't build up bacteria in the filter. If you're wanting to do a fishless cycle, ill go get you the link to an article on here about it

Edit- here it is
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/the-a...-Guide-and-FAQ-to-Fishless-Cycling/Page1.html