Just got my first tank

[markacino]

Hey everyone :)

Yesterday I set up my very first fish tank. Not to big, 60litres (i believe thats approx 15 gallons).

Now I have it all completely set up, gravel, heater, filter, plants. I am yet to put in fish of course.

Now a concern I have is the water does seem a bit cloudy right from the beginning. Nothing disastrous, but certainly not crystal clear. I did wash the gravel, however now I am thinking maybe not enough. Am I going to have to take it all out and rewash the gravel, or will the filter remove the cloudiness over time?

Many thanks for any suggestions :)

[Alpo]

don't worry. run the filter and it should clear up in an hour or two.

[HorrorShowRot]

Congrats on your first tank.

[mac]

Hey everyone :)

Yesterday I set up my very first fish tank. Not to big, 60litres (i believe thats approx 15 gallons).

Welcome. Nice size tank. 15 gallon tanks are great.
Congrats on setting it up.thumbs2:

Now I have it all completely set up, gravel, heater, filter, plants. I am yet to put in fish of course.

That is good. Any chance of pics?

Now a concern I have is the water does seem a bit cloudy right from the beginning. Nothing disastrous, but certainly not crystal clear. I did wash the gravel, however now I am thinking maybe not enough. Am I going to have to take it all out and rewash the gravel, or will the filter remove the cloudiness over time?

Many thanks for any suggestions :)

First of it dose sound like the gravel. BUt that is not to much of a problem IMO and IME. But what will now be happening in the tank is a cycle. A bacteria bloom.

The best thing to do is cycle the tank before placing fish in it. Fish less cycling is best. That way no fish can get hurt while the bacteria grows in the tank. Which will over time become stable enough to look after fish.

One important thing is to get water test kits, for NItrates NItrites and Ammonia, plus pH. That way you can keep a eye on the water parameters and find out what is happening.

Good luck,

mac

[markacino]

Thankyou :) And thanks for such a quick response.

The filter has been running for just under 24 hours now, but the water cloudiness has not changed at all it seems. Is it just one of those situations where there will be some waiting time, or would it be best to rewash gravel?

Mac - SO you say cycling without fish is best. I was told using a couple of hardy fish to start of the cycle is the way to go, whats your opinion on that method?

[Northernguy]

Welcome to the Fabulous AC!
Check out the free ebook on the left.It will give you a good idea about how your tank works.
There is a thread on fishless cycling,Its easy and the best way!

Leave your tank run and do not remove the gravel.If its real bad do a water change.about half the water.

[angc84]

Mac - SO you say cycling without fish is best. I was told using a couple of hardy fish to start of the cycle is the way to go, whats your opinion on that method?


Just thought I'd put in my 2 cents on the fishless cycling method.
Cycling without fish will give you a bigger bacteria colony. Here is a link ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.]) to an article written by the guy who came up with the method back in 1990s. He is an organic chemist. There are a lot of great articles/protocols on fishless cycling.

IMO cycling with fish is cruel and inefficient. You should really consider cycling without fish.

[rookie]

definatly cycle without fish it is so much easer and you will not loose any fish. also dont forget to make sure you dont overstock the tank. never listen to anyone at a fish store, you are in the right place everyone here are very helpful u can ask them anything. and dont worrie it will clear up just give it some time focus on cycling thumbs2:

[markacino]

THanks for all the reply everyone, much appreciated.

As much as it is annoying me looking at some cloudy water, I will definately take your advice and give it some time.

Now I have had a look at the thread on fishless cycling, and went out to buy a testing kit as well as some pure ammonia. The only problem being that I was unsure as to where to find the ammonia. All I could find were solutions desined to remove ammonia, not add more in.

[Paw Broon]

Not sure where you're from but there is a lot of places online you can order some but realise you probably want it now i think hardware stores sell it. Definetely go the fishless route if you can though if i had knew of it at the time that is what i would've done, you'll cycle your tank in under half the time and you'll have no casualtys on the way.

