Re: 5 Gal Aquarium

[Donald Kerns]

Bug wrote:

> I have five fish (one bottom feeder) in a 5 gal aquarium. I can't keep
> the water clear for more than (about) 10 days. The water turns a
> cloudy green colour.

What sort of fish?

They're probably producing so much waste you're getting an algae bloom.

-D
--
"When you've lost your ability to laugh, you've lost your ability to
think straight." -To Inherit the Wind

[Bug]

My tank has been set up for almost a year and every time I clean it it just
gets murky again I do not have danios I have a black moore 2 lionheads a
gold fish and a bottom feeder. I don't want to take out any fish ither.I use
tap water and water condtioner to clean ther water. what can I do to clean
the water??
"Michael" > wrote in message
...
> How long has the tank been set up ?
>
> It takes about 30 to 40 days for all of the beneficial bacteria that keep
> the tank clean and the water balanced to form and really start doing their
> job. During this time you will see really poor water conditions.
>
> See the following link for an article on the Nitrogen Cycle.
>
>
http://freshaquarium.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pubnix.net%2F%7E spond%2Ffilter%2Fnitrogen.html
>
> You can do partial water changes during the process to keep the toxic
levels
> down, but leave the filter alone.
>
> Michael
>
>
> "Bug" > wrote in message
> .. .
> > I have five fish (one bottom feeder) in a 5 gal aquarium. I can't keep
the
> > water clear for more than (about) 10 days. The water turns a cloudy
green
> > colour. Short of changing the water completely, nothing seems to help. I
> > have an air pump producing bubbles, and a Whisper Filter (the soft
fluffy
> > bag with charcoal inside it)
> >
> > Any ideas?? I see some posts about testing for PH? Is this a possible
> > problem?
> >
> >
>
>

[Bug]

My tank has been set up for almost a year and every time I clean it it just
gets murky again I do not have danios I have a black moore 2 lionheads a
gold fish and a bottom feeder. I don't want to take out any fish ither.I use
tap water and water condtioner to clean ther water. what can I do to clean
the water??
"Michael" > wrote in message
...
> How long has the tank been set up ?
>
> It takes about 30 to 40 days for all of the beneficial bacteria that keep
> the tank clean and the water balanced to form and really start doing their
> job. During this time you will see really poor water conditions.
>
> See the following link for an article on the Nitrogen Cycle.
>
>
http://freshaquarium.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pubnix.net%2F%7E spond%2Ffilter%2Fnitrogen.html
>
> You can do partial water changes during the process to keep the toxic
levels
> down, but leave the filter alone.
>
> Michael
>
>
> "Bug" > wrote in message
> .. .
> > I have five fish (one bottom feeder) in a 5 gal aquarium. I can't keep
the
> > water clear for more than (about) 10 days. The water turns a cloudy
green
> > colour. Short of changing the water completely, nothing seems to help. I
> > have an air pump producing bubbles, and a Whisper Filter (the soft
fluffy
> > bag with charcoal inside it)
> >
> > Any ideas?? I see some posts about testing for PH? Is this a possible
> > problem?
> >
> >
>
>

[RedForeman ©®]

> My tank has been set up for almost a year and every time I clean it it
just
> gets murky again I do not have danios I have a black moore 2 lionheads a
> gold fish and a bottom feeder. I don't want to take out any fish ither.I
use
> tap water and water condtioner to clean ther water. what can I do to clean
> the water??

Ok, I'm in a good mood, so here goes.. Your gold fish are major polluters,
and really should be in a tank that is at least 30 gallons... honestly... GF
are big, messy poop machines, and if you've got all of them in a 5g, you
need to take them all out except for the bottom feeder unless it's a common
pl*co, then they are ALL in trouble....

Plan: Bigger tank, return fish to LFS, clean tank, let it sit a couple days,
and go get a betta... no other fish, just a single fish... or a pair of
guppies, two females would be great or maybe a pair of fish that WILL NOT
reach 2" and maybe you'll be ok...

