new tank

[anit]

I've got a 30 gallon tank, shortly after my fishies were added (african cichlids) the water has become quite murkey. Am not sure what I shoud do to solve the problem.......any advice would be greatly appreciated...

 

[talloulou]

How new is the tank? Is it cycled? What fish are in it? What are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?

 

[anit]

got the tank last friday, fish were added a couple days ago. have 3 cobalt zebra cichlids, and 3 yellow labsomethings, a couple snails and a plecko. dunno what the readings are.

 

[krap101]

what kind of murky is it? like brown? white?

 

[anit]

it's whitish murky

 

[rich311k]

The murkiness is probably from a bacteria bloom. Your tank needs to cycle. There is an article about the nitrogen cycle in the articles section of the forum. You are going to need a test kit. I would recomend the liquid master kit from Aquarium Parmaceuticals. It is a good kit that is easy to use.

Good Luck and Welcome to AA.

 

[Hrafnkel]

Bacterial bloom, maybe?

 

[Jchillin]

The tank ran for a week and the fish were added a couple of days ago. Adds up to bacterial bloom from what I can tell. How many fish did you add?

Since you haven't cycled the tank, you will need to do some large water changes. I would recommend doing a 30% immediately. Once you get the test kits...test for ammonia daily. PWC's will be frequent for a few weeks until the tank is completely cycled.

 

[anit]

new to the world of fish, what do you mean cycle?

 

[talloulou]

All established "cycled" tanks have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and nitrates pref under 40 ppm. Some people think nitrates should even be kept under 20 ppm.

A new tank will go through an ammonia spike and then a nitrite spike before both of these go to 0 and you have measurable nitrates. The ammonia and nitrites are toxic to the fish so you must do water changes during the cycle. Nitrates too can get too high in a tank if water changes aren't performed regularly to keep nitrates in check.

That's a really over simplified explanation but you can read more about it online or in books. Hope that helps.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Do you plan on upgrading the size of the tank?

Here's the run down on a cycle:
Fish produce ammonia.
Ammonia converts to Nitrites
Nitrites convert to Nitrates

Ammonia and Nitrites are deadly to fish if in high doses. Water changes need to be done daily with the type and number of fish that you have. During the next month or two you need to test your levels daily (excluding pH) to make sure ammonia and Nitrites dont get above 1 ppm. The fish that you chose are heavy waste producers, so be prepared for the daily water changes until the tank is cycled. It will be cycled when you have 0 Ammonia and Nitrites and present Nitrates. Watch your pleco because if it is a common it will get too big for your tank in no time.

 

[rich311k]

Here is the link to the article here about the Nitrogen Cycle.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=21

 

[anit]

will i need to upgrade the size of my tank?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Yes. They will need a 55 gal + tank. The cobalts need the swimming space. They are quick fish and need room to be able to dart around without hitting glass. The pleco can grow to 18 inches. That is if it is a common pleco. Do you know what kind you bought? The labs can tolerate smaller tank sizes, but I still wouldn't recommend anything less than a 55. Some people keep them sucessfully in a 29 gal, but IMO they don't thrive unless they are in a larger tank.

 

[anit]

didn't have any selection when i got the pleco, and quite sure it is a common pleco. what kind do you recommend?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Any of the dwarf plecos would be better because of their size. A bristlenose or rubbermouth stay small and are very cute.

 

[anit]

good news, cycled some of the water out, ok a good protion of it over the last couple days and the water is clear again......woohoo! only problem now is my snails keep digging up my (fake) plants!

thanks soooo much for your help!

 

[Guest]

dum dum da dum!!!!!!! The nitrogen cycle http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=21

so basically fish pee is ammonia, which is toxic. So once the ammonia builds up bacteria start growing to use the ammonia as food. They convert it to Nitrite... which is still toxic.. and some more bacteria start to grow that convert the Nitrite to Nitrate.. which is relatively harmless in small amounts. Once you start getting nitrates... Ammonia and nitrite levels drop to zero and voila.. cycled tank. Of course then comes the task of weekly-monthly water changes to keep the nitrates in check.. and use of plants is very helpful since they use nitrate as food.

Of course if you cycle with fish, you will have a bacterial bloom,which is the cloudiness you have now. Its usually whitish fog. Mine lasted for 2 weeks when i cycled with fish. But... there is a way to do a fishless cycle
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15
but since you already have fish, i would just continue the cycle as you have it... but don't be surprised if you have a few.. or a lot of casualties.

DO NOT add chemicals to remove ammonia from the water.. simply do water changes to keep the levels down and you might be able to save your fishies. Don't add chemicals to clear the water.. once your cylcled it will turn crystal clear.

HTH


EDIT: oops I missed the entire second page of this thread in which everything i said was already covered.... oh well, extra info can't hurt right? LOL

 

[happyhillbilly]

What kind of filter do you have?