Fish tank bacteria problem!?

Question

I'm pretty good with fish tanks and all that and recently I got a new 29 gallon tank, I filled it up and everything and then poured a little stress coat and stress zyme in but I noticed the tank was getting really cloudy, after doing some research I found out that the stress zyme contains a lot of live bacteria, could that be why it's cloudy? I poured too much of the zyme in so that might be why.. How should I go about fixing this? Refilling the tank with new water or what? help!

Answer 1

Don't bother to change your water just because of this. Cloudiness in a new aquarium is natural because of bacterial reproduction, and any excess you put in will self-regulate over the next few days.

To give you the basics of what's happening is that you're currently developing a bacterial population in the tank, as long as there's a source of ammonia (fish, or in the absence of fish, fish food or 1 drop of 100% ammonia added to the tank for every 2 gallons of volume). By adding the additive, you're increasing the amount of bacteria you have in the tank to start reproducing - that's a good thing. If you added more bacteria than there is ammonia to support, the excess will die, and add to the ammonia present, providing an "energy" source to the survivors so they're able to keep reproducing.

So unless you have fish in the tank and SERIOUSLY added too much, a little extra shouldn't hurt the tank.

You can also reduct the amount of time it takes your tank to cycle by increasing the temperature a little. Warmer conditions allow bacteria to reproduce more quickly.

Here's the link referred to earlier: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

And another good one: http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

Both links have other good articles on fishkeeping as well.

Answer 2

Amanda J has some great suggestions! I must ask, what kind of filters do you have exactly? If you should put in an undergravel filter, for this size tank I would highly recommend you add powerheads (as opposed to running an airline). However live plants do not live well with undergravel filtration. For larger tanks, I have always had excellent results using both an undergravel filter with Marineland Penguin powerheads, and a Marineland Penguin power filter with a biowheel. And to clean the tank a couple of times a year (not including partial water changes at least once a month), I use a Marineland Magnum canister filter with a gravel vaccume attachement. Once the gravel bed is clean, just let the canister run a few hours to overnight to further clean out the water. There are other companies that make similar filters, but I've always found Marineland products to be the most dependable! For a quicker fix to cloudy water, the only chemical I've had good results with is Aquarium Pharmaceudicals Accu-clear. All this stuff really does is bind small particles together, forming larger particles that are more easily sucked up and retained by your filtration system. Cheers

Answer 3

First things first. Always add water conditioner and aquarium salt when setting up. ALL the items you are putting in your tank such as stones,fake plants,decorations, should be washed in a water aquarium salt solution. NEVER use soap of any kind.

Do not even have anything on your hands when doing this for example;hand lotion,soap,perfume. You set up an aquarium it should set for at least 2 weeks with the filter systems running before you put anything in it. Once this time period is over. I would add the cheapest tester fish you can buy. This is to make sure the quality of water is going to be good for them.Give them about a week to see how good they do before buying anymore. If they don't make it you might have to get water from elsewhere.

Do not just throw the fish in when you bring them home.They should remain in the bag, but be placed in the aquarium to let their water temp slowly progress to the temp of the aquarium. This usually takes about 1/2 hour. If you just throw them in you are gonna shock them. If this happens you will lose them. Do not over fill the tank with fish, we go by the size of the fish. For example; 1 square inch of fish for every gallon of water.

If you are going to use chlorine water when replacing the water please use a additive in the water before you put it in the tank. This neutralizes the chlorine. Always and I mean always add aquarium salt to your tank when putting new fish in the tank. This will help on their stress levels. The salt will have directions on correct amounts to add on the back of the container. Do not add water that is too hot or too cold. It should be luke warm and just about match the temp of the aquarium. If you find little white spots on your fish after adding water that means the water was to hot or cold. Thus causing a disease called ick. This will kill your fish, if you don't buy a medication to clear it.

I suggest using a Magnum and a Penguin brand filter system together. This is for tanks ranging in sizes 20 to 130 gallons. Do not buy just any old run of the mill fish food for them. Check with your local pet store. I order out for mine to a place called Big Als. I have been an aquarium owner for 25 years.

Answer 4

you can't get the fish out now so.......the cloudienst of your tank is good.......leave it alone for at least a week.It means good bacteria is growing in your tank. The cloud is a bacteria bloom.This is a good thing.Get a master test kit for fresh water fish......test the water

dont fix anything
go to "fish lore.com"

Answer 5

nope, don't change out the water
this is exactly what is suppose to happens, and is a really good sign and means that your tank started the cycling process

that means nitrites will be converted to nitrates and your good bacteria is growing in there, which are essential for your fish to live and survive

here is an article which explains it very good
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cloudywater.php



hope that helps
Good luck



EB


feel free to email me for further help

Answer 6

just let the filter run for a few days WITHOUT FISH
then after a few days, it should be clear, and if not, then change the water...