skynoverya550

what is the fastest way to get rid of this eyesore (cloudy water) i know that i didnt cycle and establish my tank like i should have, but i have buddys that dont either and there water is crystal clear and its straight from the hose.

i have done 1 25% water change for like 4 days now. it got a little better.

any help would be greatly appriciated!

Kuli_Loach

Yes, you did rush it and that is why it is cloudy but I know, you are ready to have fish in there since you spent all that money on a 55g. You can buy clear water stuff that works on mine and do water changes, that is all you can do really.

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Too Many tanks!!!

BJP

The quickest way is to place your gravel vacuum in and start vacuuming. When you get between 50 - 75% of the water out leave the vacuum running and use a hose to slowly add clean temperature adjusted water coming in at the same pace the vacuum is removing water. After a while remove the vacuum and let the hose keep filling the tank slowly. Having somewhere for the water coming out of the vacumm to go other than juggling a couple buckets helps. I usually stick the end of the vacuum out the window or use a bucket/trashcan with a drain line. See picture for an example.

http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r...=doublevac.jpg

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thebean954

BJP, i have the same problem, but wont doing that get rid of the good bacteria? I have 3 fish in there now, they have been troopers about everything, i think i might try this later today.

skynoverya550

good advice. i will try this later on. i dont know if this is dumb or not. but would it be ok to go buy ALOT of bottled water and fill the whole tank that way? lol i know wal mart has some 1.00 cases of h20 lol.

Andyoybna

The only problem with filling your tank with this water is, it could shock your fish from PH change, most bottled water has about 6.5 PH, the other problem is, most of the time there is no electrolytes, however you can add something like a tablespoon of table salt per 5 gallons of water, just make the transition slowly.

Also, walmart usually has culligan stations, which have filtered reverse osmosis water, it isn't very expensive per gallon, but they only let you use their containers which are a bit on the expensive side, but still not horrible, once you buy the container you can bring it back and refill it only paying for the water.

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BJP

There are no appreciable amounts of good bacteria in the water. They live on the solid surfaces like tank walls, substrate, filter media and decor. Only the bad one's making the water cloudy are in the water itself in quantity.

I was making the comment to sky though who has done daily 25% water changes so the fish are getting accustomed to frequent water changes and should have no major PH issues. If your tank isn't, work up to it slowly. Maybe an extra 10% with your next cleaning and keep increasing from there. You could also start the incoming water flow sooner so it dillutes your tanks water more gradually. Maybe after removing only 25% of the old water. Once fish are accustomed to clean water I tend to keep them hooked on it it with my typical water changes exceeding 100% and never less than 50%. With my larger tanks I've gone a step further into continual flow where they get anywhere from 50% to 200% water changes daily in a never ending flow. A small trickle coming in 24/7 and old water exitting through drain lines. If something happens all I have to do is increase the flow to correct it quickly. No ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, DOC's, GH, phosphate or anything else accumulates. Nothing like trace elements, KH or electrolytes gets depleted and the ph stays constant. The tanks and ponds can't overheat on hot days or freeze in winter. As a side benefit I never touch the tank except for algae removal, feeding and mechanical media rinsing.

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skynoverya550

i think im going to opt and buy a better filter. the emporer 400 is what i thinhk im going to buy. right now i have a aquatech 30-60 which it regent i beleive? just a basic store brand.

what kind of media would you suggest i use. i was thinking some type of water clear solution

BJP

Regent is Marinelands sister company both owned and operated by Aquaria. If the 30-60 is the one that takes two cartridges it's basically the original Penguin 300/330 without the bio-wheels. Moving up to the Emporer 400 may or may not yield benefits. You'll get a little more flow, the same mechanical and chemical except in slightly larger cartridges that cost more. You do get the wheels but if you're not actively having an ammonia or nitrite issue then they at best would just allow bacteria to transfer from places they currently exhist in the tank to live on the wheels where they are subject to drying out during power outages. More bio housing doesn't make more bacteria, it just allows them to live in different places.

I prefer water changes but I have used Filter-Aid by Aquarium Products. It used to be a tiny bottle with a green cap. Ignore the instructions about drops per gallon and just add about 10 drops to each of your cartridges mechanical media and rub them in pretty good. It makes the fibers super sticky so they collect more particles clearing the water. Then you need to pressure rinse the cartridge every day for a few days to get the particles off the cartridge and out of the tank.

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smorsi

Help If You Can I Have The Side Filter And Back Filter 30-60 And A Small Back Filter And I Have Had This 55 Gallon Tank Since Christmas And Have All Sorts Of Fish It Started Out Really Clear Anda I Have Done Everything That You All Have Tried I Am Getting So Tired Of All This Crap I Have Had Fish My Whole Life And Cant Figure Out What To Do It Is Cloudy And Wont Clear With Anything I Have Done I Have Spent Hundreds Of Dollars On Stuff And I Am Running Out Of Stuff To Try So If Anyone Can Help Please Do Tell Me What To Do I Have Like 30 Fish But Only A Few Are Big Ones And They Range From Gold Fish To Lotus And Loach And Silver Dollars They Are Doing Great But The Water Just Wont Clear I Have Tried Clear Aid It Works For About An Hour And Then It Clouds Again This Tank Is The Main Thing In My House And It Is Getting Unsightly Can Anyone Tell Me What To Do.... Can Frequent Water Changes Help I Only Try Them Once Every 2 Weeks ??? Any Help Would Be Really Appreciated

Thanks So Much
Tracy