ok so my name is saul and i just got started into the hobby. well i got a 20 gallon tank about 2 months ago and everything is going great with that tank so i decided to get a bigger tank in order to get more fish. i got a 75 gal used tank and set it up about two days ago . i added the aquasafe to the tap water and also added easybalance (i thought it would help with the cycle). then i added the fish and everything was going good for the first night. the next morning water started looking cloudy and now is starting to smell a little too. i keep reading online but im not sure why this is happening and i am debating if i should take my fishes out. i have three goldfish (about 5 inch) and two blue gouramis. i am thinking is bacterial bloom but im not sure. what should i do? please be kind with the comments. i am just starting and might not had made the right decisions setting up this tank but i dont want my fishes to die. so i need some help. all comments appreciated. thank you.
75 gal newly setup aquarium
- Thread starter saulog
- Start date
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mellowyellow
Aquarium Advice Freak
Saul: Perhaps you should look under SEARCH here at AA regarding fishless cycling. The tank must go through the nitrogen cycle to be safe for fish. Did you have these fish together in your 20gal tank? I ask because goldfish are a cold water fish and gouramis are a tropical fish and need warmer water.
If you haven't already, go to Amazon.com and buy a used book called "Freshwater Aquariums for Dummies." The book has a ton of great information in it, almost as good as AA, LOL. It's nice to have a book handy when questions arise. HOpe this helps.
If you haven't already, go to Amazon.com and buy a used book called "Freshwater Aquariums for Dummies." The book has a ton of great information in it, almost as good as AA, LOL. It's nice to have a book handy when questions arise. HOpe this helps.
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
Welcome to AA!
mellowyellow nailed it. There are several potential problems with your setup.
First, are these common, feeder, or comet goldfish? If they are, that 75g isn't going to be big enough for long. If they're fancies (bubble eye, black moor, etc.), you should be ok with adequate filtration.
Second, tell us more about your aquarium. What kind of filter, heater, etc., are you running?
Third, what are your water parameters? If this is a new term to you, look up fishless cycling or the nitrogen cycle here. Knowing your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are the first step towards solving problems in your tank. Get a good liquid reagent test kit and skip the strips. The strips are notoriously inaccurate. I recommend the API Freshwater Master kit. It's a little pricey, but it's cheaper per test than strips.
Fourth, did you move the filter from your 20g over to the 75g? If not, you should do so. Your old filter has beneficial bacteria in it that make keeping fish in an aquarium possible. You'll learn this when you read up on the nitrogen cycle.
Fifth, what does your maintenance schedule look like? How often do you do partial water changes (PWCs) and how much of the tank water do you change?
Sorry for the wall of questions, but more information helps us help you. We'd like to get you off on the right foot so you don't get frustrated before you start enjoying fish keeping.
mellowyellow nailed it. There are several potential problems with your setup.
First, are these common, feeder, or comet goldfish? If they are, that 75g isn't going to be big enough for long. If they're fancies (bubble eye, black moor, etc.), you should be ok with adequate filtration.
Second, tell us more about your aquarium. What kind of filter, heater, etc., are you running?
Third, what are your water parameters? If this is a new term to you, look up fishless cycling or the nitrogen cycle here. Knowing your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are the first step towards solving problems in your tank. Get a good liquid reagent test kit and skip the strips. The strips are notoriously inaccurate. I recommend the API Freshwater Master kit. It's a little pricey, but it's cheaper per test than strips.
Fourth, did you move the filter from your 20g over to the 75g? If not, you should do so. Your old filter has beneficial bacteria in it that make keeping fish in an aquarium possible. You'll learn this when you read up on the nitrogen cycle.
Fifth, what does your maintenance schedule look like? How often do you do partial water changes (PWCs) and how much of the tank water do you change?
Sorry for the wall of questions, but more information helps us help you. We'd like to get you off on the right foot so you don't get frustrated before you start enjoying fish keeping.
well i have one comet goldfish and two common goldfish. and yeah they were all together in the old tank and the 20 gal is still set up. i just kept my smaller fishes in there. the filter is a power filter..im not sure what brand because it came with the tank.i already ordered a new cascade 300 filter. i want to run two filters for more filtration.since i just set it up two days ago. i havent done a water change yet but my 20 gal i usually do 40% every two weeks.
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'd strongly think about rehoming those goldfish. They might be ok in a 75g for a while, but they'll eventually outgrow it, and in the meantime, they'll cause your tank to need a lot of maintenance. Commons and comets can get 18"+ and goldfish are messy fish in general.
I'd recommend getting two of those Cascade filters. Even better would be to get two Aquaclear 70 filters. Aquaclears are a cartridgeless design that offers a lot of flexibility. They're a little more expensive to start, but you don't have to buy expensive cartridges.
Also, a general rule of thumb (one of the few in fish keeping) is to take the manufacturer's filter rating and cut it in half to get a real world rating. Aim for turning over your tank's water volume 6-10x per hour. That Cascade filter is a 300gph filter. You really should be in the 450-750gph range, especially with goldfish.
Until your tank gets cycled, you're going to be doing a lot of water changes. Get a test kit and try to keep the ammonia levels below 0.25ppm. You may have to do a 50% PWC twice a day for a few weeks to accomplish this. It's rough, but that's what you'll have to do to keep your fish in good condition.
I'd recommend getting two of those Cascade filters. Even better would be to get two Aquaclear 70 filters. Aquaclears are a cartridgeless design that offers a lot of flexibility. They're a little more expensive to start, but you don't have to buy expensive cartridges.
