cloudy new aquarium and low light

[Zathoros]

Hi,

I picked up a used aquarium, 75g with a penguin 330 filter, and a light hood
with two 20 watt fluorescent bulbs. I bought new bio wheels and filter media
as they were missing. I have two plastic buckets things in the back that are
empty though what should I put in those? I also got an air pump and a 48"
bubble bar. I bought 65 lbs of the epoxy coated gravel. I rinsed it in a
small bucket a couple of times before putting it into the aquarium, it
didn't seem like there was much debris aside from chunks of plastic that was
not attached to rocks. I put the gravel in the tank along with a few
decoration and filled it up with water. Then I treated it for chlorine. It
was a cloudy when I filled it up. I assumed this was dissolved gasses and
that it would fade away, or that it would settle.

The biowheels don't turn very well, but regardless the filter makes a lot of
small bubbles which I can see. The tank is still pretty cloudy when I look
at it from the ends, but it's almost clear when looking at it from the
front. Will this eventually clear up on it's own or is there something that
I need to do to make it clear up?

I have been reading this forum for a few weeks to get up to speed on
aquariums, I haven't had one in several years since I was a kid. So I went
out and got some cycle by Hagen, and 8 danios and 6 glo light tetras to
start my bacteria cycle off. The ph of the water here is around 7.8
according to the city. I tested mine and it was 7.6 in the tank The ammonia
was .9 and the nitrites were 0 after 24 hours. One fish died so far but the
others seem ok.

I was wondering about the lighting as well. I assume that 40 watts of light
is not enough for live plants in a 75g tank. My tank has glass tops, the
larger piece of glass is about 9" deep with a smaller liftable lid in the
front and a slot in the back with some plastic. It's possible I suppose that
I could put a second tank top light on it, it would be a tight fit as the
light I have now is about 4.5" wide. I was looking at petsmart and it seems
that they were wanting 78$ for a light hood. That was sounding pretty
expensive to me for a fluorescent light. >< Are there any inexpensive
lighting options or should I just buy a few plastic plants?

Thanks

[steve]

Zathoros wrote:
> Hi,

Hi, welcome back to the hobby.

> Will this eventually clear up on it's own or is there something that
> I need to do to make it clear up?

The initial cloudiness of the tank will clear up on it's own
eventually. It may take some time. Charcol in the filter basket will
decrease the time you have to wait. As the filter pads get full of
biological matter eventually they will trap smaller and smaller
particles by themselves.


> I tested mine and it was 7.6 in the tank The ammonia
> was .9 and the nitrites were 0 after 24 hours. One fish died so far but the
> others seem ok.

Yep, all of them will suffer a bit and a few more may die as they are
exposed to poisonous compounds. Change some water daily to keep that
ammonia level less than 1ppm. When ammonia goes down the nitrites will
climb for about a week so keep up the water change regime.

>< Are there any inexpensive
> lighting options or should I just buy a few plastic plants?

That, my freind, is the million dollar question. :) At this point I'd
suggest you consider this: Keeping live plants can be done at about 3
basic levels.

- Some low light plants that stay alive and look nice.
- A variety of plants that live in a constant tug-o-war with a plague
of algae.
- A glorious water garden full of tropical plants that looks like an
underwater tarzanian jungle.

Level one will cost you just over a hundred dollars to upgrade/replace
your lighting to 110 watts and fill your tank with java moss, java fern
and 5 or 6 anubias.
http://www.geocities.com/erviservy/CubicleFeb10c.jpg

Level two will be $100 more for another 100 watts of light. At over
two watts of light and no suitable constant source of C02, the algae
battle is on.
http://www.geocities.com/erviservy/moss3a.JPG

Level three... Ah, level three. Here you've gone over the edge and
finally acheived aquatic gardner status. At over 3 watts per gallon,
your 220 watts of light along with a pressurized C02 system and
fertilizer components have only set you back about $400. The $60
dollars of plants soon take off and are growing at an astonishing rate.
The tank looks great and the fish think they're in heaven. Your wife
thinks you've gone nuts, the kids wonder why their dad's arms are
always wet and the neighbors wonder just what you're growing in that
room with the 12 hour glow.
http://aquaria.info/members/ervis/

>
> Thanks

My pleasure.

steve

[Zathoros]

Thanks for the reply

>> Will this eventually clear up on it's own or is there something that
>> I need to do to make it clear up?
>
> The initial cloudiness of the tank will clear up on it's own
> eventually. It may take some time. Charcol in the filter basket will
> decrease the time you have to wait. As the filter pads get full of
> biological matter eventually they will trap smaller and smaller
> particles by themselves.

Ah well it appears as though the gravel is the cause. It was starting to
clear up a bit and I rearranged a couple ornaments and could see particles
coming from the gravel. I wish I had noticed it when I was rinsing it off.

>>< Are there any inexpensive
>> lighting options or should I just buy a few plastic plants?
>
> That, my freind, is the million dollar question. :) At this point I'd
> suggest you consider this: Keeping live plants can be done at about 3
> basic levels.

Thanks for the info, perhaps I will keep my eye out for some used equipment.

[nmbr1ddy]

Thanks for the reply

Will this eventually clear up on it's own or is there something that
I need to do to make it clear up?

The initial cloudiness of the tank will clear up on it's own
eventually. It may take some time. Charcol in the filter basket will
decrease the time you have to wait. As the filter pads get full of
biological matter eventually they will trap smaller and smaller
particles by themselves.

Ah well it appears as though the gravel is the cause. It was starting to
clear up a bit and I rearranged a couple ornaments and could see particles
coming from the gravel. I wish I had noticed it when I was rinsing it off.

Are there any inexpensive
lighting options or should I just buy a few plastic plants?

That, my freind, is the million dollar question. :) At this point I'd
suggest you consider this: Keeping live plants can be done at about 3
basic levels.

Thanks for the info, perhaps I will keep my eye out for some used equipment.


Or maybe plastic would do the trick with a lot less hassle