couldy fish tank

evan023 · 09-25-2008, 12:17 PM

I just got a 10 gallon tank in my dorm room and for the first few days it was slightly cloudy and i let it cycle for about 4 days before i got fish. i have 5 small danio's and 2 guppies in the tank. i just put the fish in yesterday night and when i woke up this morning the tank was very cloudy it's a white/grey color. the fish are still alive and active so im assuming that its not too harmful to the fish but if you know what has happened or how to fix it please help me out.

LiVe4fIsH · 09-25-2008, 01:29 PM

Hi Evan, if you happen to have test kits with you, it might be easier and quicker to help the rest of the members try and identify your problem if you use the test kits to list your water parameters such as pH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and a easy one to find is the water temp. If you do not have any test kits with you at this time, it might also be pretty helpful to others if you can list what exactly you have inside of your tank. Basically just explain to us what your tank looks like. What type of substrate, gravel, plants, rockwork, any type of decor, and most importantly what your filter media consist of. You kind of have to dissect your filter and let us know what exactly is inside of it, at the same time what type of filtration it is (canister, HOB, undergraval, etc.) These types of questions are ahead of you but if you list them before others start to respond, it will increase your chances of getting your question answered much quicker.
-izz

evan023 · 09-25-2008, 05:34 PM

thanks
um my tank has gravel and all fake plastic plants i washed them all really well before i put them in the tank. It use's florescent lighting and i have a whisper filter that came with a kit i think its the unit that's good for tanks 5-10 gallons and the temperature of the tank varies from about 72-79 i also have a bubbler inside the tank i have a rock spout that i put on the bottom of the tank and then covered it with the gravel. I haven't ever used a bubbler in a tank before but i can't imagine that would make the tank this cloudy. And just to give you an idea of how cloudy the tank is if you look at it from one side to the other you can't see the other end.

LiVe4fIsH · 09-25-2008, 06:13 PM

Well, basically there are four or so reasons why tank water becomes or 'starts off' cloudy such as debris from new substrate/gravel, a bacterial bloom, floating algae, or a chemical imbalance in your tank. It seems as though, since your tank is new and you said you do have graval, the cloudy water can be from the substrate not being washed out entirely before filling the tank with water. If this is the case, the filter will take this messy water away within the next day or two.
It also seems that since your tank is new, this might be an answer as well of which there is an explosive/fast growth of baterial due to its population inside of the tank is not yet 'balanced' with the waste that your fish are producing. To help get rid of this, try doing a water change and avoid over feeding and as the tank matures, everything will balance itself out and the cloud in the water will go away.
If you had a chemical imbalance in your tank, it would be from you adding certain chemicals into your water to try and get rid of something that you didnt want there. Since your tank is fairly new, I do not think this is the case. If you happen to of added chemicals into your water, do a few feq. w/c (water changes) and try to stay away from the heavy end of the chemicals you are adding during this time period.
Lastly, if you happen to have floating algae, I think you would have said it was more of a greenish color. If your tank is next to a window or any direct sunlight, try to move the tank or invest in some blinds or it can be caused by leaving your lighting source on too long throughout the day. Try to min. the lighting to only when you really need it. Feq. w/c will help this.

Overall, your tank is fairly new and may not be cycled completely. Since you already have fish in the tank, and with your circumstances, it is best to leave your fish in the tank, keep up with feq. partial w/c, and allow the tank to get ajusted. Keep feeding to once a day, and if thhe problem starts to become worse within the next day or two, please let us know! We are all here to help you and do not feel that you cant ask certain questions because you will think its stupid. I promise you, any question you will have, has already been asked on FTF. We want you to have a great tank to look at after a long day of school! Believe me, its a stress reliever. Again, keep us updated as much as you want to. There are a few of us including myself, who live on this site. Good luck!

-Izzy