Dirty Tank?

Question

My fish tank STAYS dirty I clean it and it is an all day project but then in two weeks its jsut as dirty as before. I have a really old fish in there that I LOVE and i dont want to clean it again casue i am scared this next cleaning may stress him out to bad and kill him. I think I may have a bad filter any ideas on some help. My tank is in a room with NO direct sunlight.

Answer 1

Okay first off you need to test or take your water to a pet store like Jack's and have it tested your water is def. high in nitrites(fish poop,food) or it wouldn't be messy. There maybe something that you are lacking this will help. You also need to get some stress coat it works good for changing tanks and just plain out works good.The fastest and easiest Way to clean your tank is to get a gravel siphon (less time no mess and easy) make sure you get the one that hooks to your sink, all you do is connect it to your sink turn your water on and have the other end in the fish aquarium and move it along the gravel to suck up the poop and icky stuff, you turn the connection that's connected to your sink and it fills your tank back up. Cycle is something that would be helpful to you it put good bacteria (what fish need) in your tank as well, and works as a stress agent too. Now about your filter, what kind do you have and what size is your tank? I have two canister filters on my tank (but it is 125 gal) The brand I use is Fluval 304 Canisters. Depending on your size tank is what kind you need, to be further assistance write back what size tank you have and what kind of filter, Thank you

Answer 2

Well, first of all i don't know why jackp1one got a thumbs down, but she's a 100% correct in what she is saying

second of all, you're not suppose to clean your tank 100%, but do partial waterchanges of 25% weekly with a gravel siphon and top it off with conditioned water

Any time you take out your fish and break your tank completely down you're starting basically a new tank again
What you see after 2 weeks is most likely cloudy water which is caused by a bacterial bloom, which is further caused by cycling your tank all over again and means that it's going through the nitrogen cycle
This means, the good bacteria is beeing build up in your filter media as well as some of it will be build up in your gravel
ammonia will be converted into nitrites and they will be converted into nitrAtes
Once your tank is done cycling, you're suppose to have 0 nitrite and ammonia readings, but nitrAte readings should be below 20ppm for your fish to be healthy
Once your tank is cycled, you need to do 25% weekly partial waterchanges with a gravel siphon
don't overfeed your fish
leave your light on only for 10-12 hours during the day, and turn it off at night for 12-14 hours



Hope that helps
Good luck


EB



Feel free to email me

Edit*
The thumbs down, just show that people are extremly ignorant :(

Answer 3

Do you have a Ph Test kit? It will tell you what chemicals need to be added to your water. A bad Ph can cause lots of unwanted green growth, sunlight or not. Not all water is the same...I always had to add sea salt and raise the PH of my tap water.
Perhaps you need to get a bottom-dweller, like a Pleico. Freshwater crabs (assuming this is freshwater) are also good for cleaning up stray food ( and poo).
I suggest before your next cleaning place the fish in a separate bowl/tank with treated water (plus some of the tank water), and do a bottom-up check of the tank. Including filters. I used to change mine every few months.
There is no need to remove all the water, though.
Good luck. Wish i could help you more!

Answer 4

Well, I have the same problem, but make sure you are not feeding them to much, that could be the problem. If you have a vacuum for your fish tank, use that to clean all the fish poo and food that went to the bottom. That could help alot. Other then that I am not sure, maybe go to/call a local pet shop and ask them what you can do that would help.

Answer 5

- You should vacum weekly. I think just taking a vacuum to the gravel really helps clear it up. Also, take a scrub pad to the sides of the aquarium.**

-Check your tank size. It may not be big enough for your current fish. If the tank is too small, the dirt will seem worse.

-Try Plecostomus - They will eat excess food and waste.
and/ord Algae Eaters - They eat only algae.

- You may need a new filter. If you do decide to get a new filter, e-mail me and I can make some recommendations. For your wallet's sake, try the options above first.

I hope everything works out. Good luck with your old fishy friend.

[e-mail]

Answer 6

You should never totally empty your fish tank,get a gravel vacuum(about 5 dollars) and use it to remove about 20% of the water once a week,that will keep waste from building up in your tank and will be much less stressful for your fish.It only takes me about 15-30 minutes to clean my tanks depending on how big the one is that I am cleaning.

Answer 7

The problem could be the water that you are filling the tank with. If it's tap water it may not have the proper PH levels, which will promote algae growth. There are additives that can be placed into the filtration system that can improve the water quality. You may need to take a water sample to a good aquarium & fish retailer and have them test it. They can advise you from there.
My water was so bad and it got so expensive always buying additives and different filters, eventually I got rid of my 75 gallon tank. Hopefully all you may need id a new or better quality filter.

Answer 8

hi, make sure your not over feeding it because if the fish doesnt eat it. were do u think it goes? in the gravel. if thats not the case do u have goldfish? there very dirty fish. i had them when i was little and the whole downstairs would smell pretty bad. And the guy at petco told me that if you leave the light on two much it causes alige to grow on the tank.

hope i helped.

Answer 9

try posibly geting a bigger filter and change it more often, also i usto have hte same problem with my fish if you go to a pet store ask them about a water test kit. i got one and it has helped me alot.. the kit lets me test the water fo r7 difffrent chemicals inn the water and if ther are any imbalances i knwo what chemicals i need to add and my water has bin clean for a while now, also there is a type of micro organisim that you can get that you put into the tank and it helps stabalize the water .. good luck

Answer 10

Algae eaters? Tanks need a little bit of filth in there anyway to keep the bacteria in balance.