A Bit Fed Up.

[PWW]

Good morning everyone, I am new on here.
I am retired and have for a long time been interested in having a Tropical Fish Tank, I do not have a lot of room but I bought one 6 days ago, one of the apparently most common ones, an ACQUA ONE 500.
Anyway my wife and myself done everything as the instructions said to do, before putting water in, including washing the gravel well until it was clear, then we put the water in and because it was tap water we used an additive to make the tap water safe.
So now we have cloudy water, no fish yet, we are not rushing into it, but the water is so greyish cloudy, I am to say the least ...fed up.
It seems, and correct me if I am wrong, after all I am a "newbie" to the hobby, but it seems as though it is definately an expensive hobby to start up with. Having to buy this and but that etc , we only wanted to keep a small amount of fish in a tank, we certainly did not want all this "hassle", and we are not made of money to keep spending it on this.

I or we do still have an interest and although it has been dented now, with the setting up procedure and cloudy problems, we will build our interest up again. We cannot have a lot of fish in a tank this size and I do know that, but thats fine not a problem, it is just that we want what we can have without all this messing around.

Sorry to be so fed up in my first post, but I think a forum like this will be valuable to a "newbie" like me.

Peter.

 

[the_lock_man]

I think it's probably a bacterial bloom, which will disappear within a few days. Perfectly normal.

How are you cycling your filter (ie growing the bacteria which will process the ammonia produced by your fish) ?

 

[KittyKat]

Yes, it is probably only a bacterial bloom. These are harmless and will go within a few days without you needing to do anything.

Please do read about cycling and do a fishless cycle or at least seed the filter, there is a list of filter media donors on here somewhere

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to do a *lot* or research because it will save you money and time (and also possibly the lives of your fish). Once you get the hang of things, it is not an expensive hobby, especially if you make sure that you know what you're doing.

I have created a list of small fish species, some of which are suitable for your aquarium, I hope it is of use to you: http/aquariumadventure.wordpress.com/species-for-a-60-litre-aquariums/

 

[PWW]

Hello, "er" sorry you have lost me there. The filter is one which is on the side of the tank with two rubber suckers and it has two speeds, fast and slow, at the moment I have got it on slow.

 

[Greg_DS]

This exact thing happened to me, not an expert, just started like yourself, it will clear itself eventually, mine took around 10 days or so but it happened thankfully.

Just keep doing the water changes and I use a little gravel cleaner : http/www.seapets.co.uk/products/aquarium-supplies/aquarium-ornaments/cleaners/gravel-cleaners-and-syphons/easy-clean-gravel-cleaner-mini.html

Stick with it, the early weeks seem to be the worst.

P.S I got disheartened myself but now things seem to be settle down I'm glad I done it!!

 

[PWW]

Thanks for the replies folks, I think in the end it will definately be worth it, I like to see a nice tropical fish display, I can look at them for hours.

I was jsut taken aback first by the intial expence and then getting the cloudy water.

I am not going to be impatient and will take my time.
I might have given the wrong impression about me in my first post...."winjing" already LOL.

Sorry.

 

[KittyKat]

Hello, "er" sorry you have lost me there. The filter is one which is on the side of the tank with two rubber suckers and it has two speeds, fast and slow, at the moment I have got it on slow.

Do you know of the nitrogen cycle? You probably learnt about it at school (usually along the lines of cows poo, bacteria help the poo decompose, poo eventually becomes fertiliser for the grass, grass grows, is eaten by cows and back to the start). Poo is basically ammonia. Inside an aquarium, these bacteria live on "filter media" (all the sponges and things inside the filter). A "cycled filter" is a filter which contains bacteria which turn ammonia (poo) into nitrite and nitrite into nitrate (fertiliser). If the filter is not cycled, the fish are swimming about in their own poo, which is toxic to them. So we "cycle" the filter to grow these good bacteria. There are a few different methods of doing this, but *all* of them involve adding ammonia to the water in one way or another (i.e. feeding the bacteria with ammonia: more food -> more bacteria).

You can read information about various cycling methods here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

I recommend that you use the method we call "fish-less cycle" to grow these good bacteria.

No, LFS (local fish shops) won't tell you all of this because they would rather see you spending your money buying replacement fish when yours die from ammonia or nitrite poisoning.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Hi, welcome to the forum & to the hobby. Your tank is 65 litres or 17.2 us gallons which is a lot bigger than most begginers buy (I bought a 10 gallon), they then find it to hard to keep stable & give up. Yours should be a lot better.

As Kitty Kat has said, please read up on the Nitrogen Cycle in aquariums. You can use a link to our beginers guide, KK has posted one above ^, & there is one in my sig below v.

You can always google Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle.

I know it seems like a lot of hastle but take it slow & methodical & the results will be well worth it.

Remember, every single one of us on this site had to start at the begining, so any problems you come acros will have happened to at least one of us in the past.

Oh yea & your cloudy water is a Bacterial Bloom. Perfectly normal & will clear up in a day or so.

Tom

 

[PWW]

Thanks everyone, "phew" will have to get "the old grey matter" working well on this one LOL.
But it is all very interesting. Anyway I will have to go for the time being, got to take "er indoors" shopping
But I will keep an eye on the forum, it seems as if you are a very friendly and helpful bunch LOL.

Thank you again, feel better already

Peter.

 

[the_lock_man]

I might have given the wrong impression about me in my first post...."winjing" already LOL.

Sorry.

Don't worry - the thing is, you have now entered a world where no-one has an axe to grind (unlike the aquatic retailers). People here just want what's best for your fish and aquarium. You have experts like m'learned colleage KittyKat, and many others, who will happily give away any piece of knowledge they have gained over the years, simply to help you out of whatever predicament you find yourself in.

As KK says, the vast majority of people on here recommend fishless cycling. The precis is that fish produce ammonia in their waste. This ammonia is highly poisonous. But there are two colonies of bacteria which eat the ammonia, and process it (via nitrite) into nitrate which at low concentrations is not toxic. In the "good old days" the only way of growing those bacteria colonies was to bung some fish into the aquarium, let them produce ammonia, and hope that not too many died.

These days, you can put bottled household ammonia in to the tank, to simulate the presence of fish, and thus allowing the bacteria to grow, without harming any fish - cos we're nice kind humane people.

The link that KK posted - there's a number of articles listed there which are perfect reading for newcomers to the hobby. I definitely recommend you read them - and ask whatever questions you want.

But it is all very interesting. Anyway I will have to go for the time being, got to take "er indoors" shopping

Good luck with that one!

 

[Mowbz]

Sounds like you have all the advice you need from the above posts, but i can relate to your downheartedness, the first few months really are the hardest with geting eveything off the ground, but little bacterial blooms are nothing to worry about really. If you change all of the water and leave the filter on high for a few hours it will likely go immediately, or it will clear up on its own after a few days.

Stick at it, and keep posting!

oh, and

 

[HayzH]

welcome Peter..i am currently cycling 3 ...yes.. 3 tanks...its not a quick set up hobby...BUT it will be ssooooo worth it in the end!

Its a good idea to start a cycle log, mine are in my Signature at the bottom of this post...this way, you and us can keep an eye on it and make sure its going swimmingly..

1st 2 things you need to buy...it Jeyes household Ammonia 9.5% (online or boots online or homebase) AND a fresh water testing kit..

and the best piece of advice...... dont listen to ANYONE in the LFS!!!(local fish shops)..these guys/girls on here know the RIGHT way to do it! xx

 

[fishyfeet]

I think no one starting this hobby realises how many problems you can get fish keeping, and i remember thinking what next
but once it all starts to sink in and make sense you can see how and why you get the problems you do and sometimes you feel really silly when you realise what you just did, however we were beginners once and prob made the same mistakes, one day you will be able to help someone in your position.

 

[laura120381]

hi peter,

don't worry!!! we all get a bit dis heartened at first. i have been doing this for 8 years+ and still get depressed when i have to wait whilst my tank cycles etc. think we are all the same...impatient!! as mentioned, it is not the quickest hobby to get set up in but once your tank is cycled and stabilised, it becomes a lot less stressful! also +1 on not listening to staff in your lfs!! most of them probably failed their birth certificates!! keep going with the cycling, have a read at all the beginners threads, and post any questions you have. we are all here to help!

L

ps - re: the shopping...buy her something nice and she'll let you get great fish when your tank is ready!!

 

[Tizer]

I normally buy my wife something to help her clean the house better, or some replacement cloths for dusting.