Water goes bad... FAST

Have a ten gallon fresh water tank.
Just got it.. A real newbie..
Two days later the water is murkey and smelly.
What am I doing wrong?

probably overfeeding and put too many fish in the new tank at once.

"JustSomeGuy" wrote in message
news:u3W_b.595963$JQ1.324671@pd7tw1no...
Have a ten gallon fresh water tank.
Just got it.. A real newbie..
Two days later the water is murkey and smelly.
What am I doing wrong?

Go here :
http://faq.thekrib.com

It has a lot of good information on setting up and taking care of an
aquarium.


"JustSomeGuy" wrote in message
news:u3W_b.595963$JQ1.324671@pd7tw1no...
Have a ten gallon fresh water tank.
Just got it.. A real newbie..
Two days later the water is murkey and smelly.
What am I doing wrong?

Subject: Water goes bad... FAST
From: "JustSomeGuy"
Date: 2/24/2004 11:06 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id: u3W_b.595963$JQ1.324671@pd7tw1no

Have a ten gallon fresh water tank.
Just got it.. A real newbie..
Two days later the water is murkey and smelly.
What am I doing wrong?

First you need to post a LOT more information before anyone can know what
you're doing wrong.
What's in this tank?
How many fish?
What types of fish.
Did you use a water conditioner?
Is there a filter in it?
What's the temp?

"TYNK 7" wrote in message
...
Subject: Water goes bad... FAST
From: "JustSomeGuy"
Date: 2/24/2004 11:06 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id: u3W_b.595963$JQ1.324671@pd7tw1no

Have a ten gallon fresh water tank.
Just got it.. A real newbie..
Two days later the water is murkey and smelly.
What am I doing wrong?

First you need to post a LOT more information before anyone can know what
you're doing wrong.
What's in this tank?
How many fish?
What types of fish.
Did you use a water conditioner?
Is there a filter in it?
What's the temp?

Its a 10 gallon tank.
Its got 4 small goldfish in it.
I did use a water conditioner. 2 Teaspoons, EasyBalance
Temperature is near room temp 20C.
Got a filter with the tank... 5-15 charcoal.
I've just changed the type of food from pellets to flakes and will
change the water again tonight because its stinking up the house.
Suspect over feeding with the wrong food.

You are probably over stocked with 4 goldfish in a 10 gallon. You will need a
lot of filtration and a lot of aeration to keep the tank going. Goldfish are
very messy and the tank can go bad very quickly.

Subject: Water goes bad... FAST
From: (MartinOsirus)
Date: 2/25/2004 9:49 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

You are probably over stocked with 4 goldfish in a 10 gallon. You will need a
lot of filtration and a lot of aeration to keep the tank going. Goldfish are
very messy and the tank can go bad very quickly.


Also....they're one of the WORST fish for a beginner.

Subject: Water goes bad... FAST
From: "JustSomeGuy"
Date: 2/25/2004 9:02 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id: Xkd%b.616885$X%5.253937@pd7tw2no


"TYNK 7" wrote in message
...
Subject: Water goes bad... FAST
From: "JustSomeGuy"
Date: 2/24/2004 11:06 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id: u3W_b.595963$JQ1.324671@pd7tw1no

Have a ten gallon fresh water tank.
Just got it.. A real newbie..
Two days later the water is murkey and smelly.
What am I doing wrong?

First you need to post a LOT more information before anyone can know what
you're doing wrong.
What's in this tank?
How many fish?
What types of fish.
Did you use a water conditioner?
Is there a filter in it?
What's the temp?

Its a 10 gallon tank.
Its got 4 small goldfish in it.
I did use a water conditioner. 2 Teaspoons, EasyBalance
Temperature is near room temp 20C.
Got a filter with the tank... 5-15 charcoal.
I've just changed the type of food from pellets to flakes and will
change the water again tonight because its stinking up the house.
Suspect over feeding with the wrong food.



The reason it's stinky is because you have 4 Goldfish in it.
Being a ten gallon tank, you really should only have 1...at max!
Also...depending on the variety, such as the common or comet Goldie, you'd need
an even larger tank than a 10g PER Goldfish.

"JustSomeGuy" wrote in message
news:Xkd%b.616885$X%5.253937@pd7tw2no...

Its a 10 gallon tank.
Its got 4 small goldfish in it.
I did use a water conditioner. 2 Teaspoons, EasyBalance
Temperature is near room temp 20C.
Got a filter with the tank... 5-15 charcoal.
I've just changed the type of food from pellets to flakes and will
change the water again tonight because its stinking up the house.
Suspect over feeding with the wrong food.

Have you cycled this tank? Does it have a mature filter?
Try not feeding them for a day or two (they'll survive)
and siphon all the debris from the bottom of the tank.
See if the cloudiness clears up. Oh--and do a partial
water change.

Also, my recollection is that EasyBalance does not
remove chlorine/chloramine--check the label. I think
you need a separate dechlorinator.

Finally, to paraphrase "Jaws", you're going to need a
bigger tank to house 4 goldfish when they grow up.
Or you could get 3 more 10 gallon tanks...

-coelacanth

"JustSomeGuy" wrote in message
news:Xkd%b.616885$X%5.253937@pd7tw2no...

"TYNK 7" wrote in message
...
Subject: Water goes bad... FAST
From: "JustSomeGuy"
Date: 2/24/2004 11:06 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id: u3W_b.595963$JQ1.324671@pd7tw1no

Have a ten gallon fresh water tank.
Just got it.. A real newbie..
Two days later the water is murkey and smelly.
What am I doing wrong?

First you need to post a LOT more information before anyone can know
what
you're doing wrong.
What's in this tank?
How many fish?
What types of fish.
Did you use a water conditioner?
Is there a filter in it?
What's the temp?

Its a 10 gallon tank.
Its got 4 small goldfish in it.
I did use a water conditioner. 2 Teaspoons, EasyBalance
Temperature is near room temp 20C.
Got a filter with the tank... 5-15 charcoal.
I've just changed the type of food from pellets to flakes and will
change the water again tonight because its stinking up the house.
Suspect over feeding with the wrong food.


I would suspect the overfeeding. I wouldn't be concerned at all with the
stocking level of 4 goldfish in a 10 gallon tank (unless they are very large
goldfish) however I understand where the other posters are coming from as
most recommend one goldfish per 5 or 10 gallons. Yes they are messy eaters
and create a lot of waste and you should do at least weekly 30% water
changes however 4 of those fish in the tank is not the reason your water is
going bad very quickly. If your filter has a combination of sponge and
carbon, remove the carbon and add another sponge and you will have double
the area for beneficial bacteria to grow on. I know people who have 2 or 3
small goldfish in a one or two gallon goldfish bowl and they live for years.

Rick