We bought our tank three weeks ago adn it started to get cloudy so we did a 1/3 water change and its still quite cloudy. We've got 12 fish who we feed twice a day. Anyone got any ideas how to clear it or what the problem actually might be?
2006-09-19 07:58:15 · 24 answers · asked by Natalie G 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
The tank we have is a 30litre biOrb. Any idea how to clear it?
2006-09-19 08:03:46 · update #1
You are experiencing the cycle. Basically what it is, is the beneficial bacteria builing up so that it can handle the amount of waste in the tank(BB breaks down fecal matter, uneaten food etc and makes it non toxic...well less toxic). With a new tank, the cycle period can be up to 5 weeks or so. Near the middle to end the tank clouds up. This means that the bacteria is almost ready. DO NOT DO ANYTHING. Let it go, and WILL CLEAR ITSELF in about a week or less. It should be a milky white/cloudy like you say. Trust me, this happens to almost every single tank. At the pet store I used to work at I answered this question every few days. I have 9 tanks, I know the drill.
2006-09-19 10:38:33 · answer #1 · answered by adamprice271 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
that is a big problem with biorbs. your tank is only 30 ltrs- maybe you have got to many fish in there( all depends on the size of them). have you cleaned out the filter sponge? take some water from the tank and squeeze the sponge out in that. try only feeding once a day for a while and don't put to much food in. also keep changing about 3 litres of water a week.
Hope you can sort it out because when they are running properly they do look very nice.
2006-09-21 01:57:26 · answer #2 · answered by Jason S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, cut down on the feedings. I feed my fish every other day, but at least cut down to once a day.
It's probably a bacterial bloom in the tank, common for new aquariums. Not sure on your tank size & types of fish, might be overcrowded. Just keep doing water changes, I'm guessing your tank isn't fully cycled, so I'd say daily until it is cycled. Buy a test kit to check ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. When the first two read 0, and you start showing some nitrates, your tank will be cycled. Then you can cut the water changes down to once a week-again depending on your tank size and types of fish.
Just saw you posted 30 liters, that's the equivalent of about 8 US gallons. Unless you have neon tetras in there, that's way too many fish for that size tank.
2006-09-19 08:07:32 · answer #3 · answered by tikitiki 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
over feeding likely it rots and clouds and poisons the water your fish will end up with fungus or die through lack of oxygen did you let the water mature before adding fish it needs to you can buy stuff in the shops for this or borrow some mature water from another Healthy tank this gets the friendley bacteria in the gravel /filter going which eat up the waste and give off oxygen people think fish are like cats and dogs youwould be suprised at how little food they actually need..hope this advise helpfull i used to keep fish a long time ago..maybe someone has a more modern approach now good luck
2006-09-19 08:19:18 · answer #4 · answered by rozy 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It sound`s like you have a breakdown in your bacteria in your tank ! ( fish need this bacteria to live ) be carefull or your fish will die ! go to you local pet shop and you can buy a bottle of bacteria for your fish tank and make sure you that when you next clean out your tank try not to take out to much water at any one time and do not rinse out your filter`s in clean water , use the water taken from the tank to clean them .and try to only feed them once a day just a small amount if you feed them 2 much then this wasted food can cause you problems aswell , because you have 12 fish in your tank i know it is easy to make sure you put enough in so they all get some but for your fishes sake please only a little food once a day .
2006-09-19 08:12:14 · answer #5 · answered by charlotterobo 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Be patient. Continue with 5 -10 percent water change every day. Twelve fish in a 30 liter tank might be to high a bioload. I also think the filtration may prove inadequate for that bioload. Most tanks go through a cloudy period while cycling.
2006-09-19 09:05:31 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
It's called a bacteria bloom, and happens when your Nitrogen Cycle either starts back up (because of too much waste or overfeeding), or upon initially cycling a tank.
May I make a suggestion? Don't do what's called a "Fishy or Fishin" cycle. Do a Fishless cycle, and you will not only cycle your tank a lot quicker, but the bacteria colonies needed for nitrifying are greater in number, and work much better.
Here's an article for your review...
Fishless Cycling
http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fishlesscycle.htm
Good luck
2006-09-19 08:31:27 · answer #7 · answered by sly2kusa 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My tank used to be cloudy a lot, so I bought this stuff called Clear I think. It works really good. Look in the petstores, they would all have it.
2006-09-19 12:53:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are drops you can buy that will clear the tank of cloudiness.I had the same problem with my fish tank, bought the drops and it took care of it . Here's an article on the subject from the web:http://www.totallyfish.com/tips/cloudywater.html
2006-09-19 08:11:55 · answer #9 · answered by TamrynLovesMickey 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
cut down on what you are feeding it sounds like your feeding too much also invest in a bigger more powerful filter for your tank and check that the tank is not overcrowded too many fish for the size of tank good luck
2006-09-19 21:32:17 · answer #10 · answered by jenny n 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