New 60 gallon cloudy freshwater aquarium

[Edgerton]

Hi folks, first post here. Hoping I can get lots of useful help here.

So, My name is Edgerton and I work in a group home where we support 6 men with developmental disabilities. I am the team leader here and one of the staff came to me with an idea that the guys would really like a fish tank. I thought it was a great idea so I said yes and we started the wheels turning and ended up with a pretty sweet set up.

We have a 60 gallon freshwater tank with a Eheim professional 3 Ultra G canister filter and also a fancy led light with timers and 'thunderstorms' and whatnot.

Our problem is that starting off non of us understood nitrogen cycling (still don't really) and the fact that the tank needs to be cleaned weekly. We have a few fish in it now (2 x fintail barbs, 2 x gourami, 3 x cory cat) and we have had 2 pleko, 1 brab and a gourami die. The tank is about 3 months old now.

I took our water into the fish store we are using (Big Al's a popular chain fish store in Ontario) and they said our nitrate (I think) was very high and asked how much we are feeding and how much we have cleaned it. I told him we feed once a day but had only cleaned it twice in the eight week period

So... I have now cleaned (removed 25% of water) twice in the last 8 days. When I clean the tank it is chrystal clear afterwards, but when I return to work a couple days later the tank is cloudy again.

I'm just not sure what to do... Do I just keep going with cleaning it once a week and hope that the clarity improves as our fish tank maintenance improves?

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[Sniperhank]

If you are able to provide any parameters it would be beneficial. In terms of cloudy water, we talking white or green? If white, try running some activated carbon in whatever the filtration method you are using on this system...be it HOB or a canister filter...and it should clear up.
There will be less issues in the system as you keep up with the maintenance on the system, you are simply just playing catch up at this point most likely.

 

[TMRC Exotics]

The tank is likely experiencing a bacterial bloom. I would recommend switching to purigen, a bag is only 12$ and will last for up to 6 months. The carbon has likely expired after 3 months and as sniperhank suggested it could help. Your on the right track with water changes and I would continue 25-50% changes once weekly.

 

[jason9142002]

I work in a similar setting and I have the same problem with my tank.

 

[Pseudomugil]

Where do you live I'm going to Big Al's tomorrow!

 

[jason9142002]

Big Als

Where do you live I'm going to Big Al's tomorrow!

I live in nj. Where is big als?

 

[Pseudomugil]

I live in nj. Where is big als?

It's a popular large chain store in Ontario (and 2 in Alberta). There's quite a few of them scattered around near me.

The locations are:
Whitby
Scarborough
Missisauga
Brampton
Vaughan
North York
Newmarket
Barrie
Kitchener
Hamilton
London
Ottawa
Ottawa (there's 2)
Calgary
Edmonton

I myself have been to the Whitby, Scarborough, Newmarket, and Barrie locations. It's a great store and there's a ton of selection due to the size of every location. The largest ones are Scarborough and Missisauga.

 

[Edgerton]

Thanks for the suggestions.

If I were to put in some of the activated carbon, what would I do with it? Do you add it to the substrate in the filter??

Also, we use the Big Al's in Whitby. Its an awesome store but we have been rellying on the advice of their staff. Not sure how well trained or experienced they are as we have heard different and contradictory things from different staff.

 

[Edgerton]

Also, the cloudiness is mostly white but there is some green algea visible in the rocks at the bottom. With the light on the cloudiness appears very white, but with the light off it appears to have a ting of green.

 

[ImACoolguy]

"Fancy LED with thunderstorms" makes me think of a Finnex. Unless anyone else knows of another with thunderstorm mode?

Either way I'd say it's a plant LED. I didn't see live plants mentioned(could have missed it). In which case that LED is quite powerful for a tank with no plants. Hence the algae you are experiencing. How long are your lights on every day?

Id recommend getting your own liquid test kit. No more running to the pet store to have them test it. And we here on AA recommend the liquid kit over test strips because the accuracy of the liquid kit is much higher than strips and it's more cost effective.


Caleb

 

[PassengerTN]

Current Satellite+ has storm mode

Jesse

 

[Edgerton]

The light is an AI Hydra TwentySix. It was really expensive and comes with a remote that doesn't even work right. It has lunar cycles, storms, multiple timers you can set up and overall I would say it was a fancy addition that was a waste of money.

We are currently having the lights on anywhere from 8-10 hours a day. Because of shift work though there is many days where it is on much longer than that. I have been trying to educate staff on the fact that the lights need to be turned off everyday around 5... but when Im not here I have no idea whats happening. I will try and set up another timer with our fancy remote and hope that it works.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Holy moly Batman! That's a nice reef light you have there! Undoubtedly that's the source of your algae issues.

It's a very nice light but in this tank you're packing too much power. Instead of growing corals your growing algae.

You can either tone it down (if it's adjustable) or sell it and get a cheaper LED that's not so high powered.

As far as timers go, you can get a cheap wall timer from Walmart and it will work. Much easier to set than your complicated remote.


Caleb

 

[Edgerton]

OK, so now that I have my light sorted out - I have adjusted the lights all down to 20% and have put the UV lighting to 0% (Should I have a little bit of UV light on?).


But now that I realize the source of my algae growth... where do I go from here? Just continue with weekly cleanings until it has cleared up?


Thanks.

 

[ImACoolguy]

The biggest drawback for algae is cutting the light. You can cut back to 5 hours a day, 3, or none for a few days. You don't have plants so it's your choice. Cutting back will greatly help.


Caleb

 

[Stacey W.]

If the timer isn't working correctly then you can purchase a outdoor timer. Mine was $15.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Edgerton]

I did get the timer working correctly and with the lights adjusted as they are I came back to work after 3 days off and there is no new algae growth! So thanks for everyones help.


As far as the setting for UV light goes... should I leave it at 0 or is there an appropriate level of UV light that our tank will need?