gilly2402

hi all sorry i havent been on a while but been away for long weekend so i thought i would check in and tell you all wats going off with my tank.... the white mist is still here cant seem to ged rid of it and now i have brown marks on some of the gravel thats nearest the window i also did a water change to see if that helps... no joy ive tested the water and here are the levels for 09/04/07 ph=7.6 amm=0.25 nitrite=0 nitrate=0 any advise or questions please let me know

Gargoyle

Are you using any kind of biological filtration booster ?? Sorry if I missed it but what kind of filter do you have on this tank ??

Ignore the brown stuff for now..

gilly2402

hi gargoyle nice to hear from you .... thanks for interest ....my filter is a stingraya-140 i think. its more than enough for the tank so i dont think its the filter like april said its just a bloom but i am worried about the brown spots on gravel ...any ideas what it is many thanks gilly by the way lol the answer to question is ... i dont use any biological filtration booster ... do u think i should?

susitna-flower

The brown spots are diatoms, a brown algae, that is common in new tanks, and will clear usually on it's own as the tank matures. Is your water still cloudy?

Land of the Midnight Sun 8)

gilly2402

hi april hope u ok and well... yes the tank is still cloudy but not as much, im gonna do a 25% water change tonite when i get home from work

susitna-flower

Butterfly

See there you just justified getting the new tank! The Balas need it Keep up the good work, spread MTS
Carol

Gargoyle

I like to use something like cycle or whatever equivalent you can find... I also DO NOT change the water very often during cycle time as it will make the cycle take much longer to propagate. I normally do a 20 to 40% water change each week depending on levels. But please keep in mind I have used a biological filtration booster on the last 4 tanks I have cycled with much success and no fish death (except 2 from meijer which I believe were very sick when we got them).

No as far as the brown stuff.. Like the other have said it is simply a side effect of your biological filtration getting up to speed. On 3 of the 4 tanks I have started this year all of them got the brown stuff on the gravel ornaments and glass only to have it all disappear a few weeks later and then a week after that I got some nice green algae in a few spots... So no biggie there...

So I hope that some of this is helpful to you.

gilly2402

thanks for advice gargoyle will leave tank for a while and see how it works doing tests and water changes ... its probably at the final stage of cycling so no worries ....mist seems to be clearing now .... thanks fr posting it was most helpful

gilly2402

hi all and heres something for you my nitrite lvls have gone up again so i did a 25% water change so what do u think .... heres my levels for test b4 water change dated 14/04/07 ... nitrite 0.50 ph 7.6 nitrate 5 amm 0.25 any comments please post

simpleton

Hi Gilly, don't worry, the white cloudiness is a bacteria bloom, it WILL clear. I have one doing the same thing right now. I have a new 50 gal that I'm cycling.
Even when a tank is old, if you go through a mini cycle because you scrub things, or clean a filter, you may have cloudiness for a couple of days. But as the tank is first developing, it can take a while. Keep the filters going, and provide air with air stones, and keep the temp. up to mid to upper 70's and it should clear in a few more days.

I'm having the same experience as I just did a 45% water change and some major cleaning of my two year old tank. I woke up this morning to find the water very cloudy but all fish are fine. A quick test strip indicated that all of my water levels were fine. I didn't realize that this is a bacteria bloom.

gilly2402

im very happy at moment, tanks great lvls are good bloom has finished so i think thats about it im all finished with the cycling here are my levels for today 17/04/2007 amm 0.25 ph 7.6 nitrate 0 nitrite 0 i will keep posting test results for next couple of weeks for people who are in the same boat as i have had some really good advice on this string of posts ....many thanks to everyone who posted advice and those who asked questions and got some kind of answer on this string hope everyone is well and will post more test results in a few days .... feel free to email me and keep in touch ( address in profile )..... thankyou loads april you are the best) bye for now ...... just going to look for a couple of ghost shrimp now maybe i might just find some lol

griffin

not to be a party pooper, but are you really cycled with an ammonia reading and zeros for nitrates and nitrites?

tan.b

yeah, sorry... i had that and thought i was cycled. until you have some nitrate, i'm afraid you're not! so keep a close eye on the levels for a while yet!
good luck
tan

susitna-flower

It seems so unfair, for those of us who are in the fast lane, to have to slow down. Road rage kills, though! I hate to say it but tan is right, you will know your tank is cycled when Ammonia and Nitrite are 0 and your Nitrate is 5 or so. I am so glad your tank is clear though, makes the enjoyment of a tank so much better. Keep up the vigil !

Land of the Midnight Sun 8)

gilly2402

hi guys just a quick note i have posted a piccie of my tank on the april tank of month comp its the only place i could post it but u will see its no match for the others but not bad for 1st tank see u all soon

tan.b

hows the levels doing?

gilly2402

hi all sorry havent posted anything but been really busl last couple of days ... did 20% water change last night and di tests day before here are the results ph 7.6 amm 0 nitrate 5 nitrite 0 so i think im also there ..hopefully no more fluctuations will occur unless i had fish or do water changes ... dont worry about me adding fish wont be for a while yet ... any responses welcome ...wat do u think of tank ...photo in april aquarium of the month but not in competition with the others but only placce io could find to post it at the moment...