Help Pleas...

[jayling]

Hey i need somehelp on determining the status of my tanks murky water...
I have had my tank for 4 days and it has been fairly murky,

1. I washed all the rocks throughly
2. Just added new plants
3. Also added sufficient oxygen input through the use of air curtain and air rocks
4. Have an internal filter, heater and fluorescent light
5. Tank size is approximately 150Litres.
6. Completed Ph testing and successfully change water to a neutral 7PH
7. No fish are currently in the tank

Would appreciate any help determing why it is murky and ways to clean and clear up the water..



Your in Fish.....
Josiah....

 

[dwarfgourami]

When you say murky, do you mean actually brown, or cloudy with little particles in it? Is there any bogwood in the tank? What is the substrate and how thoroughly did you wash that? What are you doing in terms of cycling the tank- have you just filled it and let it sit? A little cloudiness is common in new tanks and probably nothing to worry about, but we might as well try to pinpoint the cause.

 

[jayling]

Thanks alot for the fast reply.
.. Its just cloudy no real particles
.. Yes i have driftwood in the tank
.. I cleaned the gravel fairly well, i run it under water for ages making sure it was clean
.. I have just filled it and let it sit
.. In terms of cycling i will cycle 25% of the water in the next couple of days
.. And just put in to small bunches of

i think this is the species of plant its called Green Cabomba i think...

so yeah thanks for your help... it maybe nothing to worry about just needed some expert advice

yours in fish...
Josiah

 

[2day]

maybe it is just the driftwood in the tank... Is there any tinge to the tank (eg brown)??

 

[jayling]

maybe it is just the driftwood in the tank... Is there any tinge to the tank (eg brown)??

no, theres is no real tinge to it, just basically cloudy...

One more question im sure you will no...
Im going to buy neon tetra's first is this a good idea, and if so how many should i start with..??

Thanks
Yours in Fish..

 

[SuperColey1]

Neon Tetras are not hardy enough for a new fish tank

Better something like a couple of platys

You need to get some ammonia boost from your LFS to start the cycle properly.
The filter needs some ammonia to commence the bacteria growth, then add fish slowly so that the filter can build up its bacteria as the ammonia increases.

You could do with a test kit so you can tell when the ammonia is 0 and the nitrite is 0. The plants should help keep the nitrate down.

I'm no expert, I got told all this when I started.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Right, there are three ways to cycle a tank:

either cycle with fish: add a few hardy fish (not neons, they go in later). Something like platies (though not as hardy as they once were) or danios or black widow tetras. A ratio of about 1 inch of fish per 5 gallons of water. Keep testing the water for ammonia and nitrites once a day and do a partial water change when they go over 0.5 ppm.

or do a fishless cycle, keep adding household ammonia on a regular basis- read pinned topics for method. Do not add any fish until the daily tests show that ammonia and nitrites have both gone up and then gone down to the point where there is no sign of either 24 hours after last dose of ammonia, then large water change, then add fish. Never add ammonia to a tank containing fish.

or clone it by adding filter media from an established tank if you have contacts (we do have a pinned topic with locations of willing donors)

Cloudy water should settle and is probably nothing to worry about.