lovethosefish

Hello , My levels in my 75 gallon have been normal for about aweek now . I chk them again this morning and they were still normal . but my water is looking a little foggy . I dont understand why . Fish seem happy , but I dont know why it looks foggy or how to make it clear again . Do any of you have any ideas or tips for me , it would be greatly appreciated .

susitna-flower

Can you tell us what the results of your tests are.

What are you using to test the water?

lovethosefish

I use the strips to test the levels .

KittieKat

how long has it been set up when did u put the fish in??

lovethosefish

The tank has been set up for about 6 wks , have had fish for about 5 wks

lovethosefish

The water has been clear for about 2 wks . Then this morning it was looking a little foggy . We lost a pleco on tues. Havent seen it at all . Thought maybe it jumped out and dog or cat got it . But if it is in the tank dead , wouldnt my watet get cloudy . I moved every thing except some boulders in the tank looking for it , now I am wondering if it is under there dead .

lovethosefish

How exciting , just went to my tank to look @ my pleco , only to discover there are 2 . He is back ! Denzel #2 is sitting right next to Denzel#3 . How cool is that ? HE IS ALIVE !
By the way my 3yr old named them ( his name is Denzel ) LOL

KittieKat

lol thats soo cute... glad to hear that they are okay.. dont know what to say about the cloudiness tho.. other than use a de-clouder.. better yet to a water change wait a day and do another one.. that usally takes care of all my problems

susitna-flower

I am very glad you found your first pleco! As to your question of why your tank is cloudy. Sounds to me like it is trying to adjust to the added fish load.

Most here don't recommend using test strips, they don't give accurate results on your water tests. You won't really know what condition your water is in until you test with a reliable system. I would suggest getting an API Master test kit. then post the results for:

Ammonia?
Nitrite?
Nitrate?

What fish do you have in your tank, and how many of each?

Sounds to me, since you didn't cycle your tank before you introduced fish, you are getting ready for a disaster. Your tank is in a bacterial bloom, which is good in that the bacteria are trying to catch up, but it also means that you are either having an ammonia or nitrite spike. That can be fatal for your fish.

The long and short is until you get the new test kit, you need to be doing between 25-50% water changes every day....

Really take a serious look at taking one of those plecos back to the LFS, if they are common plecos, as they get HUGE, and are really big waste producers. Good Luck

lovethosefish

I know I will have to many inches of fish as adults , but my husband is getting a 150 gallon in the basement ( the hole ) . So they will be thinned out in the next couple of months .
MY BABIES
2 balloon mollies 6inches
2 swordtail 10inches
1 silver molly 3inches
1 black molly 3inches
3 dalmation mollies 12inches
4 striped danio 8inches
2 platy 4inches
1 large angel 6inches
1 gold gourami 6inches
1 blue gourami 5inches
1 female betta 2 1/2inches
2 pleco 36inches
1 ropefish ( eel ) 18inches
2 albino sharks 12inches

so I come up with 143 inches of fish as adults . So yeah they will absolutley have to be thinned out in the next couple of months .
Some of them were added last night .
I think I might have over feed them , so I think I will do a partial water change tonight or tomarrow . Do you think I need to clean my filter or my glass on the inside of the tank ? Will the plecos clean the glass , or am I expecting to much from them in such a big tank ?
I really do think I over feed them last night , so I think I will hold off on giving them food today . You think it would be ok , if I dont feed them till tomarrow afternoon ?

sirdarksol

You mentioned on another thread that the water is still cloudy in this tank.
The usual reason for cloudiness is a bacterial bloom. If the cloudiness is green, then you're looking at an algae bloom. A bacterial bloom is normal. It happens when the number of bacteria suddenly spikes at the end of the nitrogen cycle. Drastic changes in the tank can do this, too, as can overstocking.
Based on how long the tank has been running, end-of-cycle bloom seems to be the most likely. It should go away. It took my tank about a week to clear up. The important thing is to be doing regular partial water changes and be vacuuming the substrate. This will keep there from being an excess of waste to feed the bloom. Eventually, the bacteria colony will stabilize, and have just enough to take care of the ammonia without having so many that they cloud the water. Nothing you can really do to help this other than keep the tank healthy in all other aspects.

lovethosefish

I will be so glad when this process is complete . I am really tired of looking at cloudy water . I have some very vibrant colored fish that WOULD be beautiful in some clear water . My fish dont seem to mind the cloudy water and everyone is doing well .
My levels are all within safe zone , but I do catch myself testing the water on a daily bases cause I am so worried about my babies . Will really be glad when my water is clear . Thanks for the advice , I did clean the bottom of the tank last night and did a partial water change . Found a baby black molly in the filter ,so someone had babies .
Put our first grandchild in a seperate tank hopeing he will survive ( SO CUTE ). My friend @ my lfs told us to keep the lights off for awhile too. He also said it sounds like a bacteria bloom and to be patient . So I guess I have no choice but to be patient.