Your tank should clear up in a couple of days i think, good luck with your tank and post some pics if you get a chance.

[kaimarkhirst]

The Cloudy water is Aquatic Gravel micro Dust particles in the water column. This will settle down. Id turn off your filter and do this as running your filter with this kind of dust wil just churn it over and over again IMO and Experience.

Nothing to worry about.

fishless cycle with some live bacteria added or aqua start in the filter..... Cycle with fish is not the way to go as theyll just die, if not its ten times as much work...

Kai

[iZinedane]

dont forget to cycle it
and it should clear up overtime thumbs2:

[markacino]

The Cloudy water is Aquatic Gravel micro Dust particles in the water column. This will settle down. Id turn off your filter and do this as running your filter with this kind of dust wil just churn it over and over again IMO and Experience.

Nothing to worry about.

fishless cycle with some live bacteria added or aqua start in the filter..... Cycle with fish is not the way to go as theyll just die, if not its ten times as much work...

Kai

Hello Kai,

THanks for the reply, so to clarify ..

You suggest leaving my filter turned off for a period of time until the dist particles settle, and then once its clear turn the filter back on and begin fishless cycling?

[Sharon]

I have always run my filter after adding the substrate...the water will clear, but it will take a little time. If you're having difficulty finding Ammonia, try large supermarkets...cleaning supplies. Make sure there are no "soaps" added....when you shake it, there should be no suds.:ssmile: Congrats on the new tank!!!:ssmile:

[BirdOfPray]

Don't know where you're located, but I found just plain ammonia at Ace Hardware, here in Texas. Wal-Mart, Lowes and H-E-B all had something in theirs that made it foam if shaken and I heard that wasn't good, but I could be wrong. It only cost a couple of dollars when I did find it.

[markacino]

After researching the internet a bit, it seems it is near impossible to find any pure ammonia here in Melbourne. The best I could muster seems to be the cloudy variety. Some people have also mentioned throwing fish food into the tank as if you were feeding, to raise ammonia levels?

What are my other options? Am I stuck trying a cycle WITH fish?

[rich311k]

A raw shrimp or fish food will work as an ammonia source as well.

[MonkeyPox]

must... resist... urge... "shrimp on the barbie..." joke... can't... contain...

Decaying raw shrimp work great. Do you have a friend/lfs that you can get to lend you some filter media?

[markacino]

must... resist... urge... "shrimp on the barbie..." joke... can't... contain...

Decaying raw shrimp work great. Do you have a friend/lfs that you can get to lend you some filter media?

Haha, it had to happen didnt it!?

Unfortunately I dont know of anyone who keeps fish, so used media is not really available to me. If I am going to try and raise ammonia using fish flakes, how much should i be throwing in, and how often?

[rich311k]

Throw in a large pinch and wait. In a few days you should have ammonia. Afterwards feed the tank just like you have fish in it.

[markacino]

Okay, so whilst I am constantly adding food in each day, is it going to slowly get dissolved or something along those lines? Or am I just going to have lots of uneaten food floating around everywhere?

Also once the nitrite starts rising, am I still supposed to be adding in food for ammonia reasons, maybe half the food just as if I was using actual ammonia?

I feel a bit silly asking all these questions, but as the saying goes, no such thing as a stupid question.

[rich311k]

It will dissolve and create ammonia to get your cycle going and keep it fed. They will actually sink after a few minutes.

When your cycle is done and your ammonia and nitrite go to and stay at zero, you will do a large water change which will give you a chance to suck at any left over gunk.

[MonkeyPox]

Frozen shrimp will work faster and less mess to clean up (put it in a filter bag) but food works as well.

You don't have to keep dosing after you see nitrates, but you need to make sure there is always a source of ammonia (fish, etc...) in your tank or you'll lose the cycle.

[markacino]

Thanks for all the posts guys, I will have a good hard look for ammonia again tomorrow, and if I have no luck, will go with either the fish food or the shrimp :)

[Sharon]

I hope you find it...it will be easier...:ssmile: