Water Question?

[FishDaddy]

Well first of all I am new to this board so hello all, I am a semi new fish owner you could say, I have had my 29 gallon tank now for about a month now and currently seem to have all healthy fish. I currently have (9) nine fish total in the tank consisting of (3) Angles " (2) two Marbles & (1) one Golden" I have (2) two Balla Sharks, (1) one Pleco', (1) one Male Betta and (2) two Kissing Gourami's. I feed the fish (2) two - (3) three times a day, in the morning I feed them the flakes and later on at night I feed them one or the other "BloodWorms or Shrimp" and I feed the Pleco' "Algae Thins" and the Betta "Pellet Food" I also do a weekly water change of about (5) five – (6) six gallons a week plus the filter changes which I have only done once so far as for I will do it every (4) four – (6) six weeks.

Now enough about what I have and the way I feed them etc. Here are my questions, when I first set the tank up and filled it with water and added the appropriate amount of “Tetra-Aqua AquaSafe” specified on the back of the bottle the water was crystal clear for about a week. Then I started adding a few fish in at a time as said by some other fish stores and I noticed the water getting a cloudy white and even after all the water changes it still maintains the same color. I thought for a while it may just be my florescent bulb making it white, but it’s not so I took some water to a near by fish shop and had it tested and everything came out fine but they said I had a small amount of ammonia in the water and I thought if maybe that could be it but I’m not sure, I want to buy something to get rid of the ammonia but not exactly sure as of what to purchase that will do the trick.. Lots of others have said just change the water like you’re suppose to do and that I have been doing but not much change. Also I’m just curious as of what you thought I should do about that, I thought maybe I would fill up one of them plastic tubs and put the “AquaSafe” in it for a while and let it set then completely drain the current water in the tank and add the new water but I’m not sure if that would be okay or not and if it would stress the fish to much. Another question I was wondering about is, I have heard about everyone adding Salt to their tank so I bought some “Doc Wellfish’s Aquarium Salt” for the tank but haven’t added any yet b/c I want to be sure that it’ll be safe to use/add with the current fish I have. The fish I have in the tank is about all I am going to buy that is FreshWater, my next tank will be SALTWATER. So if anyone can guide me in the right direction about the water situation and the other questions please reply.

 

[Lady Elizabeth]

hello.... i too had just started a month ago with my FW tank, i noticed that my water gets cloudy whenever i feed my fishes flakes.... so now i give them pellets and my water became clear, it also helps if you clean the inner surface of the aquarium because they get a little slimey sometimes...... i really hope this helps.... good day!

 

[Menagerie]

[center:6328253d30] Welcome to AA, FishDaddy!! [/center:6328253d30]

29 gallon tank now for about a month now and currently seem to have all healthy fish. I currently have (9) nine fish total in the tank consisting of (3) Angles " (2) two Marbles & (1) one Golden" I have (2) two Balla Sharks, (1) one Pleco', (1) one Male Betta and (2) two Kissing Gourami's.

These fish will out grow this tank. Most angel keepers recommend 10 gals per angel. I forget how large bala sharks get, but I know it is at least 5". Depending on the type of pleco you have, it will grow 4" to 12"+.

I feed the fish (2) two - (3) three times a day, in the morning I feed them the flakes and later on at night I feed them one or the other "BloodWorms or Shrimp" and I feed the Pleco' "Algae Thins" and the Betta "Pellet Food"

That's too much food. I strongly encourage you to feed once a day. Personally, my fish get fed every other day and they are fine. When fish evolved in the wild, they did not eat everyday, but when food is available, they will eat as much as they can hold. This is not good for the fish or your water conditions.

I also do a weekly water change of about (5) five – (6) six gallons a week plus the filter changes which I have only done once so far as for I will do it every (4) four – (6) six weeks.

The water changes sound great, but it's not necessary to change the filter out. It is better to clean by rinsing in used tank water during a PWC (plus it will save a ton of money in the long run). I only clean the filters when the water flow is slowed by the build up in the filter. The pads in the filter hold all the good bacteria and completely changing them may mean you will recycle the tank, or get a mini cycle.

when I first set the tank up and filled it with water and added the appropriate amount of “Tetra-Aqua AquaSafe” specified on the back of the bottle the water was crystal clear for about a week.

Everytime you do a PWC, you should add enough AquaSafe for the amount of water you are replacing. This takes care of the chlorine in the water.

I want to buy something to get rid of the ammonia but not exactly sure as of what to purchase that will do the trick

The best way to get rid of the ammonia is water changes. Your tank is cycling because the bacteria needed to convert the ammonia to nitrite are not there and the bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate are not there. You need a water testing kit to test your water parameters as the tank cycles. There is an article about the Nitrogen cycle in the Articles section. Once the tank is fully cycled, the white cloudy water will go away.

 

[Rocket2001]

Whoa! That's enough fish for a 90 gal tank! The Balas get to be 12-14 inches. And I thought I over did it.

 

[Toirtis]

[center:1a43d75b23] Welcome to AA, FishDaddy!! [/center:1a43d75b23]

29 gallon tank now for about a month now and currently seem to have all healthy fish. I currently have (9) nine fish total in the tank consisting of (3) Angles " (2) two Marbles & (1) one Golden" I have (2) two Balla Sharks, (1) one Pleco', (1) one Male Betta and (2) two Kissing Gourami's.

These fish will out grow this tank. Most angel keepers recommend 10 gals per angel. I forget how large bala sharks get, but I know it is at least 5". Depending on the type of pleco you have, it will grow 4" to 12"+.

Ditto the Helostoma temmincki...they max-out at 10"-12".