Having some problems with my tank, so tired of so much differing information....?

Question

Have a 55 gl. tank. Did almost a 100% water change last night due to a green/white murkiness. Tank is pretty clear now, with exception to a slight white haze. Added CYCLE, stress coat, & aquarium salt. Also changed the filters.

Questions....thinking about purchasing another double Whisper filter to aid in filtration....will this aid in keeping water clear? Will it harm my fish?

So confused as to when and how much as far as "partial-water changes" . How often, and how much (in gallons) for a tank of my size?

Can't seem (even with the water change) to get my PH above 6.5. Tap water tests at a beautiful 7.0. Why is it different in my tank?

I've discovered that "water clarifiers" do not work for cloudy tanks.... How can they stay in business with such an ineffective product???

Thanks

Answer 1

I will try to explain the points you have brought up, to clarify them.

You should not have to do that large a water change. However in your case is probably did help with the cloudiness, but it is not necessary.
You do not need to add CYCLE - it is DEAD bacteria and therefore useless.
You do not need to add aquarium salt. In the wild, fresh water has trace to no salt. It does not perform all the miracles boasted on the box of aquarium. In small amounts it will not hurt your fish, but in large amounts, it messes with their osmotic regulation. I only use salt when treating for parasites.

Do not replace your filters unless they are falling apart. Benificial bacteria that break down ammonia live in your filter cartridge. Replacing them removes a lot of this beneficial bacteria from your tank.

Yes, an additional filter will help keep your water clear, but it is not a substitute for feeding the right amount or doing weekly water changes.

Do partial water changes once a week, and change 15-20 gallons of your water. You can tweek this a little. You could do 10 gallons twice a week, or 25 gallons every 10 days. Vacuum the gravel, too.

pH will may alter if it sits for a while. Let a glass of tap water sit for a day and then test it. Also, certain things in your tank can affect pH, such as ammonia, and driftwood. Most tropicals will be fine in 6.5 If you are getting hardwater fish, use baking soda to increase pH and kH.

Water clarifiers do indeed not work. They sell because people buy them instead of just cleaning their tanks and think it will work.

Answer 2

Don't you just hate the differing information? The reason you see this is because there is always more then one way to do things, and more then one person can be right. So now for yet another opinon:

There is no need to use additives in your tank, with the exception of dechlorinator. Stores sell a lot of stuff, but it's usually not needed and often, as you found out, ineffective anyway. You don't need cycle or stress coat or salt or anything else. The more you add, the more complicated you make it, and the more can go wrong. Keep it simple.

I always like extra filtration on my tanks. My experience with whispers is that they're not terribly effective, and once you're buying a new filter, consider something else, perhaps a canister.

For water changes you really just need to get on your own schedule. Different tanks need different amounts of mantenance so you need to discover yours. once per week, or once every other week, about 20-40% of the water is fairly typical.

The most common reason for cloudy tanks is over feeding. Most people feed their fish too much. These are cold blooded creatures and unlike mammals they don't need their energy to warm their bodies - food goes a long way. Also, don't keep the aquarium lights on all day, it only promotes algae and green water. Just keep a light in the room on for when it gets dark outside and turn the aquarium lights on when you want to view the fish.

If you want to raise the PH a bit you can try using a bit of coral or limestone in tha tank, just keep an eye on it so it doesn't go overboard.

Good luck

Answer 3

100% water changes are generally bad for an aquarium. Some people who breed discus do 100% water changes, but the take lots of precautions to make sure the nitrifying bacteria colonies aren't destroyed and that the water parameters are identical. While your aquarium is cloudy, hazy, etc. I would recommend changing 10-20% of your water weekly (change about 5-10 gallons a week - taking into account the fact that a 55 gallon aquarium doesn't actually have 55 gallons of water in it due to the gravel and decorations). If your ammonia or nitrites are high, increase your water changes to 10% (5 gallons) daily or every other day, until the ammonia or nitrites go down. If your aquarium isn't cloudy, or smelly, or dirty, and the fish are acting normal, you can change 20-30% of your water monthly (10 to 15 gallons per month), instead of 10-20% weekly. If you go with smaller water changes, you should see your cloudy water clear up in a couple of weeks.

