Aquarium problem

[shanksta83]

Okay here is the deal. My aquarium for some reason has a problem with being really cloudy. It has like tiny white particles floating in it. So, I ended up just draining the whole thing then putting all new rocks and water in it. For a week it was crystal clear you couldnt even tell water was it in. Now it is a week and a half after I redid it and it is cloudy again. I have no clue what is going on. It is 20 gallon and I only have 3 fish in it. A red tailed shark, plecotomous.... or however you spell it and a spotted catfish (I cant think of the proper name). I have tried that stuff that says it will clear up your tank, it doesnt work. I have no clue what else to try. Anyone with suggestions please let me know. Email me at jshank@siue.edu if you have any suggestions or just reply to this

 

[rich311k]

Welcome to AA!!! Do you know what your ammonia and nitrite levels are?

 

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA! New tanks are frequently cloudy. I am assuming it is a new tank? Posting your parameters will be helpful if there is anything else going on.

 

[bman]

Welcome.

Since your new, when asking something like this you are going to have to spill your guts relating to everthing about your tank. pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels, temperature. The type of filter, the type of substrate (gravel or sand, or other), how long the tank has been set up, and anything else you might think of.

We are only as good as the information given. (and I am not that great, but I will say that many here are!)

Hang tight, answers are close by.

 

[tropicfishman]

test your water, if you don't have the kits to do it, your pet shop should test a sample of your water for you, most likely, if its a new tank and you drained and refilled it agian, its gasses leaving the water, my water does the same thing, after about a week it clears up, this is the only thing i can think of since my water parameters are all normal

 

[bman]

I just tested the tank when I did my 40% pwc on Sunday.

pH - 7.0
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 15
temp - 80 F

I did have two Bloodfin Tetras die on Sunday before the pwc. They showed nothing, and even inspecting them after I netted them out, I could not understand why they bit the dust as well. They ate up until their deaths, so it probably was not the same thing as the prego platy. The bloodfins had been in the tank for 7-8 weeks. That sucks as well because my school of 4 tetras is now only 1. How the heck can he school by himself?! I may have to make a trip to the lfs to give him a new school.

 

[tropicfishman]

I would buy him some friends lol tetra's get stressed when not in a school, as for your levels, the ph is good, ammonia is good, nitrites are good, nitrates I don't know about exactly, i think there ok, but not sure

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Sounds like you need to cycle the tank. With the fish, the ammonia is going to build up, as well as nitrite. During the cycling of a new tank, the water is usually a bit cloudy, kind of white. My 75G is like that now, and that's with no fish and I added just a small bit of ammonia. I'm not moving my cycled filter from the 55G until right before I get the plants and fish in the tank. I wouldn't add any more fish til you are cycled, as you might lose some of what you have if you don't do lots of PWC's. What kind of test kit are you using?

 

[FishFingers]

Are you using a dechlorinator when doing the water changes?

If you don't everytime you do a water change u will kill all your bacteria and start a new cycle.

Sorry its the only thing I can think of as the reason why ur tank won't cycle. How long are u cycling the tank now.

Get yourself a test kit for Ammonia,nitrites and nitrates and post a reading for us.

Good luck

 

[shanksta83]

Okay, I added some of the details of my tank to my details. I hopefully will get more of them tomorrow. I will also try to get some pictures up.

I saw in another post that someone said another persons water may be cloudy becuase of overfeeding. Could that be my problem. I never really know how much to put in so I am sure I probobly put to much.