How Long Until My Tank Isn't Cloudy?

I set up a 75 gallon May 25th, I have 6 small orandas, probably 3 inches max head to tail. I plan on getting a 125 gallon in December because I know they will grow and I have one more oranda I am adding, I couldn't resist he was so beautiful. Everyone I ask just keeps saying my tank is cycling but I am sick of everyone saying why don't you clean your tank! I do partial water tanks every 2-3 weeks and recently been doing even one a week at 15-20% to keep ammonia levels down. I have a 97 gallon filter (Marineland polishing canister filter). I have 4 air pumps and my temp is 73.

Will this clear up like they say?

Also, two weeks ago I treated the whole tank for ich because I made the mistake of not quarantining a new fish (I didn't know you had too, now I do). Someone told me that the whole cycle is going to start again because of the medicine to treat ich, is this true? I am not sure of all the logistics of owning a fish tank yet. I just started in April with my first tank.

 

Hi!! It looks like a bacterial bloom!! Nearly every tank goes through one when cycling!! May I ask what your parameters are??

 

I don't have exact numbers for everything but I did a test strip earlier and everything was in normal range judging by the colors on the strip. PH 8 , no nitrates or nitrites, ammonia was a little high like right in the middle so I did a water change, alkalinity was normal as well and it was right in between for hard/soft.

 

If your interested in doing a little reading:

 

If your interested in doing a little reading:

Thanks I am checking it out now

 

I would try the apI master test kit for testing the water. It's much more accurate than the test strips

 

As noted his seems to be in the very normal range of a bacterial bloom. If you want to help get things looking better you can add a stage of filter floss to your canister to help "polish" the water. I typically just use the ployfil from the craft section at the big box store. It is 1/2 the price and the same product.

By the way, I love your tank and the plans you have to expand!!

 

I would try the apI master test kit for testing the water. It's much more accurate than the test strips

I have the kit for ammonia and it’s like a pale green , it’s I think level 2? So I did a partial water change. I will look into the other parameters via kit , I only saw the ammonia one at my pet shop and ph.

As noted his seems to be in the very normal range of a bacterial bloom. If you want to help get things looking better you can add a stage of filter floss to your canister to help "polish" the water. I typically just use the ployfil from the craft section at the big box store. It is 1/2 the price and the same product.

By the way, I love your tank and the plans you have to expand!!

Thank you and I did the polishing canister ! It helped but didn’t make it “crystal clear” as stated. I was wondering though , it only has you put this little gasket in the filter floss, I’m a reading it wrong , should I Be adding any media ? I actually bought another one , I figure two can hurt and I was gonna put the ammonia stones in one and then carbon in the other but I was going to do the polisher part first.

 

I have the kit for ammonia and it’s like a pale green , it’s I think level 2? So I did a partial water change. I will look into the other parameters via kit , I only saw the ammonia one at my pet shop and ph.

You should be able to find the whole kit at pet smart and petco. They have it on Amazon as well

 

My set up for canisters when I use them is this -

prefilter sponge
secondary sponge
Polyfil (Packed tight)
bio media (noodles)
Empty (or more Polyfil - I use this for carbon or other chemical filtration only when needed as I do not run them all the time)

hope this helps

 

It sounds like you are getting some very good advice as to how to set your canister up for maximum filtration. The more media in it the better up to a certain point. You need lots of surface area for the bacteria to grow on.

while cycling my 55 I was doing 30% every other day and every day when nitrites showed up. Mine was a fish in cycle much like yours. The bacterial bloom lasted several weeks but finally went away once the cycle was complete and fully established.

Since this tank is cycling with fish if it were me I would be doing at least 30% every other day until the cycle completes. The fish may be surviving the sparse water changes but I would be worried about how much damage the high levels of ammonia are doing to them.

I have been going through your posts but haven't found out what water conditioner you are using. If you don't have it I recommend you get a bottle of Seachem Prime. It is first and foremost a water conditioner but it has the added benefit of neutralizing small amounts of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. It is one of the best investments you can make to keep your fish safe during the cycling process.

All one really needs to cycle a tank with fish in it is patience, time, fish to produce ammonia, Prime, a reliable test kit and water changes, lots of water changes.

 

Okay thank you I will do another water change this weekend I just did one yesterday. I have prime and someone told me it was what was adding to my cloudiness and it wasn’t that good too use so I stopped. Can I just add some in today ? I did a 30% water change yesterday with the aquasafe and stability added.

