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hey guys I need some help


Guest Speedy

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Guest Speedy

Hey guys just need some help with an issue I have with the water in my tank.

Now the water is clean and I have used chlorine neutriliser for the water straight from my kitchen tap... the tank has a charcoal filter and small heater to keep the water around 19-20°c for my goldfish as its cold where I live.

And welll uuuhhm the water seems to be cloudy not dirty cloudy either like its not crystal clear like I presume it should be... what would my problem be? Is there a chemical of some sort to remove this?

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there are things you can buy to clear water , i assume you mean it has a slightly milky appearance , clean but not clear......this can happen in new tanks or after a water change , just check your parameters and if there ok dont worry just give it a day or 2 and it should clear on ite own.

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Guest Speedy

Yes that sounds about it and what sort of stuff is it like water ager or something... the water does have the correct ph and slime content but... I also stirred the water up a bit putting the charcoal filter in today so maybe the filter will help it? And I have another tank that is doing the same thing its new water, infact new tank... and hope it settles so I can put guppies in it next week and start breeding them...

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B/azzis post reminded me that I did have one episode of this type that didnt resolve itself and I treated it with algae kill which cleared it in a couple of hours having said that I have also killed a tank full of guppy fry using the same med.

So if it does persist for more than a couple of days and you do decide to medicate then be aware that the cure can be worse than the cause...just thought id share ...

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What you might want to test, especially if you have fish in the tank at the moment, is ammonia. I know a lot of pet shops and aquariums advocate pH test kits and are forever going on about how important it is, and in some cases they are absolutely right but in most cases they are way off the mark. The main things you need to worry about are ammonia and nitrate. Goldfish produce a lot of it for their size, they are quite little messpots! :)

How much water did you change?

What size is the tank?

How many fish are in there?

Have you read anything on the process of "cycling" your tank? This is the process of building a waste management system for your fish. Your fish produce ammonia when they breathe and when they excrete solid waste, and because there is nowhere for this to go in a tank, you need a way to process it into something less problematic

Cloudy water is often a sign of detectable ammonia levels, especially in a new tank or a tank that has had a big water change or a change of filter. Ammonia can be very harmful to fish and deadly in high enough concentrations. Essentially it is like nappy rash on babies, except all over the fish and on the delicate gills too. It is very stressful for the fish and they'll often be seen gasping at the water's surface because their gills are too damaged to allow them to get enough oxygen the regular way.

Nitrite is the next step in the chain and is even more toxic than ammonia. It works a bit like carbon monoxie poisining, by sticking to the red blood cells and stopping them transporting oxygen around the fish's body, essentially suffocating it.

If you don't have an ammonia and nitrite test kit yet, I'd recommend you go and get one of each before you buy your fish, otherwise there is a good chance that your water will be unsafe for fish. With the kits, you can monitor where your water is at and know when it is safe and when you might need to take action to avoid a problem.

And don't worry about adjusting the pH with the powdery things in the test kit. Almost all commercially available fish are happy in a wide ph range and will adjust to whatever your tank normally is. Trying to keep it at 7 or 7.4 or whatever is an uphill struggle and will generally result in massive fluctuations (which is a BIG problem in pH because every change in number is a very big jump indeed!). Fluctuations = bad, fish don't cope all that well with those sorts of changes. A stable pH, even if it is technically the wrong pH, is a much much better option. If you need to adjust it up or down, there are safer, more stable ways than using uppers and downers :)

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Guest Speedy

Ok well I got some piks if it would help. My tank is 2ft by 20cm wide by 25cm high. Now how would I go about putting up a picture? I have 5 gold fish in this tank it doesn't seem to be crowded or anything but maybe it is?

img00026xx3.th.jpg

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Ahhh, that'd do it. :P It is really easy to get used to that many goldfish in a tank not looking crowded as that is exactly how they advertise those tanks. Those fish are only there for the photo shoot though, yours have to make this a working fishy habitat :P

With the amount of waste goldfish output, you are over the limit by about 4 goldfish. Minimum tank size (for the people who are happy to keep them in tanks) for medium-sized goldfish that gives enough margin for error and some amount of growing space is 30L each with a minimum of 60L. So 1 or 2 goldies in 60L, 3 in 90L etc etc. The idea of this is not only for swimming space but also to make sure there is enough water to dilute the waste.

It also looks like you have a filter in there that is powered by an air pump. Filters that are powered by air pumps aren't as efficient as those powered by motors. They are good for some tanks, but in this case I think you are underfiltering by a significant amount. There just isn't enough space in the filter (or the entire tank surfaces) to allow enough good bacteria to grow to process the waste. Is it some that sits in the corner or are you using an under gravel filter?

Quick fixes for now would be a 50% water change (don't clean the filter or gravel, just take half the water) and about 20% every 2 days after that to try and dilute what is in there. Adding 'stem' plants (the ones that look like a bunch of cuttings) like hornwort or even something rooted like lace fern would also help as the plants can suck up some of what the goldies are putting out.

If you can afford it, you need two more things. First would be a bigger tank, preferably around 4'. If you can't do that big, just get the largest you can. Second, you need a power filter with a lot of space for sponges and floss etc. Ideally that would be a canister filter, but if you can't upgrade the tank (canister would ake that tank a bit whirlpooly) then a hang-on (HOB) filter like an Aquaclear 30 or 50, or a Penguin Bio-Wheel 125 would be brilliant. Those brands in particular are known for good mechanics and big media space for waste processing. It still won't *really* be enough to let you keep 5 goldies in that size tank, but it'll go a long way towards improving conditions and getting rid of that nasty cloud.

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Guest Speedy

Ok well I have another tank the same size as that also with a heater that I got yesterday... what if I put 2 in each tank? And do a water change on the cloudy one? Hopefully the water is heated up enough by this morning so I can put 2 in it. Thanks a lot everyone... I hope to 1day breed fishys..

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