You want a filter that is rated for an aquarium larger than the one you have. If your current filter is rated for 75 gallons or more, don't bother buying a new one. If your current filter is rated for 55 gallons or less, you should probably invest in another small one to make up the difference. Extra filtration won't harm your fish, however some fish don't like the extra water movement from the filter output (like bettas), but there are ways of reducing the water disturbance from the filter (like filling your aquarium all the way to the top).

The most likely reason your pH is lower in your aquarium than in your tap water is that you don't have sufficient buffering capacity in your aquarium. pH raisers won't raise your pH permanently because there aren't buffering chemicals in the water to maintain the high pH. To naturally buffer your pH, add a little bit of crushed coral to your filter or your gravel, and that should help maintain the pH of the tap water in the aquarium. But, remember, it will take a while to raise the pH (several water changes worth), because you are mixing about 80% of 6.5 pH water with 20% of 7.0 pH water. However, raising the pH slowly is good. If you raise it too fast, it is bad for your fish. Remember, a stable pH is more important than having the perfect pH. Also, if you have driftwood or peat in your aquarium, that could be lowering your aquarium's buffering capability, which in turn lowers your pH.

Water clarifiers still sell because there are plenty of brand new aquarium owners that don't know any better, and because pet store workers have a tendency to always recommend them no matter what is wrong with an aquarium. Occasionally, they work, superficially at least, but they usually don't solve the underlying problem. Your underlying problem is probably the 100% water changes and intense cleanings. Every time you do a water change over 30%, every time you replace a filter cartridge, and every time you rinse your filter cartridge or filter media in chlorinated water, you destroy your beneficial nitrifying bacteria, which causes your tank to start over its cycling, and the cycling process can sometimes cause cloudy water because the bacteria that is left is working overtime and trying to reproduce rapidly enough to keep up with the ammonia.

Answer 4

You situation is simple. Water changes should be conducted once a week, changing 15-20% of water when doing so. I don't have a calculator on me, but that's about 5-10 gallons a week. You can easily figure out the gallons taken out by using those 5 gallon spring water jugs for siphoned water. You never want to do such a large water change as you mentioned because you destroy the Biological filtration everytime you do a water change, and the larger the change, the more you tear down your beneficial bacteria in your tank, that may I mention requires weeks to establish. I did notice you add Cycle to your water changes, which is very good because this product puts the beneficial bacteria right back into the tank in minutes. Stress coat is good as well for water changes. Aquarium salt is rather messy becuase it evaporates all on your tank furnishings and really is used for treatment for sick fish. Your filters are just as important as the water. You should never change all filter media in the filter at one time. This takes it back to the Biological filtration I was stating earlier. Your filter needs to have beneficial bacteria thriving at all times. Another Whisper filter is a great idea for your tank because you can add more Chemical filtration (the problem your having) to your water. Activated Carbon is the working source in Chemical filtration. Carbon removes odors, cloudiness, and impurities from your tank. You can either add an additional filter for this or increase the amount you change your cartridges for chemical activity. Carbon is only good for about 12 hours to 1 month, depending on tank size, stocking levels of fish and the waste they produce. A good sign for new carbon is smelly water, cloudy water, or a yellow tinge in the water due to the carbon's failure to stop working.

Answer 5

Well to address your first comment about information, remember that everything in the hobby is an opinion.

As a former fish guy, I recommend a 10% water change each week. This will add new water, remove waste, and not shock your fish as a large change would.

As far as your pH, without more information I wouldnt be able to be sure, but I imagine that you are not doing water changes often enough which will drop your pH. Also as your tank cycles, you will see a drop in your pH.

What you are trying to clarify is bacteria, which water clarifiers do not take care of. Water clarifiers work by using polymers to make particles in the water flocculate and drop to the bottom of the tank. After this you do have to do a gravel vac or else the stuff will come back. They actually work quite well.

To deal with what you have, I would recommend using BioSpira. We used that to start many a tank in the store I worked in, and had great success.