It sounds like you are getting some very good advice as to how to set your canister up for maximum filtration. The more media in it the better up to a certain point. You need lots of surface area for the bacteria to grow on.

while cycling my 55 I was doing 30% every other day and every day when nitrites showed up. Mine was a fish in cycle much like yours. The bacterial bloom lasted several weeks but finally went away once the cycle was complete and fully established.

Since this tank is cycling with fish if it were me I would be doing at least 30% every other day until the cycle completes. The fish may be surviving the sparse water changes but I would be worried about how much damage the high levels of ammonia are doing to them.

I have been going through your posts but haven't found out what water conditioner you are using. If you don't have it I recommend you get a bottle of Seachem Prime. It is first and foremost a water conditioner but it has the added benefit of neutralizing small amounts of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. It is one of the best investments you can make to keep your fish safe during the cycling process.

All one really needs to cycle a tank with fish in it is patience, time, fish to produce ammonia, Prime, a reliable test kit and water changes, lots of water changes.

ay that

 

Okay thank you I will do another water change this weekend I just did one yesterday. I have prime and someone told me it was what was adding to my cloudiness and it wasn’t that good too use so I stopped. Can I just add some in today ? I did a 30% water change yesterday with the aquasafe and stability added.

ay that

For that one person that says Prime isn't that good you will find many more folks that wouldn't agree with that assessment. Prime should not have anything to do with the cloudy water. The cloudy water is a normal part of the cycling process. Sometimes it lasts several weeks and other times just a few days. Mine lasted several weeks.

You can add a full tank volume of Prime every 24 hours so yes, go ahead and add some. Some say its effects last up to 48 hours but when lives are at stake I wouldn't let the ammonia go that long without treatment.

Prime only neutralizes low amounts of ammonia so if your tests show it to be above 1 do a water change to get it back below 1 and add a dose of prime. As long as it is below 1 just add prime every 24 hours.

Prime is a water conditioner so as long as you are using it you don't need to also be using Aqua Safe since it is a water conditioner too.

Lots of folks have had good luck cycling with Stability and Prime and it may be coincidence but I am reading more and more often from folks that have used/are using Stability that they are getting persistent low amounts of ammonia even after their tank shows to be cycled. Shows cycled meaning it has gone through the nitrite phase of the cycle and are now registering no nitrite and some nitrates.

 

Yeah everything is good but ammonia and I changed the water yesterday ! I’ll do another change tonight, I’m taking my water in for more testing at the store too right now to be sure everything is accurate.

 

I highly recommend you get your own water testing kit. I personally use and recommend the API Master Freshwater Test Kit. It can be bought for about $25.00. It will last for a very long time so in scheme of things it is one of the least expensive things one can buy for their fish keeping journey.

I have been using mine for over 2 years. I have had to replace my Nitrate solutions but still have plenty of all the rest. With it you can keep a much closer eye on what is happening in this tank. Waiting to take it to be tested isn't always the best option.

 

I highly recommend you get your own water testing kit. I personally use and recommend the API Master Freshwater Test Kit. It can be bought for about $25.00. It will last for a very long time so in scheme of things it is one of the least expensive things one can buy for their fish keeping journey.

I have been using mine for over 2 years. I have had to replace my Nitrate solutions but still have plenty of all the rest. With it you can keep a much closer eye on what is happening in this tank. Waiting to take it to be tested isn't always the best option.

Just a question. How did you get the replacement Nitrate solutions? Did you have to order them from API?

 

Just a question. How did you get the replacement Nitrate solutions? Did you have to order them from API?

I just ordered a fresh nitrate kit from amazon. Each of the tests can be bought separately but it is a lot cheaper to buy the kit. Once a tank is cycled one usually doesn't test for ammonia, nitrites and PH very often so those 3 usually last a long time. I tested my nitrates often enough to finally use all of my nitrate testing solutions (and it takes more of it than the other tests) so had to buy more.

 

I highly recommend you get your own water testing kit. I personally use and recommend the API Master Freshwater Test Kit. It can be bought for about $25.00. It will last for a very long time so in scheme of things it is one of the least expensive things one can buy for their fish keeping journey.

I have been using mine for over 2 years. I have had to replace my Nitrate solutions but still have plenty of all the rest. With it you can keep a much closer eye on what is happening in this tank. Waiting to take it to be tested isn't always the best option.

I am my petco didn’t have any left so in the mean time I’m having them test it so I’ll prolly end up doing chewy or amazon