Tank Start-Up

Hi all, I just joined the forum tonight!

I currently have a 5.5-gallon tank (I know, tiny. I'm working with limited space...) and I have been having some issues cycling. At one point my ph level dropped very low and then got crazy high. This was strange to me considering I filled the tank with pre-packaged and conditioned freshwater. I could not get the ph down for several weeks, and I have finally gotten it stable. Now, I am on the third day of adding beneficial bacteria to the tank, and it is just very cloudy. In addition to that, the general hardness of my water is extremely high. I have several live plants in my tank and two moss balls. There are no fish in yet, and I am wondering how to make the water softer and maybe clear up the cloudy water.

An employee at PetSmart told me I should not be doing water changes right now, and that I shouldn't until I'm about to add fish - Is this true, or should I do a water change? My last change was 4 or 5 days ago.

Thanks!!

 

If you live in an unpolluted area, you can use rain water to soften your water.
As for what the PetSmart employee said isn't completely true. You should do water changes if your levels get too high.

 

The cloudy water is probably going to clear up on it's own because you're probably going through a bacteria bloom. A test kit would be good to be able to monitor parameters if you don't already have one, just to get a sense of how things are moving along and to be able to tell when your cycle is actually done.

Water changes aren't necessarily help or hurt your cycle, most people will tell you that high parameters will stall your cycle, but I'm not sure of the accuracy of that statement. Nonetheless, I would recommend doing water changes if any one of your parameters (ammonia, nitrite or nitrate) gets too high just because it's way easier to bring down 40ppm of nitrates than it is to being down 160+ppm of nitrates. And of course, once your cycle is done and you're ready to add fish make sure to do a big water change.

 

If you live in an unpolluted area, you can use rain water to soften your water.
As for what the PetSmart employee said isn't completely true. You should do water changes if your levels get too high.

Thanks for the feedback. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I'll leave a bucket out!

 

Why not use tap water ? Are you using bottled water because you have well water that is non-potable ?

 

The cloudy water is probably going to clear up on it's own because you're probably going through a bacteria bloom. A test kit would be good to be able to monitor parameters if you don't already have one, just to get a sense of how things are moving along and to be able to tell when your cycle is actually done.

Water changes aren't necessarily help or hurt your cycle, most people will tell you that high parameters will stall your cycle, but I'm not sure of the accuracy of that statement. Nonetheless, I would recommend doing water changes if any one of your parameters (ammonia, nitrite or nitrate) gets too high just because it's way easier to bring down 40ppm of nitrates than it is to being down 160+ppm of nitrates. And of course, once your cycle is done and you're ready to add fish make sure to do a big water change.

Thanks for the information! I have test strips at home, however, they don't measure ammonia. The nitrite and nitrate have both been at zero and I haven't had any issues.

Why not use tap water ? Are you using bottled water because you have well water that is non-potable ?

I used the aquarium water initially because the water company in my town was messing with the pipes during the time I was setting my tank up. I didn't even need to test the water to know it wasn't safe -- my water was running brown for 2-3 days. It is fine now and I put some tap water in after a 50% water change.

 

That sounds horrible. Hopefully it was just sediment and rust being disturbed in the water mains causing the discolored water and not an issue with something else.

I dont think water hardness has anything to do with the cloudy water. Its probably a bacterial bloom which will go away once the tank cycles.

If it is, it's a different kind of bacteria, not the type that needs to colonize I'm the substrate and filter media for the nitrogen cycle.

If the pH stays level, then I wouldn't worry about the hardness. Fish prefer stable water parameters and will adjust to the pH and water hardness.

If PetSmart is in the same municipal water system as you, then their water hardness and pH will be the same as yours.

Also, you mentioned you have a 5.5g tank, is that the Top Fin kit? I ask because we had one running for awhile. We added a 50w adjustable Aqueon heater and the tank worked well.

Here is a link to a thread on the forum regarding how to put your own media in your filter, not rely on the disposable cartridges and tips for keeping your media cycled. It's a long read, but has a lot of info.

Diy Media Guide For Top Fin Silenstream, Aquaclear And Other Hob Filters | Filters and Filtration 385506

If you're using the Top Fin Silentstream 10 filter, we used it also. I discarded the cartridge and blue plastic bio-grid contraption. In its place, a simple block of foam sponge cut to fit the reservoir and a little bag of bio-media went into the reservoir. Tank always stayed cycled.

 

That sounds horrible. Hopefully it was just sediment and rust being disturbed in the water mains causing the discolored water and not an issue with something else.

I dont think water hardness has anything to do with the cloudy water. Its probably a bacterial bloom which will go away once the tank cycles.

If it is, it's a different kind of bacteria, not the type that needs to colonize I'm the substrate and filter media for the nitrogen cycle.

If the pH stays level, then I wouldn't worry about the hardness. Fish prefer stable water parameters and will adjust to the pH and water hardness.

If PetSmart is in the same municipal water system as you, then their water hardness and pH will be the same as yours.

Also, you mentioned you have a 5.5g tank, is that the Top Fin kit? I ask because we had one running for awhile. We added a 50w adjustable Aqueon heater and the tank worked well.

Here is a link to a thread on the forum regarding how to put your own media in your filter, not rely on the disposable cartridges and tips for keeping your media cycled. It's a long read, but has a lot of info.

Diy Media Guide For Top Fin Silenstream, Aquaclear And Other Hob Filters | Filters and Filtration 385506

If you're using the Top Fin Silentstream 10 filter, we used it also. I discarded the cartridge and blue plastic bio-grid contraption. In its place, a simple block of foam sponge cut to fit the reservoir and a little bag of bio-media went into the reservoir. Tank always stayed cycled.

Thanks so much! And yes, I do have the Top Fin 5.5g kit. I'll look into the sponge filter!