Cloudy Water Issue..

[MEAlston]

I've had the tank setup for 16 days now. The only inhatitants are a male
and female betta. This pm (when I turned on the hood lamps) I noticed the
water was very cloudy. I have 4 plastic water lillies, a plastic am.sword
and a bunch of silk phillidendrum, 60# of pea gravel and a driftwood (real)
about 26 inches long. I'm cautious on over-feeding. The tank was setup
using Hagen's Cycle.

Is it possible the silk plants are bleeding off anything? I'm stumped
here....Any thoughts? Better still any solutions? I don't have the vortex
diatom unit ordered yet. Thanks for your attention....ED

[Charles]

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 01:24:51 GMT, "MEAlston"
> wrote:

>I've had the tank setup for 16 days now. The only inhatitants are a male
>and female betta. This pm (when I turned on the hood lamps) I noticed the
>water was very cloudy. I have 4 plastic water lillies, a plastic am.sword
>and a bunch of silk phillidendrum, 60# of pea gravel and a driftwood (real)
>about 26 inches long. I'm cautious on over-feeding. The tank was setup
>using Hagen's Cycle.
>
>Is it possible the silk plants are bleeding off anything? I'm stumped
>here....Any thoughts? Better still any solutions? I don't have the vortex
>diatom unit ordered yet. Thanks for your attention....ED
>


My guess, either algae or bacteria, in either case it will probably
clear on its own in a week or so if left alone, do lots of water
changes and you can keep it going for a long time.

I used diatom filters many years ago, I prefer the HOT magnum with the
micron filter. It seems to clean the water just as well, and is much
more convenient, unless they've changed the Vortex since I had mine.

[MEAlston]

Thank for the tip...can you point me in a direction towards this HOT magnum
filter?

[Charles]

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 01:50:03 GMT, "MEAlston"
> wrote:

>Thank for the tip...can you point me in a direction towards this HOT magnum
>filter?
>


A bit about it here:

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F26EA/Class/Fish+Supplies+Canister+Filters/T1/F26EA+0221+0190/EDP/11631/Itemdy00.aspx

or the short version

http://tinyurl.com/n2czb

WalMart has a similar item, identical as best I can tell, just a
different name.

Of course other people sell it as well, this is just from a site I had
bookmarked.

[MEAlston]

I found the Magnum Canister filters @ AquariumGuys..Thanks again.

[Frank]

MEAlston wrote,
>I've had the tank setup for 16 days now....
> This pm (when I turned on the hood lamps) I noticed the
>water was very cloudy. .....

A cloudy milky white color would be a bacterial bloom - your tank is
cycling. Cycling (nitrogen cycle) is the biological process that turns
fish waste and uneaten foods (ammonia) into nitrite and nitrite into
nitrAte. ((Nitrosomonas bacteria eat oxidize ammonia (uneaten foods and
fish waste) with the by product, nitrite. Nitrobacter bacteria consume
nitrite - end product is nitrAte, which is removed by weekly water
changes)). What your seeing is the population explosion of the
bacterias - harmless and will go away as soon as the bacteria colonies
"catch-up" to the food within the tank.

>The tank was setup
>using Hagen's Cycle....

Waste of money - tank would have cycled without the use of Cycle just
as fast as with it!

>I don't have the vortex
>diatom unit ordered yet.......

If the water is turnning a cloudy green in color, it's an algae bloom -
your seeing the algae spores. Green water is due to very high plant
nutrients within the water and too much light or direct sunlite. It can
be filtered out with a diatom filter or micron cartridge filter, or
killed with an ultraviolet sterilizer......... Frank

[Mariachi]

my fish bowl appear to be cycling! i just got home from work and
noticed the fish bowl is VERY cloudy so did a water test:

ammonia 0.25
nitrate 0.25
nitrite 5

think it's because I washed everything out in hot water yesterday...but
didn't think it was cycled in the first place. Going to do a 50% water
change now to bring the ammonia and nitrate down and more tomorrow if
nesscary.

[Larry]

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 01:24:51 GMT, "MEAlston"
> wrote:

>I've had the tank setup for 16 days now. The only inhatitants are a male
>and female betta. This pm (when I turned on the hood lamps) I noticed the
>water was very cloudy. I have 4 plastic water lillies, a plastic am.sword
>and a bunch of silk phillidendrum, 60# of pea gravel and a driftwood (real)
>about 26 inches long. I'm cautious on over-feeding. The tank was setup
>using Hagen's Cycle.
>
>Is it possible the silk plants are bleeding off anything? I'm stumped
>here....Any thoughts? Better still any solutions? I don't have the vortex
>diatom unit ordered yet. Thanks for your attention....ED
>

It will go away once your filters have caught up with the cycling
process. I stupidly changed a filter ina 10 and 6g tank without using
the old part. Went cloudy for about 10 days. Then presto!!

LArry

[MEAlston]

Yeah....I unplug the filter while I feed the betta pair. After 5 minutes, I
turn it back on and you can witness the filter just spew this cloud of
whatever as the filtered water spills into the tank. I did a water change
today ('round 6 gallons) I've done this twice this week now. I here to
leave it alone...and then I hear to change about 10 gallons weekly. I've
been teatering on the edge now since the setup.

[Mister Gardener]

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 17:18:28 -0400, Larry > wrote:

>On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 01:24:51 GMT, "MEAlston"
> wrote:
>
>>I've had the tank setup for 16 days now. The only inhatitants are a male
>>and female betta. This pm (when I turned on the hood lamps) I noticed the
>>water was very cloudy. I have 4 plastic water lillies, a plastic am.sword
>>and a bunch of silk phillidendrum, 60# of pea gravel and a driftwood (real)
>>about 26 inches long. I'm cautious on over-feeding. The tank was setup
>>using Hagen's Cycle.
>>
>>Is it possible the silk plants are bleeding off anything? I'm stumped
>>here....Any thoughts? Better still any solutions? I don't have the vortex
>>diatom unit ordered yet. Thanks for your attention....ED
>>
>
>It will go away once your filters have caught up with the cycling
>process. I stupidly changed a filter ina 10 and 6g tank without using
>the old part. Went cloudy for about 10 days. Then presto!!
>
>LArry

At 16 days with only two small fish I would be thinking more about
bacteria bloom than silk plants. Where are you at in your cycling?
Like what are your ammonia/nitrate/nitrate readings?

-- Mister Gardener

Everything Aquaria & Tropical Fish at The Krib:
http://www.thekrib.com/

[Mister Gardener]

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 22:16:08 GMT, "MEAlston"
> wrote:

>Yeah....I unplug the filter while I feed the betta pair. After 5 minutes, I
>turn it back on and you can witness the filter just spew this cloud of
>whatever as the filtered water spills into the tank. I did a water change
>today ('round 6 gallons) I've done this twice this week now. I here to
>leave it alone...and then I hear to change about 10 gallons weekly. I've
>been teatering on the edge now since the setup.
>
OK. Let's start at the beginning. Unplugging your filter while you
feed your fish is not a good idea. Have you read the FAQs at The Krib
on cycling your new tank? What is the size of your tank? Amount of
water to change is based on a percentage of your tank volume, like 20%
is a common recommendation. Number of gallons is only useful if we
know the number of gallons your tank holds. What are you using for a
filter?

Head over to The Krib and spend some quality time reading - it will
answer a lot of your questions. Krib addy is in my signature below. It
can all seem pretty overwhelming at first, but believe me, it gets
easier as you go along.

-- Mister Gardener

Everything Aquaria & Tropical Fish at The Krib:
http://www.thekrib.com/

[MEAlston]

I don't have a test kit yet...and probably won't 'till next month ordering
it online. I have a 55 gal with the power filter (30/60). Money is way way
tight these days. We're beyond squeaking. I've performed 4 water changes
since the tank was first setup with 6 gallons each change. I know of a good
charity where anyone can donate test kits and cannister filters....;o

[Mister Gardener]

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 22:16:08 GMT, "MEAlston"
> wrote:

>Yeah....I unplug the filter while I feed the betta pair. After 5 minutes, I
>turn it back on and you can witness the filter just spew this cloud of
>whatever as the filtered water spills into the tank. I did a water change
>today ('round 6 gallons) I've done this twice this week now. I here to
>leave it alone...and then I hear to change about 10 gallons weekly. I've
>been teatering on the edge now since the setup.
>
I just fine tuned the directions to The Krib so the address now points
directly to the beginner (and other) FAQ.

