cloudy water

[lucyinthesky]

hi there,
i have looked for information on this in other threads, but cant find anything specifically related.

i have mr splashy in a 15 litre baby biorb tank - ceramic media at the bottom, two silk plants, an ornament and airpump / filter.

i put him in this tank abotu 4 weeks ago, and have been doing partial water changes.

the tank water has become very cloudy. i changed over 50% of the water on friday, and it didnt improve.

i chatted to a colleague that has a tropical aquarium and he said, that as far as he can remember about freshwater - that it goes through a 'cycle'... can anyone point me in the direction of some more reading material or give me advice.

i use a water ager / conditioner, and have purchased a gravel cleaner which i have not used yet (not arrived in the post).

there is some debris at the bottom - uneaten food etc which i have not been able to remove completely.. would this be the cause?

mr splashy is still very happy, and the water doesnt seem to be affecting him at all, however aesthetically it doesnt look that great.

[xxabc]

Google up "bacteria bloom", which I believe is somehow related to a cycle. Can't remember how, though.

Here's the forum's thread on cycling ("Nitrogen Cycle / Aquarium Cycle")
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/f...m-cycle-38617/

And go ahead and keep googling up nitrogen cycle.

Also, I'd recommend a heater - bettas are tropical fish and they favor warmer (77-80F) waters. Even if your room temperature is "warmer", there will still be some temperature fluctuations, and it's best to keep it constant. Plus I don't know anybody who has their temperature at 78 hahaha.

What conditioner do you use? -And a water ager? What is that? I know some people manually age their water by simply leaving it out for a day.

I doubt the debris / food will cause it, but it helps to take it out (especially uneaten food, that rots and rots).

Also, how often do you do water changes ? And how much ?

[lucyinthesky]

hey, thanks for your help!

im in australia - and so am not too familiar with the products used in america.

I forgot to mention that I do have a heater and a light aswell :)

I use 'wardly tri-start' which says its a tripple action water ager and conditioner and it removes /neutralises chlorine and chloramine.

I change the water once a week and do about 50%

[xxabc]

Ooh, Australia~, Hahaha, I see. And yay for a heater :)

Wardly Tri-Start...just from a glance, and quick read at what it does, I'd say it's fine. I know some people have been having cloudy water with their conditioners, however. I think it was TopFIn, but I can easily be wrong. I would ignore the "triple action water ager." If you have the money go ahead and try another conditioner, but that's your choice.

I'm still thinking it's Bacteria Bloom. I got BB about a month after I set up my tank as well~ once you read up "Nitrogen Cycle" you'll see why I'm recommending to do more often water changes until your tank officially cycles. To know if it cycles or not is to
1. Get a liquid test kit with ammonia/nitrate/nitrite (and usually comes with pH). I had API Master Kit, do they have it there? (Keep in mind, I just forgot which one is worse, nitrate or nitrite. I'm losing my mind! Hahaha)
2. Keep testing. If the ammonia, or nitrate gets even above 0, do a water change. Usually in a 5 gal, every other day you should be doing water changes to keep ammonia/nitrates down. Once they're both down to 0 for a while, and nitrite is not to high either (I think 20ppm? It's reaaaaally late here...) then your tank is considered cycled :)

Sorry for being out of it~

[xxabc]

Tried to edit, couldn't

Okay, so AMMONIA and NITRITE should be down to zero. NITRATE should be minimal.

HOWEVER, You still should read it off on your own by googling / researching, or having other people give you their opinions as well. I'm very very sleepy right now, and I'm worried I'm feeding some wrong information for you, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Explaining the cycle is not my thing! Haha~ good luck~

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I had cloudy water too and I was recommended a 30% water change daily - mine cleared up fairly quickly (around 3 weeks).

I love the name Mr. Splashy lol

[bloo97]

Wow, I read that thread you posted, and it looks like with all of the food Lucky doesn't eat, I've been doing the "Fishless Cycle with food" one for a while! Unless I'm mistaken...?

[bloo97]

I love the name Mr. Splashy lol

Yeah, Very cute!

[xxabc]

I don't think it would be called fishless, if you have a fish, LOL.