3800 Fish tank help

[rob]

Bought a 10 gal fish tank with a couple of gold fish for my son...Have a good filter pump system....Its been foggy 2 days now. I got it Sat and filled it up....Woke up Sun and its been cloudy...Do I need some kind of additive...I rinsed the rocks before I put them in the tank....

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[1BADGTP]

get some "clear out" or something like that they sell it at a pets store.

It helped when I had mine.

 

[MrT]

i would say ask Fish....but that's too weak

MrT

 

[Fish]

Originally posted by MrT@Mar 8 2004, 08:16 PM
i would say ask Fish....but that's too weak

MrT

h34r: h34r: h34r:

I actually thought someone was paging me. :lol: :lol:

You could throw some pocasamus(sp) in there. They like to eat algie(sp again) and that usually helps alot.

 

[12secGTP]

this is typical. when a new tank is started, there will be an ammonia spike before the bacteria can grow to eliminate the ammonia. this is a process called "cycling". it normally takes 2-4 weeks to cycle and stabilize a tank. With goldfish, it should prolly cycle in about 2 since they are dirty fish.
you can do a 25% water change every 2 or so days over the next week and that should help alot but it really is just normal. Does your filter have carbon in it? if not, try and get one that does and that will help too.
another cause of coudy water is overfeeding of the fish but this takes time to develop and since your tank is only been up for 3 days, this would not be the case.
do the water change so that the ammonia level will drop a bit and within a few weeks, it should clear up. I am 90 % certain that the ammonia level is what is clouding the water for you.... it is natural at startup.

Graffix will prolly pipe in here at some point since he knows about tanks altho I think he is more reef oriented. I started my freshwater tank in december... a 30 gal tank

Check this site out.... the forum is pretty good and there is some good info there.


E-fishtank

 

[rob]

I may have over fed them a little....How much should I feed them? I have 3 medium size fish...A pinch a day...Im getting some alge eaters....And I will do a 25% tomarrow.....Thanks alot for the input.......

 

[rob]

Do I need one of them oxygenators or just a filter with these fish?

 

[12secGTP]

hard to gauge how much to feed... it just takes some practice.
you want to feed them no more than they can eat in 5 min. a small pinch should be good for 3 goldfish. depending on how many fish you have will dictate how often you feed them. for the 3 fish once per day should be good. feed them at the dame time each day. as you get more fish, you will want to feed them twice a day.

even if you are overfeeding right now, that would not make the water cloudy at this point. the cloudyness comes from the food breaking down and decompsing into very small micro particles that the filter cannot filter. It takes quite a while for that to happen, not 3 days.

what kind of algae eater are you looking at?? I would not recommend a Placostomus (placo) for your small tank. they grow large and fast. I bought one that was a 1/2 inch long in dec. he is now 5 inches long!!! Placos can grow to over 15 inches.
DO NOT beleive the myth that fish only grow as big as the tank... that is total BS.

I would suggest a Cory... they are bottom feeders and will help eat the uneaten food that floats down to the bottom.

also, you will want to clean the gravel at least once per month.

 

[12secGTP]

Originally posted by rob@Mar 8 2004, 09:09 PM
Do I need one of them oxygenators or just a filter with these fish?

what kind of filter do you have? that would dictate if you need a bubbler or not.
Tho even with the right filter, it is not a bad idea to get a small air pump and a bubble stone to put in the tank.

Most filters today suck from the bottom of the tank, go over a filter and then the thru some sort of bio-wheel (this is where the "good" bacteria live to clean the ammonia out) and then dumps back into the tank at the top. the water coming in at the top and breaking the surface water is enough to aerate.

 

[gtphale]

Hmm I think with them being goldfish you are really going to have a hard time keeping the tank clear. They are very dirty fish.

 

[rob]

Its a charcol filter with a pump extention about 3-4" from the bottom....I did the 25% just now....Mr. Placo gets too big I'll have to make a sandwhich out of him :lol: A cory may be better unless they get 15" long. I only have a 10gal tank....Thanks for the input....