New 30 Gallon cloudy water Aquarium Problem

[Cyrax2007]

Hi, this is my first post on this forum and I don’t have much time to write, but I wanted to post this anyways. I got a new 30 gal tank for Christmas and set it up with a castle thing and a few fake plants to give the fish some hiding spots. I put in the water and gave the tank 48 hours to cycle a bit, I know it’s a bit early but I was just so excited to get fish in there. I went to Petco today and picked up 6 black neon tetras and a rainbow shark. When I got back however, I noticed the water seemed cloudier than when I left, and then I suddenly realized that it was gravel dust as I had forgotten to clean the gravel! Should I be concerned with this and clean it immediately, or should I give it a few days? I already have the fish in there.

 

[kansas]

Your filter should clear up the water. You need to cycle your tank for your fish to be safe. There are many threads here about doing a fish-in-cycle, I'd suggest your read some of them.

 

[Cyrax2007]

Ok, thank you so much!

 

[kansas]

You could do a large water change to help get rid of the gravel dust, it won't affect the tank cycling. You'll need to do a lot of water changes until your tank cycles.

 

[Cyrax2007]

I watched some videos and they said that you could just use some seachem prime to detoxify the water and just make sure that the nitrate levels don’t go over, and if they do, to do a 50% water change. Is that also a viable option?

 

[kansas]

I cycled my tanks by putting in a lot of plants and waiting two months, so I've never done a fish-in cycle. I've never heard of anyone dosing with Prime long enough for the tank to cycle.

There are people on here much more knowledgeable about fish-in-cycles than me. This might be a good place to start. Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

I know mattgirl helps a lot people in your position, maybe she'll see your post.

 

[Cyrax2007]

Just went out today to get Seachem Prime! Gonna be testing ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for the next passing weeks to make sure everything goes smoothly, wish me luck!

 

[mattgirl]

Welcome to Fishlore

Cycling a tank takes time and doing a fish-in cycle requires testing and lots of water changes. I highly recommend you get an API Master freshwater test kit. With it you can keep an eye on what's happening in your tank.

I will be happy to help you but first Please read this thread. Fish In Nitrogen Cycle Simplified | Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle Forum | 414083

 

[kansas]

Just went out today to get Seachem Prime! Gonna be testing ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for the next passing weeks to make sure everything goes smoothly, wish me luck!

Good luck!