Water

Question
QUESTION: Hi, we bought a ten gallon freshwater aquarium about a year ago.  It's been going great until now.  The water is foggy and scummy at the top of the tank.  We recently cleaned it about two weeks ago.  And now towards the top of the tank is all scummy in the water.  And the water is foggy.  We have this pond water clear, and I was wondering if we should put this in the tank.  But, will this harm the fish?  Do they need to be taken out of the tank before we put the clearer in?  Or would you recommend us getting a more powerful filter? We have a 10 gallon filter, should we get a 20 gallon filter? Right now we have a Plecostomus, Fantail Goldfish, Bubble- eyed Goldfish, and two Diamond Tetras. Is that a good group of fish? They seem to all get along together. And if you do recommend getting a new filter what would be the best one? We had to buy a new one because one of our Bubble eyes got its bubble sack stuck in the filter. So we would want a very safe one for fish.  And last time we gave a full water change and cleaned EVERYTHING, all our fish died.  What kind of chemicals do you put in after a full water change before you put the fish in.  Please help us, we dont want all our fish to die like last time.  Hope you can help! Bye.

ANSWER: Julie, the water is cloudy and dirty because it sounds like your biological filtration has been disturbed for some reason. You must continue to perform regular partial water changes at least once or twice a month, as long as the cycling process is complete and consistent. You can add some sort of water clearing chemical but all it will do is temporarily mask the problem. All they do is make the molecular particles clump together to get caught in the filter media. You just need to do at least 25 percent. Water changes daily until the water becomes clear after about 24 hours after a partial water change. You should also purchase water quality testing product. I recommend you get quick dip test strips, they're quick and pretty accurate. Any reading on the test should be corrected asap. If you need help, contact me again. It certainly wouldn't hurt to use a little bigger filter either. A 20 gallon one would be perfect. I prefer marineland products myself, but really, any one you get should be good for that type of tank so don't worry to much. One thing you should remember, goldfish are one of the more dirty fish to keep in an aquarium so, cleanliness is crucial. However, never change all the water at once. If you do this, the cycling process will have to start over because you removed all the beneficial bacteria from the tank. That's probably why all the fish died the last time you did this. Once you changed the water, the ammonia levels and nitrite levels spiked to fatal levels because the cycle was disturbed. Having said that, never clean everything and remove all the water for a change. Partial changes  only for routine maintenance. Also, once you have the water ready for change, or however you change it, you must add some sort of conditioner, or at least something to remove the chlorine and metald from the water you replace. I use stresas coat, and then stress zyme as directed to maintain a healthy balance. Check it out. I hope this helps you. Sorry for the delayed response, the holidays are busy. Good luck and if you need any more help, I'm here.   

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QUESTION: Hello again, and thats okay the holidays were very busy!  Well we have had these fish for almost a year and they are getting rather large.  The Pleco has probably grown an inch and a half since we have gotten him.  Were considering on getting a 20 gallon tank so they have more space.  Just a thought if we get a 20 gallon then should we get a 20 gallon filter or should we get a 25 or maybe even a 30?  And i think we will go out to buy that conditioner.  Another question how many fish would you recommened in a 20 gallon?  And how long would it take to set this new tank up and how long would it take for the water to be healthy enough for the fish to get back into?  Because we will be gone over the new years.  And is this cloudy water saying that their is some kind of disease in the water?  Sorry for taking your time, but we would really appreciate your help.  Happy Holidays!

ANSWER: If you get a bigger aquarium, yes you do need a filtration system that will at least filter the total number of gallons at least 6 times an hour. If you feel more comfortable with a 30 gallon filter then that's great. More filtration, cleaner cleaer and hopefully healthier water with the proper routine maintenance. How many fish, now that depends on the size of them all compared to the tank size. For instance, I had about 6 different tetras in a 10 gallon tank of mine. Either way, don't add more than 2-3 in a 24 hour period to maintain steady healthy water parameters. If you add too many at once, the ammonia spike could totally screw up your cycling. It should take about a month or so to fully cycle. Maybe a little longer or shorter depending on how it goes. The water is safe for fish once the chlorines and metals are removed and the temperatures are about the same. After that. Monitor the water quality using the strips I told you about and make partial water changes as needed untill the readings are safe and consistent. The cloudiness doesn't mean there is a disease. Just that the biological cycling process has been disturbed somehow. Now that doesn't mean they don't have an illness. I can't tell obviously but the stress could make them more susceptible to acquire a disease.  Good luck and remember I'm always here to help. I would greatly appreciate it if you could take the time to go back and rate my answers I provided to you. Thanks.

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QUESTION: Hi, okay so we ended up not getting a 20 because the stores did not have them so we bought a new filter.  It filters 10-20 gallon tanks.  We also bought start right conditioner, ammonia clear tablets that desolve in water, and a 5 in 1 strip quick dip.  We are having problems reading how the strips work and we have put one dissolving ammonia in the water.  We have not put in any conditioner.  So we decided that were going to completely clean it tomorrow.  Can you please tell us the whole procedure on how to clean it correctly,  and where should we put the fish?  And when we get everything cleaned and the water put in,  what chemicals do we put in before the fish go back into the tank?  How long should we wait before we put them back in? Please help us again.  Sorry for taking your time. THANKS!

Answer
I believe the original question was about how to completely clean the tank. Well, for starters, find something that will safely contain the fish while you are cleaning the tank. It can be anything. Once the fiss are removed, empty out the water however is easiest for you. Remember, once all the water is removed, you are going to have to start the cycling process over from the start. This will take about 4-6 weeks. I use a strainer to sift through the rocks or whatever your substrate is. You can do this as well. Once you have cleaned and rinsed the rocks, put them back into the tank. Any plants or ornaments you have in there can be cleaned the same way, you can use anything to scrub them with if there is algae all over. Arrange everything back in there as if there was water in it. Now you are ready to add the water. You can do this in numerous ways. I now use a 5 gallon bucket I purchased from ace hardware. The reason I use the is because I don't empty out all of the water, only do partial water changes. Once you have the tank back up and running, you will do the same.(partial water changes). However you put the water back in there, is fine. Once the water is in the tank, hook up your filter if it isnt already done. Turn it on and let it do its thing. Once this is complete, then add the chemical to remove, chlorine, chloramines, etc. I think you said you purchased something already for this. Administer as described on the bottle. As I said, I would recommend you use stress coat. This not only removes the harmful metals but also aids the fish in rebuilding its natural slime coat that will be disturbed during removal and adding. This opens the fish up for diseases. Kind of like breaking our skin. Anyway, once that is added, all you have to do is wait about 20 minutes to try to get the temperatures to match, the fish in the container, to the temp in the tank. Once yo believe the temps are close, than add the fish back into the tank and you have completed the process!!! Not too hard. The hard part is getting the tank to fully cycle without losing fish. What you have to do is perform partial water changes at least weekly if not more. You must continue to check the water parameters with the test strip you said that you purchased. Test the water quality about every 2 days. To remove nitrite and nitrate, perform partial water changes of about 25% each day until the levels read safe. Do not add chemicals that claim to remove this or that because all you will do is mask the problem. The best and effective way is to do partial water changes as I mentioned. After you continue to get a safe reading for about a week straight, probably after about a month or so, then you tank should be cycled. Then all you should have to do is vacuum and do partial water changes every month or so. If yo need any other help or have any other questions, feel free to contact me anytime. Good luck. Contact me anytime for help, and you can check out a few of my tanks on youtube by searching      jmg1824.