Gold fish.... water problems?

Question

I've recently moved to a new town and am on well water now. My tank will be fine for a few days then starts getting cloudy and turns a greenish moldy color. I've tried using Crystal Clear, which used to work fine, but doesn't phase this water. I've done tests and the ph is fine. So far my fish are fine, the ones that survived the trip. But I'm concerned about the water. Do well water & fish tanks not mix? Any other possibilites?

I've thought of using bottled water, but it's a 55 gal tank. And I've had problems w/ cloudy water before...just not the "green" problem.

Answer 1

Change your light bulb. Older and lower quality bulbs promote growth of algae as they lose the ability to produce light at the higher end of the spectrum. You should also consider testing your well water. There may be phosphates in it which will also encourage algae growth.
A

Answer 2

Righto - assuming your filters are in working order, and you are feeding your fish properly, and you set up the tank with fresh water, it is most likely bacteria bloom, which is good to be honest, as the bacteria sort out the tank levels and so on, it just really messes with it to start with. Try letting new water sit for a few days before changing it, test the water before adding it, always add tap safe, pH uppers or downers etc depending on what the tests say, and it should settle down in a few weeks. It takes my tank a good two to three weeks to settle itself after a major wash - and mine is goldies as well. If you need a hand, drop me an email, I've moved fish tons of time and have done the well water and collected rain water thing as well :)

EDIT: by test - I mean the whole deal - hardness, chemical, calcium, copper, ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, if it exists, I would test for it. Even if its safe for people - which it has to be certified, so I would guess you are OK there :P - it may not be for fish. Copper is bad for goldfish for example which is why you don't toss pennies into fish ponds :)

Answer 3

I just moved with goldfish to well water too. :) My water's too acidic, but I've been able to rectify that with chemicals. As to what else could be wrong, I'd take some tap water to your local petsmart and have them test it for you. They go beyond the usual simple water tests, and test for additives and metals in the water as well. I've read that well water is not the best for fish tanks.

You might also consider your placement of the tank. My tank used to be in a nice corner, away from the window, where it only got indirect sunlight, and there's no place like that in my new house, so I'm dealing with a little more algae than I used to, because of the light.

Hope I helped :)

Answer 4

yeah sure is,,,,,,,,use distilled bottle water.prefect if you have water problems. 10 gal tank,,10 bottles and just treat the water as usual. goldfish are the ''dirtiest'' fish one can have because they give off a 'chemical' that clouds up their water easy. sensitive fish like platties don't do good with goldfish for that reason. its hard to keep goldfish water clean but try the distilled bottle water,,

Answer 5

I don't think that it is a water problem.I was having the same problem until last week.It was because that I was feeding my fish too often and it clouded my water.Clean your tank and try feeding them only once per day.If you find a solution to this problem let us know by placing it in comments.Thanks and good luck.

Answer 6

its not a water problem, its a light problem
move the aquarium away from the window, shut the drapes, cover the back of the aquarium, turn off the aquarium light during the day and when you go to bed at night

Answer 7

Anastasia has the best answer, its what I would have said except she beat me to it!