New 30 gal issues

[dhawkercp]

So I just set up my new tank. It has a Penguin 330 filter. I used a water conditioner and let the filter just run for a few days with just gravel. Next, I added some plants from a friends tank (trusted) to hopefully gain some beneficial bacteria. In following with many non-fish cycling faqs i added drops of ammonia. It has been a few hours and it seems like my water is slightly cloudy....am i being paranoid or did i do something wrong.

 

[majolo]

Cloudy water is probably the sign of a bacterial bloom, which should be a good sign. The cloudiness will clear as the bacteria settle onto your filter material and substrate. I'm not sure how much bacteria you would get on plants; the best is to get some filter media from an established tank, but it sounds like you got something. Do you have a test kit? Hope the cycle goes well!

 

[dhawkercp]

thanks. the cloudiness is increasing by the hour so i hope you are right.

 

[Zagz]

Bacterial blooms in new tanks are quite normal. Keep your ammonia at around 4ppm and you will keep the cycle moving along. Instead of having plants from a friends aquarium, see if you can borrow some filter media or substrate to help your cycle go faster.

 

[dhawkercp]

because there are plants in the tank...will it be hard for me to test for nitrates, or is plant uptake pretty slow. Also, how long should I see this bloom if I continue to add ammonia.

 

[theotheragentm]

Bioload uptake different depending on the plant and how many plants you have.

 

[dhawkercp]

cloudiness dissappeared today...what next?

 

[rich311k]

Keep adding ammonia until ammonia and nitrites go to zero in 24 hours.

 

[dhawkercp]

is adding fish at the same time as driftwood a bad idea?