Emergerncy! My Water Is Suddenly Cloudy!

[Kevinator]

I have a 29 gallon tank and it has suddenly turned cloudy to the point where I can see anything! I have an autistic son and this morning he decided to drop a dill pickle in the aquarium. My wife got it out as soon as possible. I cleaned the tank yesterday including change the filter. The water was fine for a while after she got the pickle out. In a matter of 5 to 6 hours it changed. I have lost 3 fish already. Any suggestions

 

[minxfishy]

Not sure what a dill pickle is, but if you are losing fish, I would do a large water change/gravel vac at least 50%.

 

[gaz gun man]

I think a dill pickle is a gherkin.

anyways, what did you do to the filter when you cleaned the tank?

 

[Kevinator]

I think a dill pickle is a gherkin.

anyways, what did you do to the filter when you cleaned the tank?

I threw the old one away and replaced it.

 

[Johng89]

the bad news is if you have removed the old filter media and threy it away you have removed teh good bateria that keeps the tank clean and you are now fish in cycling.

the bast way is fishless but assuming your son gets enjoyment out of the tank
I would look for a media doner in your area to speed up teh process of cycling

the cloudyness imo is an algae bloom

also details of tank size stocking etc may help others to assist

 

[Kevinator]

the bad news is if you have removed the old filter media and threy it away you have removed teh good bateria that keeps the tank clean and you are now fish in cycling.

the bast way is fishless but assuming your son gets enjoyment out of the tank
I would look for a media doner in your area to speed up teh process of cycling

the cloudyness imo is an algae bloom

also details of tank size stocking etc may help others to assist

What is a media doner?

Any way I have a 29 gallon tank (sorry I don't know my metric equivalent) with 2 large kissing gouramis, 3 serpae tetra, 3 neon tetras 4 zebra danios and 2 cat fish.

I have a 10 gallon tank that I am not using. It has been cycled in ages.

 

[Johng89]

A Media doner is someone in your area who is willing to give you some used filter sponges for new ones
normally you should offer to replace the media you have been given (usually 1/3rd of a sponge is safe to remove)

look in the forum for media doners in your area I think its in the beginners section

Some LFS will donate a used sponge if you buy a new sponge to replace them, normally this will speed up the cycling process as the used sponge is loaded with the bacteria that is needed to keep the tank good for fish. ( a good way to get a complete filter sponge)

Or

If you have a good friend that will give you some of the sponge from there filter again no more than 1/3 at any time should be removed from the total media content.


not sure about stocking levels but someone with more experiance should come along to assist on that front but i use 1 inch per gallon rule so you should be good with 29 inches of adult fish or less once the tank is fully set up

Hope this helps

J

 

[Kevinator]

I have had this tank for over 2 years and never had a problem like this.

Should I use my smaller tank until the problem in the larger tank?

 

[Johng89]

I have had this tank for over 2 years and never had a problem like this.

Should I use my smaller tank until the problem in the larger tank?

If the smaller tank is cycled with fish in it or being fed amonia to keep the bacteria going
you could use some of the filter media to boost your bigger tank

again you need better advice than i can give but its a good start for you

 

[gaz gun man]

I have had this tank for over 2 years and never had a problem like this.

Should I use my smaller tank until the problem in the larger tank?

The old filter media that you threw away was full of bacteria that was feeding on the ammonia created by your fish, by putting new media in there, you have lost all of that bacteria so the ammonia created is'nt being removed from the water, hence why you are losing fish (ammonia poisoning)

What state exactly has the smaller tank been in? specifically the filter Has it been running with fish in the tank? If not then it wont be cycled, and moving your fish over will cause them unnecessary stress and wont do anything to help your situation.

The best thing for you to do is regular water changes, Do you have a test kit?

 

[Kevinator]

I have had this tank for over 2 years and never had a problem like this.

Should I use my smaller tank until the problem in the larger tank?

The old filter media that you threw away was full of bacteria that was feeding on the ammonia created by your fish, by putting new media in there, you have lost all of that bacteria so the ammonia created is'nt being removed from the water, hence why you are losing fish (ammonia poisoning)

What state exactly has the smaller tank been in? specifically the filter Has it been running with fish in the tank? If not then it wont be cycled, and moving your fish over will cause them unnecessary stress and wont do anything to help your situation.

The best thing for you to do is regular water changes, Do you have a test kit?

The smaller tank has been operating without any fish.

I have a test kit and checked the levels. They are a little off specifically the PH level and amonia but nothing too abnormal.

I checked on the tank this morning and the cloudiness is starting to clear up.

 

[gaz gun man]

The smaller tank wont be cycled either then mate.

What tank did you test? The big one?

Have you checked for ammonia, nitrite and PH? what readings are you getting?