Salt???????

[fishylittlenemo]

I posted a topic about my water being cloudy. And I asked someone that knew some stuff about fish at work and said to put some salt in the tank. I have african cichlids, she said they're dirty fish and the salt will help take care of that and sorta the cloudy water. Also she said to try to use distilled water instead of our well water. What you pro's think about this??? Do you's agree or have other opinions? Tanks again

fishylittlenemo

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

AFAIK (and I'm no chichlid expert), they require hard water. I don't add salt to my tank at all, I'm pretty sure most people here wouldn't recommend it. it also won't clear your water.

If you want to use Distilled (or RO, same thing) you will have to buffer the water back up with a crushed coral substrate, or adding baking soda to the water to buffer up the hardness.

 

[Zagz]

Salt won't help clear up cloudy water. Cichlids can be dirty fish they need extra filtration. At least 10x water turn over minimum IMO. What filter are you running on what size tank? I could dig through the threads and find it, but it's easier to ask.

 

[fishylittlenemo]

I got the Whisper 30-60. I also have a 29 gallon tank.

 

[fishylittlenemo]

Oh yeah what u mean by 10x water turn over by the way lol ?? Sorry I'm new to some of there terms and i'm getting there lol.

 

[tropicfishman]

it means it has to cycle water through it 10 times the rate of a normal filter, upgrade to a filter for a 55 gallon and that should help, I don't know about adding salt

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Salt won't help. How long has the tank been running? Is it cycled? If it's a new setup, it can get a little cloudy til the tank matures and is cycled.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

10x turnover means it will turn over the colume of water 10x per hour. so the combined flow of your filter and powerheads should be 55 x 10 = 550 GPH

 

[Fishyfanatic]

What kind of Africans do you have? In general, they should not be housed in anything less than a 55 gal tank. Africans are messy, active, and aggressive. I agree on the minimum turnover rate of 10x per hour. Basically you want a filter that will filter 290 gph. And as the others have stated, the salt will not help with the cloudiness. The only thing that will is water changes. Do NOT use chemicals that claim to clear up the tank. It won't work.

What are your water parameters?

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Do NOT use chemicals that claim to clear up the tank. It won't work.

Yeah, I forgot to comment on this. A lot of chemicals that claim to clear up the water are coagulants, they work by binding the "cloud" together so it can be filtered.. unfortunately they can also bind gills, obstruct them.. lots of nasty things, Esp. if too much is added.

 

[fishylittlenemo]

Ok guys bare with me..lol i'm new to these terms but all the stuff in my tank were givin to me and i set all of it up and going in that day. Even the water was givin to me. My friend gave me all of this stuff. As for filters, I'm using a Whisper 30-60. I have a 29 Gallon tank. I have 3 african cichlids, a catfish and 2 sucker fish. I have that 3 piece cave that my friend made for them when he had them...i know they like caves and stuff but i'm expermentin to see if thats it, about having too much stuff in the tank. We have well water, and it has lime in it. I have pics on my profile you's can look at to see how i have it set up. Anything else you's want to know, i'll answer. thanks again

 

[SolarityBengals]

If the hue is greenish then its an algea problem. If its whitish then its cycling. Water changes are good for any reason.

 

[fishylittlenemo]

Being my water has lime in it i never thought of it...should i use distilled water. or when i do water changes should i add some of those chemical to make the water safe like the tetra stuff?? or just do the partial water changes to clean it up without any chemicals? and how many should i do to cure this cloudy water problem? thanx alot guys again

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The lime should not really be an issue. Our city water is LOADED with lime. It just leaves water marks if the water line is left too low.

When doing water changes, you don't really need to use dechlorinator since you are on well water. You may still want to use something like Prime to remove heavy metals.

Just keep up with the water changes, it will go away on its own.

 

[fishylittlenemo]

Ok. Now I have this thing i got from my kit that came with the tank, and its called AquaSafe, its by Tetra, now can I use that till I get prime or should i just wait til i get some prime and not mix with them??......thats the last question..lol....and thanks alot everyone for your help...couldn't of done anything with out you's.

fishylittlenemo

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Does the AquaSafe remove heavy metals? I've never used it, so I'm not sure. I highly recommend Prime because it lasts a LONG time. 1 ml per 10 gal compared to a capfull per 10 gal. Since you don't have chlorine or chloramines in your water, it's not a necessity everytime you do a water change.

 

[fishylittlenemo]

Yeah that stuff does remove heavy metals along with chlorine and chrolimne or however your spell it.lol so pretty much i just gotta keep doing these partial water changes from time to time and the cloudyness will go away.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

What color is the "cloud"?

 

[fishylittlenemo]

Well when you look at the tank in the front, its a hazey whitess. When you look at it from one of the sides, it has a green tint to it.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

It is just suspended algae.