New tank cloudiness advice

[Mloyko]

Hi all,

Just started a 29G tank a couple days ago. Finished setting it up with rocks and plants about Feb 27th. The 28th and today March 1st I've noticed the water is a little cloudy. From past tanks (I've been out of the hobby for a few years trying to get back into it) I don't remember the tank getting cloudy right off the bat. I have no fish in it yet, was going to wait about a week and then add some zebra danios. I'm just curious as to why it may be cloudy. This is the first time I'm using live plants, sand, and real rocks I collected from a local river bank. Could any of this be contributing?

As for chemicals I added I used Aquasafe dechlorinator, API quickstart, and some stress coat on the 27th. Yesterday I added a little bit of plant food.

Any help would be appreciated, attached is a shot of the tank.

 

[Chad2000k]

It sounds like you're entering a fishless cycle with your tank. Welcome back to the fish world, I've came back myself and kinda kicking my self in the foot for leaving since I have to refresh and relearn some of this. But basically you're on the right path, the quick start should be providing some bio and the live plants and rocks could be loaded with bio which basically means you could be on somewhat of a fast track to being cycled and ready to support a fish load. The only way to really check is to test the water which you haven't posted the results yet... I was just on Amazon.com which has the API Master Test Kit for $20, this is the best kit you can really get and I am about to place an order for them once I've run out of the strips (strips aren't exactly THAT effective).. So I would start with the test and post the results you get and we can go from there exactly. BTW your aquascape looks GREAT!! Can't wait to see some fish floating around in there. Hopefully that won't be to much longer.

Added: The cloudiness is just the tank responding to active bacteria which after some time depending on the water quality will fix itself and the water will then be clear.

 

[Mloyko]

Thanks Chad,

I'll have to wait till next paycheck to get a test kit. Thanks for the response and I will be sure to keep this thread updated.

-Matt

 

[librarygirl]

Cloudiness could be from the sand.
You might want to read up on cycling and decide whether you want to do fishless or fish-in. Ask if you have any questions. Welcome to the forum!
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

 

[Mloyko]

Thanks for the reading Librarygirl, definitely going to read up on it.

 

[Mloyko]

Come to think of it it didnt start getting cloudy until I added the rocks and plants. Would my water changes eventually clear this up?

 

[bud29]

Come to think of it it didnt start getting cloudy until I added the rocks and plants. Would my water changes eventually clear this up?

It will eventually clear up with water changes, yes. Also, depending on how much organic material is in your water, it could be a very slight bacterial bloom. However, those normally don't come until an ammonia source is added.

 

[Mloyko]

Thank you. One of the rocks my dad said contained iron and I was concerned that could be making it cloudy and I should remove it. Sorry if I sound impatient not trying to be.

 

[Mloyko]

So I just did my first water test and results were as follows. pH was between 7.0 and 7.2.
Ammonia is a little under 0.25 ppm. Nitrites are at 0 ppm and Nitrates are a little under 5.0 ppm.

Haven't gotten a chance for a water change yet but I do have my siphon ready. Probably later on tonight.

The 5 Tiger Barbs I added to help out are doing just fine, color is perfect and they are swimming around happily in a nice little school.

 

[Chad2000k]

How has your tank been doing?

 

[Mloyko]

It's doing ok I think. The barbs are still swimming around happily. Just did a water test. pH is still around 7.2. Ammonia is below .25 ppm. Nitrite is at 0 ppm and Nitrate is between 0 and 5 ppm. All readings are the same as my last post.

 

[Mloyko]

Water is still cloudy. I'm thinking the red rocks I have might be the culprits.

 

[Mloyko]

So I removed the red rocks and that didn't really do anything with the cloudiness. I did however notice just now that pretty much anywhere the rocks in the tank are coming into or really near each other there is a white "fuzz" on each surface. I've never seen this before. There seems to be little to no current in the bottom end of my tank, just at the top where the filter is. Could any of this contribute to the persistent cloudiness? I'm also starting to suspect the plants may be involved. I've been doing water changes but it doesn't seem to be helping. Also I've used the miracle clarifying liquids you can buy but they only worked temporarily like I suspected. Any advice would be a god-send because I am lost now.

 

[Scottyhorse]

The plants would actually help with water quality, sense they eat ammonia and nitrates.
The cloudiness is probably from a bacteria bloom. Don't let ammonia or nitrites get over .25 PPM. Keep an eye on your parameters, and eventually the water will clear up, and then after that, the tank will cycle.

 

[Mloyko]

Any ideas on what the white fuzz where the rocks touch is? It only appears there. I tried doing internet searches but can't come up with anything.

 

[BillD]

White fuzz is probably fungus, which will probably disappear over time. Did you sterilize the rocks prior to use? The initial cloudiness could have been from the sand or a bacterial bloom. Either way, a complete water change would have probably helped, since you didn't have any fish in the tank at that point.

 

[Mloyko]

Yes I boiled all the rocks before I added them to the tank. I'm still thinking bacteria bloom as you all have said but it is persistent. I think I'm just impatient because I've never encountered such persistent cloudiness before. I've been thinking about upgrading or adding a second filter as all I have in the filter that came with the kit I purchased.

 

[Mloyko]

Alright so today I just got done doing a water change and maintenance. I tested the water both before and after the water change.

Before: pH = 7.6
Ammo = .50 ppm
Nitrite = .25 ppm
Nitrate = 0 ppm

After: pH = 7.2
Ammo = .25 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 0 ppm

Water cleared up a bit with the change as well

 

[Mloyko]

Well not long after saying the water change cleared up a bit it clouded with force, worse than it's been since starting the tank. Now though it has dissipated back to the cloudiness its been since day one. I think I'm just going to sit back and keep an eye on things along with pwc's. Maybe it's just a waiting game and I'm being impatient.

 

[Chad2000k]

Well not long after saying the water change cleared up a bit it clouded with force, worse than it's been since starting the tank. Now though it has dissipated back to the cloudiness its been since day one. I think I'm just going to sit back and keep an eye on things along with pwc's. Maybe it's just a waiting game and I'm being impatient.

I can understand, I'm quite impatient myself. But sometimes all you can do is sit back and wait.