-- Mister Gardener

Everything Aquaria & Tropical Fish at The Krib:
http://faq.thekrib.com/

[Mister Gardener]

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 22:48:03 GMT, "MEAlston"
> wrote:

>I don't have a test kit yet...and probably won't 'till next month ordering
>it online. I have a 55 gal with the power filter (30/60). Money is way way
>tight these days. We're beyond squeaking. I've performed 4 water changes
>since the tank was first setup with 6 gallons each change. I know of a good
>charity where anyone can donate test kits and cannister filters....;o
>
I'm going to step aside and let one of our resident pros explain how
to cycle without a test kit. Just wait a few, someone will be along
shortly. Meanwhile, feed your fish very lightly and don't turn your
filter off.

-- Mister Gardener

Everything Aquaria & Tropical Fish at The Krib:
http://faq.thekrib.com/

[Altum]

Mister Gardener wrote:
> On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 22:48:03 GMT, "MEAlston"
> > wrote:
>
>> I don't have a test kit yet...and probably won't 'till next month ordering
>> it online. I have a 55 gal with the power filter (30/60). Money is way way
>> tight these days. We're beyond squeaking. I've performed 4 water changes
>> since the tank was first setup with 6 gallons each change. I know of a good
>> charity where anyone can donate test kits and cannister filters....;o
>>
> I'm going to step aside and let one of our resident pros explain how
> to cycle without a test kit. Just wait a few, someone will be along
> shortly. Meanwhile, feed your fish very lightly and don't turn your
> filter off.

Tanks with about one small fish per 5 gallons usually take about six
weeks to fully cycle. Two bettas in 55 gallons will take somewhat
longer, but the cycle will be very mild for them. It's a good way to
cycle a tank.

Ignore the cloudy water - it's completely normal in new tanks and comes
from minerals and nutrients in your tap water. The more water you
change, the longer it will stay cloudy. It will also go yellowish from
the driftwood. Activated carbon will clear out the yellow color.

Most folks come to this newsgroup with four platies and five neons in a
10 gallon tank and we tell them to change water like crazy. Bacteria
can't grow fast enough to keep up with the fish. You're in a very
different situation with two bettas in 55 gallons. If you keep changing
water, you're never going to build up enough ammonia and nitrite to grow
bacteria.

So...stop changing water and watch your fish. Bettas are very sturdy
little fish. If they start darting around for no reason and their gills
go purplish, it's ammonia poisoning and you need to change about 1/3 of
the water and watch them for the next few days. If they're suddenly
lethargic in a few weeks and hang at the bottom of the tank, it's
nitrite. Change some water and add 1 tsp salt/5 gallons of water. I
really doubt you'll see any toxicity.

Once you buy test kits, you can follow things more closely and decide
when to add your cories. You might also want to consider some live
low-light plants like java fern and java moss. They really help to
improve the water quality.

Anyway, relax. You've got only two bettas in a very big tank and they're
going to be just fine. :-)

--
Put the word aquaria in the subject to email me.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

[MEAlston]

Roger That!

[MEAlston]

Thank you most kindly for the help and encouragement. It was my plan this
go-around to setup a small 'world' for a few fish and shy away from the
overcrowding tendencies I get with having a larger tank. With some
luck..I'll have several tanks to tend to hosting all the nice fish I'd like
to collect again.

[NetMax]

"Mister Gardener" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 22:16:08 GMT, "MEAlston"
> > wrote:
>
>>Yeah....I unplug the filter while I feed the betta pair. After 5
>>minutes, I
>>turn it back on and you can witness the filter just spew this cloud of
>>whatever as the filtered water spills into the tank. I did a water
>>change
>>today ('round 6 gallons) I've done this twice this week now. I here to
>>leave it alone...and then I hear to change about 10 gallons weekly.
>>I've
>>been teatering on the edge now since the setup.
>>
> OK. Let's start at the beginning. Unplugging your filter while you
> feed your fish is not a good idea.

I don't think it's a bad idea to turn off the filter while feeding. It
may keep uneaten food out of the filter. Just don't forget to turn them
on again ;~). I have a timer on one (after a few minutes, 10 to 30
adjustable) the filter turns on. If you might forget, then you should
not turn it off. Also turning them off for more than 10 minutes can
start getting dicey (all those poor bacteria screaming for oxygen ;~).
--
www.NetMax.tk

>
> -- Mister Gardener
>
> Everything Aquaria & Tropical Fish at The Krib:
> http://www.thekrib.com/