Kymmie Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Please please help me you brilliant all knowing fish experts. I set up my new tank 4 months ago. I knew nothing about "cycling" your tank. That was the first and only time my eater has been clear. I have watched numerous videos and read multiple articles what a tank requires and my water is still cloudy. I have used multiple different products (not all at the same time) to get the water in my tank happy. I've even let it be for a month to see if that would cause a water correction. I have a mechanical filter with floss filter, the round ceramic filters, charcoal filters. I've allowed for the filter to get gross to help the cycle....... I test everyday because I am afraid for my fish's health and wellbeing because my water is constantly cloudy. All of the tests have been in the normal parameters except I have never seen a change in the nitrate level. My fish eats like a champ and appears healthy. I do not overfeeding. I feed Goomba 1 pellet at a time so that's not an issue. I am at my wits end. I want to enjoy a clear beautiful tank were I can see my Goomba swimming around happily. I feel I have tried everything. Please help me. Thank you all 😊 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 On 6/5/2024 at 10:35 PM, Kymmie said: Please please help me you brilliant all knowing fish experts. I set up my new tank 4 months ago. I knew nothing about "cycling" your tank. That was the first and only time my eater has been clear. I have watched numerous videos and read multiple articles what a tank requires and my water is still cloudy. I have used multiple different products (not all at the same time) to get the water in my tank happy. I've even let it be for a month to see if that would cause a water correction. I have a mechanical filter with floss filter, the round ceramic filters, charcoal filters. I've allowed for the filter to get gross to help the cycle....... I test everyday because I am afraid for my fish's health and wellbeing because my water is constantly cloudy. All of the tests have been in the normal parameters except I have never seen a change in the nitrate level. My fish eats like a champ and appears healthy. I do not overfeeding. I feed Goomba 1 pellet at a time so that's not an issue. I am at my wits end. I want to enjoy a clear beautiful tank were I can see my Goomba swimming around happily. I feel I have tried everything. Please help me. Thank you all 😊 I've got a couple follow-up questions that I think will help us to help you. What size tank do you have? What kind of filter do you have? What substrate is in the tank? Do you have any wood in there? Can you post a photo or two? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 Thank you for responding!🌟 It is a 6 gal. tank, I have a Whisper for a 10 gal. tank (I don't know if they make one smaller), I have placed the ceramic balls in the filter with the charcoal and floss. I have red tank pebbles, no wood or live plants. I have put almond leaves in there for my fish now and again. I read its good for them. Thank you so so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 It has been this cloudy since a week after I had it set up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikv6 Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 (edited) What is your ammonia reading? Better yet...please list all your parameters from your last test, and your water change schedule. (How much/how often) To me...It looks like a bacterial bloom. The frothy bubbles worry me a bit more than the cloudiness...as they can sometimes indicate the presence of ammonia. I have had milky water in my axolotl tank, but it was a mature established tank. Ammonia readings read 0, and there were not bubbles at the surface. I never figured out the root cause, but the water cleared up with time, and smaller than usual water changes. Edited June 6 by quikv6 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 Thank you for your response 🪻 carbonate 80ppm, ph 7.2, hardness 100ppm, total chlorine 0ppm, free chlorine 0ppm, nitrate 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm. I just did a 15% water change 2 days ago. My fish is ok, no signs of illness I can tell. I already have 1.5" water evaporateion from then. If any of my tests are a little too high for my comfort, I add distilled water that I have warmed up to my tank temp of 79*. I don't have a change schedule because I've been trying to leave the water alone as per some advice in articles. The water change I just did was the first in a month. I do add water due to evaporation and make sure I add the recommended conditioner, quick start, and stress zyme. Thank you very much for your help 🌟 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 do you have an ammonia test? looks like a lot of foamy bubbles on top, and that could be ammonia, and thats a priority to fix if it is. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 I don't have an ammonia test kit. I will buy one now. Would that cause the cloudiness? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 (edited) You shouldnt face ammonia after 4 months anyway under normal conditions. there must be something causing it. Maybe something you use leeches to the water column? Once I moved 3 cycled sponges to my new discus tank and the cycle always crashed. I thought it was the breeding cone I added. I took the whole tank down, washed it with hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar. Threw everything yo trash previously in it. No matter what I do, cycle was never there. I set it up from zero. Moved in only a single established filter this time. Never had issues ever again. If I were you I would set up the tank from zero and dont use anything in it. No way this is normal. This sort of cloudiness should go away in couple days. 4 months is huge Did you by any chance use cleaning products of any kind at any point? Edited June 6 by Lennie 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 Thank you so much for your response 😊 I didn't use any cleaning products. I used boiled water to clean it. I am more than happy to start from zero! What should I do with my Goomba while the fresh tank is cycling? I appreciate your and everyone's input! I have been racking my brain about this. When you say established filter what does that mean? Do I use the one I'm using now no cleaned? How do you establish a filter when this is my only tank? Sorry, such newbie questions 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Did you wash the decorations that you put in the tank? The plastic plants and gravel etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 I did with hot water and vinegar. 👍👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Definitely check the ammonia levels, I have more confidence in the liquid ammonia test kits than the test strips. If you take a cup of cloudy water in a white container does the water have a green cast to it? If so it can be the beginning of an algae bloom. The most likely culprit though is not enough filtration surface area and bacteria on that surface area. Biorings, ceramic media etc is marketted with the claim of extreme surface area which it theoretically has due to all the microscopic pores. In actual use though many people suspect the biofilm blocks off that theoretical surface area so that the effective surface area is far less. I do not use any ceramic type media as my inclination is that they are not terribly effective. I use sponges and nylon pot scrubbers as my biomedia. you might simply add a sponge filter and patience to your tank after confirming no ammonia levels and no algae bloom. Within a few weeks your heterotrophic bacteria colony on the sponge filter will clear up your water. I sometimes get cloudy water in a quarantine tank after adding quarantine meds. I have woken up to water so cloudy I thought the tank was frosted. I usually let it sit that way for another day or two after testing for ammonia and nitrites, and then put in a well cycled sponge filter in that I keep in another tank just to have a cycled sponge filter on hand. This usually greatly improves clarity within 12 hours and has the water crystal clear within 36 hours. