New member with a problem!

[Fancygoldfish86]

Hi everyone

My name is Laura. I am from the UK. I have a 65 litre fish tank which I have had for three weeks. I upgraded from a 27 litre fish tank to a 65 litre.

I have one fancy goldfish, 3 white cloud minnows and 1 platy.

I have got green water at the moment and it's very very cloudy! I think it may be due to using a new tap safe last week, it's a different brand to the one I was using. Does mixing different brands of tap safe cause a reaction in the tank?

All fish are fine and seem happy. I had my water tested today and these are the readings I received:-

PH 7.6
Ammonia 0 (trace)
Nitrite 2ppm
Nitrate 20ppm

Can anyone help explain these readings to me as I don't understand. I have only been fish keeping for six months and never experience water problems as bad as this!

I have been advised to do partial water changes every other day for a week. Removing 6 litres at a time. I have also gone back to my original tap safe as I feel changing to a new one last week may be a factor.

All help appreciated. Thank you!

Laura x

 

[MJSerik]

Goldfish needs a bigger tank, and heavy filtration

 

[Fancygoldfish86]

The tank is very big and was only upgraded a few weeks ago. I was advised by an aquatics centre to buy the 65 litre tank. I am not sure it's tank size it's huge!

 

[mistersprinkles]

The tank is very big and was only upgraded a few weeks ago. I was advised by an aquatics centre to buy the 65 litre tank. I am not sure it's tank size it's huge!

65 litres is only 15 gallons. That's actually quite tiny. It's 24X12" right?
If you had a 65 gallon aquarium (3x2 feet or 4 feet x 18") that would be another story.

Your tank is not big enough for goldfish. They require a minimum of 30 gallons (roughly 120 litres). They also require very heavy filtration.

Your cloudy green water is due to an algae bloom. You likely have too many nutrients in your water and your lights are likely on for too long at a time.
Dechlorinator/tap safe has nothing to do with it.

Also your fancy gold fish is a warmer water fish as is the platy. The white clouds are cold water fish.

As far as advice on aquariums and fishkeeping are concerned, never take the local fish store's word for it. Always ask on a forum, wait for many answers to come in, and go with the most common suggestion out of those answers.

 

[Fancygoldfish86]

Thank you very much! That is fantastic advice. I've been told by a few people that it is algae bloom. I have turned the lights off. I do have them on for a very long time in the day. I am restricting their food too. You have been very helpful thanks.

 

[jlk]

Welcome to AA!!

65l is a big improvement over 27l for these guys! However, just realize you will likely need to upgrade further in the near future.

The white clouds are perfectly fine with the fancy right now. The only potential issue is them becoming dinner when the fancy grows. Do you know what type of fancy he or she is?

Feel free to ask any and all questions!

 

[Fancygoldfish86]

Thanks very much for your post. I will be sure to ask any questions again should I need to, fishkeeping is not as easy as people think, I have certainly been educated over the last 6 months!