I need help with my fish tank!!!?

Question

I do not do full water changes but once a year and I just did it 2 weeks ago. Now, already the water looks like swamp water. It is all green and cloudy looking. I have two Algae eaters in there because it is a big tank and there is an angel fish, beta fish, and a bubble eyed goldfish. I have tried all kinds of stuff and spent about 50.00 on chemicals. I am going crazy. Also, are you suppose to turn off the tank light every night or could this bee the cause of some of the greenish water?? Please help. any suggestions are welcome. Thanks

Answer 1

The full water change is what has caused the problem for you.
Doing a full water change is one of the worst possible things you can do to unbalance a fish tank. It's always better to do lots of small water changes then one or two very big ones.
When you do complete water changes like this you lose all the benefitial bacteria which break down the ammonia produced by the fish and the nitrite produced by food/organic matter rotting in the water and as a secondry stage of filtration. This leads to the nitrite and ammonia levels building up in the water which can cause cloudiness but for the fish themselves can cause ulcers, fungus and parasite problems all linked with a lowering of the fishes immune system because of the bad water quality.
If you are feeding the fish once or more each day I would advise to immediately stop and reduce feeding to once every other day and just enough to cover a five pence piece. The more food that goes in there the more waste is produced so the more the problem will increase.
Next would be to do a series of water changes - there is an old saying for fish tank owners which goes "The solution to pollution is dilution". By doing a series of small 20% water changes this will dilute down the waste which has built up in the water. I'd suggest going to an aquatic store and getting your water tested so that you know exactly how many water changes you need to do, the worse the water is the more you may need to do them. Don't be tempted to change too much at once as this can cause more harm to the fish than good, doing it slowly and gradually is the best answer.
Treat your tank now as if it were a new tank, so after you've done your series of 20% water changes to bring the nitrite and ammonia levels down (it may be a case of doing 3 or more changes leaving a day inbetween) just feed the fish once every other day and do a 20% water change once a week, using a gravel cleaner if you have one.
Your tank light should be turned off every night - the maximum it should be on for is 10 - 12 hours each day - excess light and high Nitrate levels will cause the water to turn green so if you are leaving the light on all night i'd start turning it off from now.
Hope this helps.

Answer 2

First, you need to change how you handle the water in your tank. Use a small inexpensive tool from any pet shop called a gravel siphon. This will allow you to clean the gravel as you remove water from your tank. Use this to clean the gravel as you remove about 25% of the water once a week. Never change all of the water at once and never wash out the gravel. Wash the filter pad out in some of the water you remove each week and replace in the filter. About once a year this pad will need a complete replacement as it can only be rinsed so many times before it falls apart.

The green water is due to 2 things: too many nutrients in the water and too much light. Limit how much you feed the fish by feeding them only what they will eat in 3-4 minutes per feeding and feed twice a day. Also only have the tank light on for about 10-12 hours a day. Really, the fish don't need the light, so you could leave it off except when you are home and enjoying the tank. Also be sure that sunlight doesn't shine intot he tank. If this is the case use a background to block the sun. Chemicals will clear the tank in the short term, but will only make matter worse in the long term, it's far better not to use them at all.

I am including a link to a page that will help you a lot in understanding how an aquarium works and runs and what is going on in your tank. Once you understand these basics, you can avoid having this problem in the future, work on the tank less and enjoy it more. Not to mention having much more healthy fish.

If after reading this link and it's new few pages you have additional questions about it, feel free to email me.

http://www.firsttankguide.net/

MM

Answer 3

Yeah...do not leave your light on all the time. A few hours a day is all you need. You have green algae in the water. If you turn your light off more, you'll have better luck. Also, a goldfish needs WAY more water changes than any other fish. You should be doing like 25%-30% water changes up to 2 times a WEEK!! Depends on the size of the tank. Goldfish are very messy. I never keep them in my tanks. Also, what kind of filter do you have? it might need changing. But if you have a Bio-wheel, never change or clean it. That stuff on the wheel is what's keeping your tank healthy. When you're doing your full water change, you might be sending the tank into a cycle as well. More chemicals aren't the answer. Not until you know for sure what's going on. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Never do a 100% water change in an estalished tank. You killed all of the beneficial bacteria that were keeping your fish alive and your water clear. Throwing chemicals into the water will not clear it, and will only serve to further stress your fish. They should begin dieing soon due to ammonia poisoning. You are faced with recycling your tank just as though it were brand new. You also have a tank that is either too hot for the Goldfish or too cool for the tropicals. Get a couple of good beginners books and read them,you need more advice that this forum has space.

Answer 5

You definately need to turn off your light at night
Buy a timer, it does the job for you 10 hours on 14hours off
If you have your tank near a window with sun coming in, move it right now, cause sun makes algae grow
Test your water for ph and ammonia
Hope that helps
Good luck

Answer 6

fish need 4 to 10 hours of light they dont sleep and the algea get a constant sunlight which makes it grow 2x as fast