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Cloudy water no fish yet.

746 views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  SeaHorse 
#1 ·
Asking questions on behalf of my daughter's boyfriend. He set up the 5gal tank and put in the water conditioner. There is no fish in it yet, he is cycling it right now. I guess the water went cloudy. I thought it might be the gravel, he might not have rinsed it enough. He has gravel, and a couple of fake plants, filter and heater. He lives in a college dorm so I don't know if it is hard or soft water.
 
#3 ·
Is he adding ammonia? Without ammonia the tank isn't cycling. Is he testing his water with a liquid water test kit? He'll need to a water change if his Ph goes down into the 6's or his cycle will stall. he won't know his tank is cycled if he's not testing the water. Bacterial blooms are not uncommon in a cycling tank or if he added a bacteria booster.
 
#4 ·
I had the same problem and it went away a few days later. It was the BB Blooming. But yours might be different.
 
#5 ·
I believe he has changed half of the water. ( he did it before I could get back to him). He has not done any testing yet. I will lend him my kit when he comes home for the weekend. What would be his best course of action now. I believe they were going out to get fish this weekend.
 
#6 ·
If he hasn't been adding ammonia the tank isn't cycled & if he's going to add fish he'll be doing a fish IN cycle which will require him to be much more diligent on water changes & testing. I hope he's not adding a lot of fish because that'll really make the ammonia spike & cause his fish problems if not death. If he added a bacteria booster that could've made the water cloudy & it'll clear up,with time.
 
#7 ·
Would the easiest thing for him to do be empty the tank and start over? I could give him one of my filters from an established tank to use in his to cycle then he would have to wait one more week to get fish.
 
#10 ·
Pure ammonia is the best to use because you can dose it correctly, some people use a raw shrimp, others use fish food (which is the most difficult). There are stickies on this forum regarding cycling a tank or you can Google nitrogen cycle, then ask questions if need be.
 
#11 ·
Hi, if you have an established tank and can use some of the filter media or gravel, something that has been in the established tank, add it to the new tank and add the fish within 24 hours so that the good bacteria does not die off. Do not rinse off gunk in tap water, remember to use de-chlor water. Be sure to monitor readings and do weekly water changes at minimum. The good bacteria is on the hard surfaces no suspended in the water.
If you are going to add ammonia, do not add fish until you have gone the full cycle which can take up to 6-8 weeks.
Lots of live plants also neutralize the harmful bacteria cycle.
 
#13 ·
Sure. It will help. They should try to get something "leafie", gosh I don't know my plants.... I do know that the Vals straight and spiral won't really give a Betta a place to hang on. They DO love leafie plants to hunker down in. 1 or 2 would really help the situation. The live plants take up the harmful Ammonia.
 
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