Also, a general rule of thumb (one of the few in fish keeping) is to take the manufacturer's filter rating and cut it in half to get a real world rating. Aim for turning over your tank's water volume 6-10x per hour. That Cascade filter is a 300gph filter. You really should be in the 450-750gph range, especially with goldfish.
Until your tank gets cycled, you're going to be doing a lot of water changes. Get a test kit and try to keep the ammonia levels below 0.25ppm. You may have to do a 50% PWC twice a day for a few weeks to accomplish this. It's rough, but that's what you'll have to do to keep your fish in good condition.
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
Not while your tank is cycling. Basically, your fish are putting out ammonia as waste. Ammonia is toxic to fish in fairly low concentrations. You need to build up beneficial bacteria populations. These bacteria convert ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is also toxic to fish in fairly low concentrations. A second group of bacteria convert nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is also toxic to fish, but only in much higher concentrations.
After the tank is cycled, you'll probably only need to do a PWC once a week to keep the nitrates down. I do 50% once a week on all my tanks, but I can go two weeks with my nitrates still at acceptable levels. Right now, you have to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down, so you have to change a lot of water. That's one of the major benefits of the fishless cycle.
After the tank is cycled, you'll probably only need to do a PWC once a week to keep the nitrates down. I do 50% once a week on all my tanks, but I can go two weeks with my nitrates still at acceptable levels. Right now, you have to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down, so you have to change a lot of water. That's one of the major benefits of the fishless cycle.
so how u do the fishless cycle? cuz i can move my fish back to the 20 gal..they ll be a little cramped but it ll only be for a week or two
QUOTE=BigJim;1155283]Not while your tank is cycling. Basically, your fish are putting out ammonia as waste. Ammonia is toxic to fish in fairly low concentrations. You need to build up beneficial bacteria populations. These bacteria convert ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is also toxic to fish in fairly low concentrations. A second group of bacteria convert nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is also toxic to fish, but only in much higher concentrations.
After the tank is cycled, you'll probably only need to do a PWC once a week to keep the nitrates down. I do 50% once a week on all my tanks, but I can go two weeks with my nitrates still at acceptable levels. Right now, you have to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down, so you have to change a lot of water. That's one of the major benefits of the fishless cycle.[/QUOTE]
QUOTE=BigJim;1155283]Not while your tank is cycling. Basically, your fish are putting out ammonia as waste. Ammonia is toxic to fish in fairly low concentrations. You need to build up beneficial bacteria populations. These bacteria convert ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is also toxic to fish in fairly low concentrations. A second group of bacteria convert nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is also toxic to fish, but only in much higher concentrations.
After the tank is cycled, you'll probably only need to do a PWC once a week to keep the nitrates down. I do 50% once a week on all my tanks, but I can go two weeks with my nitrates still at acceptable levels. Right now, you have to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down, so you have to change a lot of water. That's one of the major benefits of the fishless cycle.[/QUOTE]
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
Search "fishless cycle" here on AA for details. The gist of it is you get a bottle of PURE ammonia and dose your tank to 4ppm. Keep the tank at that level until it's capable of converting 4ppm of ammonia completely to nitrates in 24 hours. Taking a cup of gravel from your 20g and adding it to the 75g will help speed up the cycle by adding some beneficial bacteria to kick start the population.
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
Good luck. Feel free to ask lots of questions.
Deep Seven
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hardware store usually. Sometimes called janitor strength. Check for ingredients and make sure they don't add any perfumes or surfactants. One check is to shake it, and any bubbles should disappear very quickly. If any bubbles remain there is an additive and it will harm your aquarium.
oh ok. thank you i ll go buy it. then so far i took the fish out of the tank and put them in my 20 galllon tank for now. so im gonna try fishless cycle. so i had a question. at the beginning you set it to like 5 ppm and then keep checking till it goes down to 0. after that how much should i add daily?
bluerose
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Try not to let it go down to 0ppm; after the ammonia level starts dropping, re-dose daily back up to 4-5ppm. At first you may need to only add a tiny bit (say, 1ppm's worth) of ammonia; towards the end you should be adding a full 4-5ppm of ammonia daily and having your readings be 0 within 24hrs. When that's occurring, and you have no nitrite readings, you're good to add fish.
oh ok..thanks for the info. i had some trouble finding the ammonia but i already found it so tomorrow i ll start the process and also my new filter gets home tomorrow. so i should be ready to start tomorrow.hopefully they dont feel too cramped in the 20 gal tank.
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
Air stones really don't do much in a well-filtered tank besides add bubbles. Some people like the bubbles for looks. I'd rather spend that money elsewhere.
ok so an update. i already did the first ammonia treatment for the cycle last night, planning to check it again later today. so i have some filter questions. well i got my new filter yesterday, it is a cascade 300 power filter. i was looking through some websites and i found this one: www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/power_filter_tricks_ii.php
so i was wondering if it is really worth it to do all that and what are the benefits of it. i dont know much about filters, so i would like some ideas on how to make it run better or if i should just leave it like that. also the intake tube only reaches till about the middle of my tank. should i extend it or just leave it like that? does it make a difference how far down it is?... also my water is getting like greenish cloudy and i dont know why. could it be maybe cuz i added easybalance and it has a lot of nutrients? thank you for all your help.
so i was wondering if it is really worth it to do all that and what are the benefits of it. i dont know much about filters, so i would like some ideas on how to make it run better or if i should just leave it like that. also the intake tube only reaches till about the middle of my tank. should i extend it or just leave it like that? does it make a difference how far down it is?... also my water is getting like greenish cloudy and i dont know why. could it be maybe cuz i added easybalance and it has a lot of nutrients? thank you for all your help.
