10 gallon tank trouble?

Question

My father has a 10 gallon tank and he has been trying for week's to get it to clear up.So far nothing has worked.He has used crystal clear,ph balance,easy balance still a no go,He thought it might be the food he was using so he changed that as well still nothing...The water is city water he thought that to could be his problem.He is in his late sixty's so this tank means alot to him if anyone has any idea's on how to help him clear this up it would be great...serious answer's only please....thank you in advanced

Answer 1

Well the chemicals that are meant to clear do not help - so I don't reccommend buying them. No brand will help. Im my opinion they make it worse.


If it's a whiteish color:

When he started the tank did he let it cycle? Like let the water and filter run for at least 24 hours before adding the fish? This allows for the water to cycle and the good bacteria to settle.

If he did not or he added all his fish on the same day - then it is more then likely a bacteria bloom. It isn't really dangerous - just not pretty.

Not letting the water cycle or adding a lot of fish at once or when you clean too much at once can cause this to happen.

No chemical will really help, and doing water changes in my opinion make it worse. The best thing to do is let it settle itself out. This can take from one week up to a whole month to do.

City water is fine - as long as he added a chemical to declorinate the water. He needs to use the chemical everytime he cleans it and adds new water.

For cleaning, he needs to only change about 25% of the water once a month. Taking out more water or doing it too often can cause these bacteria blooms and stress out your fish as well.

One last thing to consider as well...how many fish are in it? General rule to go by and works for most common small tropical fish, is every inch on the fish needs at least one gallon of water. Technically he could have up to 10 one inch fish and be fine. Usually 10 gallon tanks have 3-8 fish - depending on size and what kinf of fish is in it.

If he has goldfish they need 2 gallons of water for each inch.


Does he have a filter as well? The filter is important for keeping the water clean, absorbing bad things, and providing air in the water as well.


Try not to overfeed fish. Their stomach is only the size of their eyes. They really only need to be fed once a day and just a little.
Under feeding is safer then over feeding.

If the water is greenish:

He has algea in the water. This can be due to him leaving his light on too long or being near a window. Fixing this problem takes 1. fixing the light problem, stop leaving light on or move away from sun. and 2. changing a little water every few days until it is clear. Could take up to a month.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Still not enough info on what is in the tank, first you dont have to worry about useing PH balance your average PH that comes out of your tap will be around 7.5, too much chemicals to use, depending on how many fish you have might be too much load for your filter to handle, you can also get a diatom filter wich will filter the smallest micron in your tank and it works well to make the water crystal clear, http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp19165/si1383444/cl0/vortexdiatomfilterd1, lighting should be on for an average of 8 to 10 hours, clean your gravel every week with a 10 percent water change with water conditioner after ever frequent 10 percent change, clean any algae with a good brush, and also do a test on nitrates and amonia levels, some fish stores will check your water quality by bringing some water in, and not sure how many times you feed your fish but stay with feeding them once a day and try not to over feed wich also causes the problem aswelll

Answer 3

If it's a new tank setup, try doing nothing for 7-10 days. The water will get very cloudy but then will clear on it's own as the bacteria population (in the water, in the tank) reaches an equilibrium. This only for if the tank is a new setup.

(The bacteria in the tank help break down the waste products from the fish.)

Answer 4

Your tank is cycling meaning its' organising the organic and organic micro organism filters which will finally help with waste administration in the tank with the help of taking the amonia that the fish produce and turning it into nitrites which the filters will grow to be nitrates which you administration with the help of doing periodic 10-15% water differences. yet in view that your at the instant cycling you will could do much extra favourite water differences to maintain up until eventually the tank is prevalent in case you have any desire of protecting your fish alive. a minimum of two times a week and don't eliminate all the water or you will in basic terms reset the whole technique from sq. one. you in easy terms could exchange out 10-15% of the water. because it incredibly is nonetheless, you have WAAYYYY too many fish in this tank. A single fancy goldfish like your fantails desire a 20 gallon tank all to themselves with an further 10 gallons for each extra goldfish thereafter. Comet kind goldfish (aka carnival goldfish) desire a minimum of a fifty 5 gallon for one fish. in case you save the tank as is, you're turning out to be some die off between the overcrowding and the rigidity of the cycle. If I have been you, i might take decrease back the goldfish and get a pair of hardy fish like zebra danios or cherry barbs to end the cycle and than artwork from there.

Answer 5

Adding a bunch of chemicals just confuses the situation. Balanced water is clear water. This means not overfeeding and removing any uneaten food from the tank, weekly water changes and siphoning the gravel, having good filtration and learning how to clean the filter. Doing all of this correctly allows for beneficial bacteria to grow. Having beneficial bacteria allows the fishes' ammonia to cycle into nitrites that cycle into nitrates that, when they are all at their correct levels, makes healthy water. Here are some links for learning how to do proper cleaning and maintenance, understanding algae, and just an overall explanation of the needs of a healthy tank and how to achieve these things. Good luck to you and your father! I wish him well!

Answer 6

First of all try a filter be careful about which ones you choose. Some may suck up fish. Second keep it out of direct sunlight so algea doesn't grow. Make sure the fish are alright.
There are tons of things that cause this from poop from the fish to bacteria. Watch out for uneaten fish food and dead fish. I have a few sites that I dug up. (Yes it might be a lot but it will help.)

Answer 7

Do small water changes every couple of days, and use a bacteria supplement for aquariums with every water change. Try not to use any more chemical modifiers, that's probably aggravating the situation more than helping it. Try doing about a 1 gallon change every third day, and use the bacteria supplement each time in the appropriate dosage. You can find it at any petstore. Good luck!

Answer 8

You didn't include enough info.
How many fish and what kind in the tank?
What kind of filtration?
How long has the tank been setup?
Need to know these facts before any advise.