Answer 6

When I started keeping aquariums, all we did was fill the decorated tank with tap water, start the air going with a corner air-powered filter and waited three days before putting in fish. Now we're told to add this and have that and do the other. Well they're still the same type of fish and tanks and my fish do just as well as before. truth is, the more chemicals you put in your tank water, the more chemicals will be in the water.
Your Ph level and murkiness may be due to something organic such as unprocessed coral or wood item. also the salt may be a part of it. Salt is an alcolyde and will affect your ph. 6.5 ain't bad.
The trick is to get the tank to take of it's self. Some algea growth is always good for balance and oxygen. What would I do in your case? If you have no fish in the tank, change the water and take out anything organic. Get your filter going and a good air supply to the water. Get a good heater and put it to 70 degrees. Hot water will also show as murky. Under-gravel filters are great. Don't let anyone tell you other wise. Now give the tank time to grow. If it gets murky or cloudy, don't panic. Give it time. Stay away from chemicals, there are enough of them in the tap water already. Have the light on in the evening to promote alea growth. When the water clears, put in some easy living fish like Guppies. Let the tank take care of itself and don't over clean it. The water these fish come from is muddy, dirty, rocky and untreated. Keep that in mind.
Keep it simple.

Answer 7

Well we need to get you to the point that you do not have to do water changes. It takes the enjoyment out of it. Perhaps once a year a partial on a healthy aquarium is necessary down to every 6 months. ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT IS DESTROYING ECOLOGY. The green water is caused by a tpye of bacterium that is associated with algae growth. It is very difficult to get rid of w/o a complete water change and grael cleaning, filter cleaning. It mostly requires a complete cleaning. There are wonder additives out there that assists with this. Alas, you need to do water changes with most products. Location is important though. If it is gaining a great deal of light, that will promote the growth of this bacteria. Try some algaecide. It has some effect on this. Monitor PH levels and ammonia levels as well. A larger filter or an additioanl filtr is HIGHLY reccommended and the Whisper is the most efficient. Do you have any seashells in your tank? If yes remove them. Stress coat is only for injuries or when adding new fish. Cycle isnt going to help and nor is the salt at this point. It is a good idea to have trace amounts of salt in your tank to inhibit disease. Dont over ad. A tablespoon for 10g of water is pleanty for this.

Answer 8

lots of questions that cannot be answered with the info you have given:
You never want to change that much water at once....IF you have discus, angles, any fish that produces a large amount of ammonia as wastes, then 20% per week is normal change (10 gallons). IF you have gold fish, then absolutely 20 % per week.

All tanks cycle when the water is new. Takes up to a week to get that air-clear water if you have filtration running. Keep your water to about 7.2 - 7.6 pH ... most fish are happy enough at this pH. If you have rocks, etc, the tank can well go to this or higher pH without adding anything, so watch the pH. IF it goes to low, add baking soda...small amounts to adjust slowly. IF it goes too high, add muriatic acid (dilute one part to 10 parts water, add drops , not pour in...and check until the pH is correct. NEVER adjust pH too quickly.
As for filters, I have had no problems with just an undergravel filter...depends on how crowded you keep your tank. IF over crowded, no matter what you do, there will come a day when things will go bad. Good luck

Answer 9

lol lot of thing going on here

the white haze is due to cycling and the bacteria setting up in your tank.. its perfectly normal and will clear usually in a few days

the partial waterchange is from 10 % of your water a week to as little at 25 % per month.. not all of the water.. if you change too much water like half the tank each week then you will loose a lot of the bacteria essential to your tank another filter isnt nessasary for your tank altho a small one you can get just incase your first one fails from time to time

the ph naturally goes down in fish tanks because of your fish you can get equalizers to help that along or find another water source with a bit of a high ph

Answer 10

The pH is different because of the fish themselves. Fish waste is pretty much pure ammonia, so it really says how well you keep your tank if the pH is 6.5. I have a 55gl as well with tropicals, and have 3 very large plecos and a little golden algae eater. Bottom feeders will help keep levels down, too.
You mentioned murkiness... Do you have fake or real plants in your tank? Real plants will make it worse. What type of air source? Some air sources can make water murky just because of the way they output.
As to partial water changes, I only do them about once per year, and use a water purifier that's designed to keep you from having to change water frequently. When I do change it, it's usually about 1/3 to 1/2 the tank, depending on how much residue I need to suck from the bottom of the tank (with the tank cleaner).
Hope some of this helps!