i have a 35 gals aquarium which i noticed rapidly getting dirty in less than a week,what should i do?

Question

i have a 10 watts pump,flowerhorn fish approx 2 inches.

Answer 1

First off, 10 watts doesn't say much for the filter. How many gallons per minute?

There are many common mistakes new owners of tanks do or do not do when starting a tank.

First of all, when you set up your tank, did you clean the inside glass? Did you rinse the gravel. did you rinse your filter?

These all too often continue to lead to cloudy or dirty water for a couple of months.

Also, watch how much food you are feeding your one and only fish, chances are it is too much.

Also, if your filter is not rated for a minimum of 40 gallon tank, it is obviously too small. Are the filters in the proper way and are they dirty?

How is your water quality? Did you cycle the tank properly? There are many factors to consider, chances are you did not wash the gravel or additional ornaments proplerly when installing the tank.

I think we need more info with regards to your tank before we can give additional advice on "what might be wrong".

Answer 2

If the tank is getting that dirty that quickly there could be several things happening. First, you don't say howmany of the 2" flowerhorns you have, the tank could be overstocked. Second, I don't know the flow rate of your filter, but it could be too small. Third, you might be over feeding.

Be very careful to look for uneaten food in the tank 3-4 minutes after feeding. If you see that there is any, then you are over feeding a bit and need to cut back.

Increase the size of your water changes to maybe 40-50% and be sure to use a gravel vac to clean the gravel as you do the water changes. Also be sure to replace the filter media (pads, cartridges, carbon, whatever your uses when you change the water. For the first week you might do a water change every other day to get it cleaned up without over disturbing your cycle or the fish.

Don't break down the tank and clean it! You can easily get this under control without doing that and to do that would destory your cycle in the tank and put all your fish at serious risk.

Answer 3

Your aquarium shouldn't be getting dirty if all you have is a 2 inch fish. By dirty do you mean cloudy? If this is the case then you are experiencing a normal thing in a newly set up tank. White cloudiness is usually bacterial bloom, and it's something that is not harmful to the fish and will go away on its own. If you haven't cycled the tank yet then you should be testing regularly for ammonia and nitrite, to make sure you are not poisoning your fish, and should be performing small water changes often - this might prolong the cycle a bit, but it will keep your fish healthy during the process. If by dirty you mean physical fish waste building up, then you certainly need to aquire much better filtration.

Don't bother asking your fish store - they're only in it to make money and will end up selling you some silly bottle of something meant to mask, but not fix, the problem.

And remember, Flowerhorns are big fish and will eventually need quite a bit of a bigger tank. Are you prepared?

Cheers and good luck

Answer 4

Are u overfeeding ur fish? This causes the problem. Since its only one fish in ur tank, try feeding like adding bit by bit whether it is pellets or flakesm, once it is consumed by the fish add the next part, do this until the fish is full, and is reluctant to et anymore. You can do this 2-3times daily.
OR u've not mentioned the type of filter u have, make sure that about 1100lt water per hour is circulated in ur tank through filteration system. If u have a single fish than you must change the water for twice a week at that size of fish about 10-20%.
Then if the fish grows to 6-8 " u should change 10-20% of water a week.

Answer 5

You should try changing the food , I've had some bad experience with some artificially colored food. Also keep in mind the right dosage of food , extra food will not be eaten and it will eventually make a mess (also the times /day you feed them , overfeeding can cause death). As a second cause investigate the vegetation of the aquarium there are some algae that really make a mess. And the last think that i could think of is the sand and rocks.When cleaning the aquarium boil then sand and rocks. Keep in mind the time intervals at witch you clean the tank you may interfere with they're reproductive cycles.I have a 130 liter tank (approximately the same capacity if my math still works) and the max. period of time without cleaning is roughly a month.

Answer 6

You may be over feeding your fish. You may need to get some bottom feeders that will help with cleaning up the bottom. Also there are fish that do window cleaning, you may need to check which type of fish you can use with your fish.

Another thing is to have a good underground filter system as well as a filter system that is placed out side of the tank and hangs on the back. The out side filter can filter up to about 150 gallons of water in an hour. You need a strong pump to handle all of this since it is a larger tank

With the proper filters and fish you should only have to do partial water changes every so often and breaking down your total tank about every couple of years or so.

I have had aquariums on and off for about 20 years. If its allege that your having a problem with, there is a product call allege gone. To use this you need your tank to be free and clear of allege to begin with to help prevent the spread of it. I hope this helps you.

Answer 7

It depends on your filter size, amount of fish in the tank, tank placement and how often and how much you are feeding your fish. A good water test kit will give you insight into what the cause might be. A good algae eater would be a start. A quarter water change monthly as well as a gravel vac will help you maintain your aquarium in the future. By all means, contact your local pet store. There is usually one or two people who are knowledgable in aquatics.

Answer 8

No one mentioned this, but if by "dirty" you mean the sides of the tank, it's probably nothing to do with the water at all, but where the tank's located and lighted.

I've had numerous friends complain of dirty tanks which were cured simply by moving them to walls without sunlight and reducing the time they ran their lights (fish don't need lightbulbs -- they normally live deep in the water where there's VERY little light -- that's why they have such big eyes).

Answer 9

just one flowerhorn? if the water smells try doing a gravel vacuum and 20% water changes every couple of days. you should get in the habit of doing a weekly cleaning like this too. is it cloudy? that is bacteria. you can buy beneficial bacteria at the store to keep it down -- some brands are stress zyme and cycle.

Answer 10

What filter are you using?? Check that your filter is properly working. adjust the water flow if possible and make sure the aquarium is not getting direct sunlight as this promotes growth of algae and bacteria.