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 Awesome! When you say sponge, do you mean a normal kitchen dish sponge? Is there anyway to cycle a filter without a separate tank? Thank you! 🪻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/aquarium-co-op-coarse-sponge-filter?variant=29459429195845 Now adding a fresh one in without it already being cycled will not clear your water up in 36 hours. It will take a few weeks for a bacteria colony to grow to sufficient numbers to do the job…. That is where patience comes in to play… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikv6 Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 There is no need to start from scratch at all. Priority-wise, you should test for ammonia. The cloudiness and foamy bubbles could (keyword: could) indicate the presence of ammonia. Furthering that, you have 0 nitrates, which could indicate that you tank in not cycled, or the cycle has been disrupted. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 You have been so helpful and patient 😊 how would you describe a cycled filter? A dirty filter? You explain things in a way I can understand. Thank you! Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 I have never had nitrates, at least per the test strip. I have purchased 2 different ammonia test kits. If I've had ammonia this long in my tank, I'm shocked my Goomba has survived. I have mostly been replacing evaporated water. I've waited and waited for my water to cycle without water changes (except for the recent 15% change) for a month now. Does it really take that long? 🌟💯👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 I'd do a couple gallons of water changing every day for a week and see how things look, maybe even twice a day for a couple of days. Like others are saying above, the bubbles is concerning. It's common with medication, but it doesn't sound like you've put any meds in there. I haven't used Melafix in 20 years, but I think that also caused bubbles as I recall if you happen to have put any of that in. But the bubbling is likely to be from ammonia if you haven't added anything like that. Botanicals can also cause cloudiness, I've not seen it from leaves, but have seen it with alder cones. I wouldn't expect it to last a month. Changing water will fix all of the above issues unless ammonia is in your tap water. You should also test your tap water to make sure you don't have ammonia in the tap water. You've not had nitrates, have you ever had nitrites on your tests? Fish can be remarkably hardy sometimes, but that doesn't mean he's not right on the edge of having a problem. What kind of testing are you doing? Strips? If so what strips? I don't really trust pH tests on strips personally, it's possible that your water might have a pH that isn't conducive to BB growth. But I wouldn't necessarily expect that to be a real issue. A cycled filter would be a filter from a tank that has an established bacterial colony. You've almost got to have some bacteria established, but it sounds like you've done a lot of *stuff* in the past month. I'd hit pause on messing with anything other than changing water and testing daily for a couple weeks. You might have to keep on top of water changes for awhile (a few weeks). 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 On 6/6/2024 at 7:30 AM, Kymmie said: You have been so helpful and patient 😊 how would you describe a cycled filter? A dirty filter? You explain things in a way I can understand. Thank you! Thank you! A cycled filter means we have established a colony of helpful bacteria on the filter. The bacteria breaks all of the waste from our pets and plants down into food for our plants in the case of planted tanks, and into non toxic products that get removed during your water charges. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 Thank you! But is it a filter that been used for a while? Do you know it's cycled when a water test shows slight nitrates? This is where I get massively confused. 🥴 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kymmie Posted June 6 Author Share Posted June 6 (edited) jwcarlson, I appreciate all of your advice and knowledge! I am using test strips. I have never had nitrites either. I have done a lot of "stuff" lol. I am completely guilty. I've been just so frustrated that I have had this ugly cloudy fish tank for so long. So, if during my water changes I test and the ph is off, or the hardness is high, etc. stiff like that. Do I leave it be or try to correct it? Again, this is where I get confused. My newby-ness is shining through 😊 You all are so awesome! Edited June 6 by Kymmie To attach a pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 We were all beginners once; stick around and you'll be giving the advice here soon enough! In the meantime, here's the Aquarium Co-op's explanation of the nitrogen cycle and 'tank/filter cycling': For this tank, the hope is that you'd have seen measurable nitrite first, then measurable nitrate, which would have shown that the bacteria were processing the ammonia from the fish's waste and respiration into first nitrite, then nitrate. That you haven't ever measured any of those, especially nitrate, suggests that the filter may not have enough bacteria to process the amount of waste your fish is expelling. That's what we mean by "cycled" or "established" filter. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Four months of cloudy water, with 0 nitrite/nitrates does sound very strange. If Goomba is using all of the tank, I would not worry about the filter. You can cycle a filter in any container, but that also will not shorten the time required. Your LFS may be willing to give you some used filter media. I would begin very small water changes about twice a week. I would also give Goomba an extra pellet or two, and watch the ammonia. You are trying to do a fish in cycle. Extra food= extra waste= extra ammonia... I know the question has already been asked, but if you remove a cup or two of water from the aquarium in a white container, what color is it? If the water has a pink tint, than the problem is probably the gravel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 On 6/6/2024 at 11:28 AM, Kymmie said: jwcarlson, I appreciate all of your advice and knowledge! I am using test strips. I have never had nitrites either. I have done a lot of "stuff" lol. I am completely guilty. I've been just so frustrated that I have had this ugly cloudy fish tank for so long. So, if during my water changes I test and the ph is off, or the hardness is high, etc. stiff like that. Do I leave it be or try to correct it? Again, this is where I get confused. My newby-ness is shining through 😊 You all are so awesome! most of the time, you are way better off not trying to correct water parameters. that in itself can lead to all kinds of ups and downs in the tank. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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