Hopefully you aren't just a kid who is trying to be funny, because that many
fish in a 5g is just a bad idea... I used to want the same thing... 4 or 5
fish in a 5g. After having a betta, and a few gupps, I was hooked on smaller
tanks, because you can have 2 or 3 small fish, that's all....but you get a
great view of what's going on... it's great...

[TZ]

what are your nitrate and phosphate levels?
I just successfully combatted green water in my
75 gallon, which had zero nitrates, yet tons
of phosphates (well water), by using a
zortex D-1 diatom filter. cleaned that
sucker clean in 2 hours.

TZ


"Bug" > wrote in message
.. .
> I have five fish (one bottom feeder) in a 5 gal aquarium. I can't keep the
> water clear for more than (about) 10 days. The water turns a cloudy green
> colour. Short of changing the water completely, nothing seems to help. I
> have an air pump producing bubbles, and a Whisper Filter (the soft fluffy
> bag with charcoal inside it)
>
> Any ideas?? I see some posts about testing for PH? Is this a possible
> problem?
>
>

[NetMax]

"RedForeman ©®" > wrote in message
...
> > My tank has been set up for almost a year and every time I clean it
it
> just
> > gets murky again I do not have danios I have a black moore 2
lionheads a
> > gold fish and a bottom feeder. I don't want to take out any fish
ither.I
> use
> > tap water and water condtioner to clean ther water. what can I do to
clean
> > the water??
>
> Ok, I'm in a good mood, so here goes.. Your gold fish are major
polluters,
> and really should be in a tank that is at least 30 gallons...
honestly... GF
> are big, messy poop machines, and if you've got all of them in a 5g,
you
> need to take them all out except for the bottom feeder unless it's a
common
> pl*co, then they are ALL in trouble....
>
> Plan: Bigger tank, return fish to LFS, clean tank, let it sit a couple
days,
> and go get a betta... no other fish, just a single fish... or a pair of
> guppies, two females would be great or maybe a pair of fish that WILL
NOT
> reach 2" and maybe you'll be ok...
>
> Hopefully you aren't just a kid who is trying to be funny, because that
many
> fish in a 5g is just a bad idea... I used to want the same thing... 4
or 5
> fish in a 5g. After having a betta, and a few gupps, I was hooked on
smaller
> tanks, because you can have 2 or 3 small fish, that's all....but you
get a
> great view of what's going on... it's great...

I agree with RedForeman, and I further applaud the constraint he used in
explaining the problem.

Goldfish are swimming food processors/waste generators which grow to 8".
Budget 3 gallons of filtered water per inch of goldfish (not including
the tail).

ps: The sponge in your filter is useless when brand new. When it's
brown, sticky & slimy, _that's_ when it's working, because it's coated
with the nitrifying bacteria which remove the fish waste from the water.
This explains why your water goes bad after you clean the filter. The
tank is most likely underfiltered anyways, so it doesn't take much to
take it out of balance.

NetMax

[Jonno]

Your fish are looking at certain early death in that size
tank.

You should be looking for at least a 40 gallon tank with
those fish. Hey I have two small Black Moors in a 10 gallon
tank and I'm pushing it at the moment.

Either return some fish (or give to any friends who can
"house" them) or get a bigger tank. Other than that the
fish will be very unhealthy and unhappy too.

[TYNK 7]

Snipped)
>Subject: Re: 5 Gal Aquarium
>From: "Bug"
>Date: 8/25/2003 12:38 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: >
>

>My tank has been set up for almost a year and every time I clean it it just
>gets murky again I do not have danios I have a black moore 2 lionheads a
>gold fish and a bottom feeder.

That is your problem.
You have 4(possibly 3..your post got a bit confusing there) Goldish in a 5g
tank, when they should be in a *minimum* 40g tank!
You need to either rethink what you're going to put in this tank and buy 55g
for the Goldies, or bring in the Goldies into a local shop for credit/cash and
get a few *small* fish for the 5g.

[RedForeman ©®]

> thanks for all the help guys\girls i'm thinking about getting a bigger
tank.
> but i'm still not giving away any fish i'v grown to attached to them. i
> might try and test the phosphate levels but im shoure thats not the
problem.

It could be a phosphate issue, but it's not...
Fact is, you've got too many fish in a small tank.

Simple enough....