Help pleeeease

[Trudi123]

I've changed my tank water about 4 times this week I went to pet shop yesty and she explained that I have now taken all the fish bacteria out of my tank so I need to cycle it again BUT.... she sold me a filter as well it's for a while tank 55 litres I think but it don't seem to be doing any good with clearing the cloudy water so what do I do I have put my fish in the tank as they have no where else to go please can someone tell me why my tank water is cloudy I've used tap safe n that clear water stuff but it's still murky I love watching my fish as they funny little creatures I'm going through a tuff time at minute and fish are keeping smiling ?? HELP... what can I do ,???
Waters been changed because had green water algae thought give it a thorough clean boy was I wrong ....

 

[Essjay]

Firstly, the woman in the shop is taking rubbish*. The bacteria live on surfaces not in the water so as long as you remember to add dechlorinator to the new water it is OK to water changes every day if you want.
Changing the filter would mean you need to cycle it again unless you used all the media from the old filter.
What are the ammonia and nitrite levels in the water? If they are both zero, the tank is still cycled.

Green water is a microscopic algae. You need to find out what's causing and rectify that to get rid of it.
How long are the tank lights on for?
Are there any live plants in the tank? If there are live plants, do you add fertiliser for them? What brand and how much?
How much do you feed the fish?




* Never believe anything a shop worker tells you until you have researched it for yourself. The majority of them haven't a clue and will say anything to make a sale.

 

[Colin_T]

If the water is a milky cloudy colour it is caused by a bacterial bloom that regularly occurs in new tanks that have lots of uneaten food in them.

The simplest way to fix the problem is to reduce feeding and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day until its clear.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before adding the new water to the tank.

As long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine and has a similar chemistry (pH, GH & KH) and a similar temperature to the tank water, you can change all the water every day if you like and it won't affect the beneficial filter bacteria living in the filter. However, it's preferable not to handle the fish so don't do a 100% water change. But 50-75% water changes are fine and help dilute the number of disease organisms in the water but they won't affect the good bacteria in the filter.

 

[luvthebadge]

Did you have a filter before or is this the first one? A new filter needs time to get established, help this along by using the old media from your old filter if you had one. Like said before by OP you need to do a water conditioner to get water ready for the tank. Prime works real good. Slow down on the feeding as well.

 

[Trudi123]

I used to feed my fish everyday but then I started feeding every other because I red about overfeeding and bouyancy blah blah so I feed every other day I also have had a filter in the tank before but it wasnt strong enough so I went n paid for 1 that was or so she said but it don't look like it to me also when the lights off the water almost looks like it's almost reflective like neon but when lights on its terrible I got that clear water but I used it yesterday n today nothing I'm scared to use it as well because it says on back do not overdose so arm bells go off like if in doubt don't do it kinda thing ...I had my light my light on alot before I got the green water n again googled it n they said as long asight is off at least 15 hours or summit so I've not had the lights on I'm desperate for solutions ..

 

[Essjay]

Green water is microscopic algae and like all algae it grows when something is not in balance. Too much light or even not enough light; too much food etc.
If there are no live plants in the tank, the light does not need to be on for more than a couple of hours - with no live plants the only use for the light is to enable us to see the fish.
Too much fish food will feed the algae with the left over food.
When you do a water change do you remove the debris from the bottom of the tank? Do you use the siphon tube to dig right down into the gravel?

As you have changed the filter are you monitoring ammonia and nitrite? If they are staying at zero, you can use a blackout to get rid of the floating algae but not if there is any trace of ammonia or nitrite. A blackout involves covering the tank completely with something thick so that no light can get in. It should be left there for 3 days, don't remove even a corner to feed the fish, they will be OK with no food for 3 days. But if there is ammonia/nitrite in the water you can't go without a water change for 3 days which is why you can't do a blackout if there is any.
The blackout starves the algae of light and they die. But unless the cause is resolved, it will come back.


It is never a good idea to use chemicals to solve a problem when the best solution is to change something about the way the tank is run.
If there is no ammonia/nitrite, do a water change and thorough gravel clean, then try the blackout. Afterwards, try reducing the lights to no more than 4 hours on.
I assume you don't have live plants (I can't see in the photo) but getting some will help as they will remove any nutrients and starve the algae. Even something like a few stems of elodea left to float will help.