bubbles, bubbles everywhere

Question
We purchased a used 75 gallon tank from a friend over the weekend and set it up Sunday morning after cleaning everything. We didn't use any cleaning chemicals, just warm water and paper towels. I replaced the filter cartidges in the filters but kept the same BioWheels. I added Tetra's Aquasafe and Easy Balance and everything seemed to be going well. Within a few hours though, we had a complete covering of bubbles on the surface of the water. I opened the top to possibly let out any gas build up and some of the bubbles went away but not completely. I have no fish in the tank yet and the water went cloudy yesterday and is starting to clear today. I read online that foam and bubbles that pop slowly means there's a high concentration of bacteria in the water and to keep putting the Aquasafe in every day until the bubbles clear and to add aquarium salt. I added the salt and some more Aquasafe but I don't know if pouring more chemicals in is the best solution. I asked for help at a local petstore and the woman said my bubble wall is producing too much oxygen (which sounded pretty stupid to me, but I'm no expert). I have tested the Nitrate, Nitrite, Hardness, Alkalinity and pH. The Nitrate and Nitrite are perfect, the water hardness is about 125, the alkalinity is slightly below ideal and the pH has been between 7.8 and 8.2. I've never had this problem before and I don't know what to do. Please help.

Answer
Hi Amanda;

Don't worry too much about it. It is probably from a combination of gasses that need to dissipate. Tap water is pressurized in your pipes so those gasses will show themselves as bubbles when it sits out in your tank. Almost like a bottle of carbonated soda water does when you first open the cap. Leave the top of the tank open and let it air out for another day or two. The cloudiness was probably from particles of dust or other microscopic stuff still in the gravel. I don't think the water has too much oxygen. Unless you were pumping straight oxygen into it from an oxygen tank, it really isn't possible.

Don't worry about the pH either. Your fish will adjust to whatever pH the tank tends to be. Don't try to adjust it with chemicals or anything. That only causes fluctuations that are much more stressful and harmful to your fish than letting them just get used to a stable pH. Stable is what they need. Not necessarily a certain "correct" pH.

You will want to know about "New Tank Syndrome" too. Below is a link to my article on it to help you get your new tank successfully started with a minimum amount of trouble. You can also click on the link at the site and email me directly if you like.

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

I hope everything goes well!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins