Water care

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Mumma.of.two said:
It will clear in time. It might take a couple of weeks. The cloudiness you are seeing is actually bacteria. They will die off when the nitrifying bacteria are more stable in the filter/tank. They aren't a sign of dirty tank water but they can be a sign that something is out of whack in the tank.
Click to expand...

Ok, really appreciate the help & advise here from all. I've actually learned something tonight lol. So I'm leaving the filter in, & to cycle it ( even though its been set up & running for a month) with a fish in cycle - from what I read or understood, I need to test levels daily & do a 20% change every day for 3 mos. hope I got all that right lol
 
Speed said:
Ok, really appreciate the help & advise here from all. I've actually learned something tonight lol. So I'm leaving the filter in, & to cycle it ( even though its been set up & running for a month) with a fish in cycle - from what I read or understood, I need to test levels daily & do a 20% change every day for 3 mos. hope I got all that right lol
Click to expand...

No problem. :)
Yes, test daily and change as much water as needed to keep the ammonia and nitrite minimal and nitrate under 20ppm. It could take a couple of weeks to months to get the tank stable. Also make sure not to add any new fish in the near future. They will prolong the cycle.
 
I'm doing my water change as scheduled today, & I just had to order the masters water tester. Will be here in about a wk, however it doesn't test for nitrate that I cld see or read. Checks ph, ammonia, & nitrite. Would this be ok, or do I need to find something else also that will check nitrate levels ? I know nitrate is ok as long as its not too high.
 
Speed said:
Can't really tell how cloudy it is from this but it seems to stay that way. Here's my filter set up. Rated for 50 gallon I believe, in my 40 gal. Ok, quit changing filters lol. Got it. Looks like it would be essential to keeping water clean but I see what are saying too. Also makes me think the water will never clear up if I dnt change them though.
Click to expand...

A second filter will also be a huge benefit- it will clean the water quicker and provide more media to grow beneficial bacteria.
 
Speed said:
Yeah, I bought it from wal mart that said it was a community fish. After going to other stores for different fish, I've seen & heard he's semi aggressive. I only have 1 now & they're schooling fish. He's grown quite a bit but still small - maybe 4 or 5 in long. He doesn't seem to bother anyone - yet.
Click to expand...

Yet- that's a ticking time bomb I would put the bala in the 75 you are getting and leave the current tank for the current fish and leave the 75 for a semi aggressive or rehome the bala and continue your current plan
 
Goldfish loach boy said:
Yet- that's a ticking time bomb I would put the bala in the 75 you are getting and leave the current tank for the current fish and leave the 75 for a semi aggressive or rehome the bala and continue your current plan
Click to expand...

That's not a bad idea. Didn't really think of it, just figured all wld be ok, since they do good now together. Was planning on moving the 2 goldfish from the 20 gallon to this 40. Would the bala be ok full grown in a 75g considering he'll be 15 in ? I've read alot to go min of 100+ g. He'll need a buddy soon & may put the 2 clown loaches in there too since they'll eventually outgrow the 40 as well
 
I've really been working on my tanks trying to figure this mess out while starting up my new project - the 75 gal tank. Getting accessories, stand & all that now. Tank will prolly be this wk. before I get it going, I have to figure out what's going on with my other tanks. Seem to have a bacteria bloom. I've took the advice of gravel cleaning, not changing the filter, doing 2- 3 wkly 25% wc , lights on 8 hrs a day, feed 2 x's a day & I still have cloudy water. Idk what else to do. I tried chemicals for that ( it dnt work neway) but I need to figure out why it won't clear. Nitrates .20 ppm, nitrites have been around .5 water is hard, ph is high( 8.4 maybe higher). Got a kit coming to tomorrow for ammonia. Doing more wc to help clear the water & drop the ph & nitrite, but I heard wc will raise ph. Freshwater tropicals seem to be ok. Water just always foggy.
 
The freshwater master test kit does have a nitrate tester in it, its a 2 part. Make sure to shake up the 2nd bottle real good before using it.
 
Ok- more help needed lol. Sry. I just got my kit & tested my ph levels first. They're off the charts. (Even though fish seem to be doing ok). The chart goes up to 7.6 I'm WAY over that. How do I drop the ph levels & keep it down. Doing my wc's & dnt know why I'm having such an issue.

image-2785840148.jpg
 
Speed said:
Ok- more help needed lol. Sry. I just got my kit & tested my ph levels first. They're off the charts. (Even though fish seem to be doing ok). The chart goes up to 7.6 I'm WAY over that. How do I drop the ph levels & keep it down. Doing my wc's & dnt know why I'm having such an issue.
Click to expand...

Dont panic. And don't alter your ph. Thats a low range test so a reading off that chart doesnt necessarily mean its too high. Do you have a high range test?
 
Cactuspixie said:
Dont panic. And don't alter your ph. Thats a low range test so a reading off that chart doesnt necessarily mean its too high. Do you have a high range test?
Click to expand...

Yes I have a high range, not tested it just yet. Doing ammonia now. The paper said my fish need to be around 7 ish & that's -- idk. High. Doing ammonia & then I'll check high range.
 
Ammonia seems to be .25ppm. I know that should be 0.

image-1506149703.jpg
 
Cactuspixie said:
Looks more like .5 to me. I'd be doing a 50% pwc.
As for the ph- I believe patties and mollies prefer a slightly higher ph- I've never heard anyone say they need a neutral ph
Click to expand...

I'll do a 50 %. Wanted to check my levels. High ph doesn't appear to be on the charts either

image-3932823195.jpg
 
Checking the nitrites now. After doing the wc, how long after should I check again. I've done 2 25% wc since Fri. Yeah starting to panic. Just wished I cld get this water under control. Doesn't help that I dnt really know what I'm doing, so btw thank all of you for your help & patience.
 
Nitrites =. Hard to tell. Maybe 0. Ammonia & ph & are just high. Ugh. I think you have to be a chemist to have fish.
image-3628888057.jpg
 
Speed said:
Nitrites =. Hard to tell. Maybe 0. Ammonia & ph & are just high. Ugh. I think you have to be a chemist to have fish.
Click to expand...

It sure feels like that sometimes! I'd add an extra dose of prime to detoxify the ammonia and nitrite (it does look like there is a slight nitrite reading).
I don't know if there's a certain time one should wait after a pwc before re-testing, but I normally wait a couple of hours.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Guppy Troubles - High pH?
Replies
3
Views
601
Aiken Drum
Aiken Drum
K
Seeking advice regarding a mysterious freshwater aquarium problem
Replies
5
Views
523
Colin_T
C
lil_bluebird
Gourami & Guppy Acting Weird—Help!
Replies
2
Views
334
lil_bluebird
lil_bluebird
G
Please help... Tank is getting away from me
Replies
6
Views
1K
Joe_D
J
N
Can't get cycle back in order
2
Replies
29
Views
798
Andy Sager
Andy Sager

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom