Cloudy Water During Cycling

[Kalist]

Hi guys, sorry if this is a repetitive question but I couldn't find the answer.

I'm sure I read that cloudy water during cycling is ok (bacteria that hasn't found a spot to stay) but how long should the water be cloudy for? Mines been cloudy for about 6 days now..

Thanks!

 

[fifefish]

do you have the filter on?

 

[Kalist]

do you have the filter on?

Yes, the filter is on. It has been on for...6 days. I've transfered a ton of substrate from my mature tank to my new one, I've added the beneficial bacteria and some flake food and even have some ramshorn snails in there (treats for my clown loaches).

 

[Tropicoll]

A few questions if I may:

1. Do you have a test kit?
2. Do you know the current water stats?
3. Have you read the pinned thread on fishless cycling?
4. Do you have a heater in the tank?
5. What size is the tank?
6. What decorations are in the tank?

The cloudy water shouldn't be a huge problem if you have no fish in there but I don't know how a cycle would affect the snails. You're correct in that it is *probably* a bacterial bloom.

 

[Kalist]

A few questions if I may:

1. Do you have a test kit?
2. Do you know the current water stats?
3. Have you read the pinned thread on fishless cycling?
4. Do you have a heater in the tank?
5. What size is the tank?
6. What decorations are in the tank?

The cloudy water shouldn't be a huge problem if you have no fish in there but I don't know how a cycle would affect the snails. You're correct in that it is *probably* a bacterial bloom.

No test kit, getting one tomorrow likely so I will be able to update on stats then.

I've read the thread on fishless cycling.
There is a heater in the tank (current temperature is 24 C.
It's a 60 gallon tank.
The decorations include a few new plants and a log that I transfered from the old tank to the new one.
Filter is a fluval 304 with sponges, pre-filter media, carbon, and biomax.

The snails seem to be doing fine, I've seen them eat the flakes in there and they are laying a few eggs.

If it is just a bacterial bloom, when does it usually settle down?

Thanks for your response.

 

[waterdrop]

Well, sorry if I've missed some other thread of your story but it sounds like you've got some nice equipment and access to gravel from your other tank and other good things, but its just that you are maybe your goals and execution order are a bit off. You need to fishless cycle this new tank I'd think and we need to get the sequence straightned out.

First, you need to have a good test kit and already know how to use it ideally about the same time you start up with water. Also you need to have found the right type of pure household ammonia and that can sometimes be a bit hard to find. The reason you need these in hand is that your idea (I think!) of moving over some mature gravel, while good, lacks any food (ammonia) to keep this small colony of "seeding" bacteria in the gravel alive! Because gravel bacteria are not inside a filter with a flow of food (ammonia) and oxygen (water flow), there will not be very many of the beneficial bacteria.. but there would be enough to be a good small beginning seed for a fishless cycle with pure ammonia, I would think. Are you planning to use some mature media from your old filter (I may have missed this in another thread?)

The cloudiness (either because you disturbed old gravel by moving it, or because you're getting a bacterial bloom from the new availability of stirred up bacterial food) is not of any importance or significance to you. Assuming its a bacterial bloom, its simply the heterotrophic (the bacteria that convert organic materials into ammonia, not the beneficial bacteria we want) bacteria having a feast. The fish food you've added will simply add to that and make the process more confusing. Attempting to cycle with fish food is only recommended in unusual cases where people simply can't get their hands on household ammonia and is more or less a last-ditch method. Its so much easier to get an understandable result with pure ammonia!

Anyway, I may be way off base for your situation(!), but if not, hope this helps some. Clearly, getting a good liquid-reagent based test kit is a first step before you can know anything about what's going on.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Schmill]

Everything that waterdrop said, and also, if you have no fish in the tank that you are cycling, (which I am 99.99% you don't), wind the temperature up to 30 deg C whilst you do the cycle. Apparently the benficial bacteria prefer that temperature range to grow, just don't forget to turn it back down for your 'qualifying week' at the end

 

[Kalist]

Thanks guys, I will get my hands on a test kit, ammonia, and crank up the temperature. I thought I could do fish-food instead of ammonia but you've convinced me otherwise!

Thanks for the comments.

 

[waterdrop]

I'm picky, I like 29C And be sure you read rdd1952's pinned article a couple of times through. Get a couple of quantity marked syringes if you can at the drugstore for water and for ammonia. Get a spiral notebook or such to use as your aquarium log. Your regular tests are going to be ammonia, nitrite(NO2) and pH in the morning and evenings. During various phases of the cycling you can get by with particular and fewer tests but these are the main basic ones when in doubt. The members here will be great at keeping you rolling and answering questions. Post up your tap water test results as well as tank ones once you get that going.

~~waterdrop~~