al398247
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
My Dad and I got a second-hand tank a week ago. We haven't had one for 5 years. Dad wanted to save some money so he went to a nearby yacht club and got some sea gravel there. Prior to putting it in he washed it, as well as the tank. We put in a dead SW coral and the previous owner's ornament which had a lot of algae on it. We filled the tank up with tap water and let it sit. On the 2nd day the water turned a darker shade and started to smell (weirdly enough it was a soap-like odour but not like anything we washed the tank or the things in it with.)
A week after cleaning the water turned greenish, smelled more and acquired a film on top. We decided to clean it again. This time we put in a pack of aquarium-suited gravel we bought at WalMart, the dead SW coral and the previous owner's ornament (but this time with most of the algae scraped off.)
We decided not to go through fishless cycling and went and bought fish, some plants and an additional ornament 24hrs later. Once we put in all those things, the water seemed fine. But 24hrs after that (today) it turned a white and cloudy colour.
We want to know more about this, such as what the white and cloudy is called, if it's normal or not, if and when it will go away etc. Thanks you!
A week after cleaning the water turned greenish, smelled more and acquired a film on top. We decided to clean it again. This time we put in a pack of aquarium-suited gravel we bought at WalMart, the dead SW coral and the previous owner's ornament (but this time with most of the algae scraped off.)
We decided not to go through fishless cycling and went and bought fish, some plants and an additional ornament 24hrs later. Once we put in all those things, the water seemed fine. But 24hrs after that (today) it turned a white and cloudy colour.
We want to know more about this, such as what the white and cloudy is called, if it's normal or not, if and when it will go away etc. Thanks you!