Chiclid Tank Problems *Need Help*

[ShareefBadmash]

Hi All Newbie here on this forum and needed some expert opinions for my African Chiclids Tank and extreme cloudiness(Brownish Tint). I have read up on the issue and it’s likely caused by over feeding my fish but the solutions are confusing, some place say never take out more than 20% Water.

Here’s the current layout: 46 Gallon Tank, Regular Gravel, Marineland 350 Bio Wheel Filter, Heater set 80, One Rock(Raise PH) 3 regular ornaments and 6 total Chiclids. I will post a picture up later tonight (Please don’t laugh its nothing compared the work of art by you guys)

The place I got it from, tested the water sample and said the PH Levels are good. They suggested to do a 10% Water change, which made no difference acutally made it worse after 5 days cycling.

Yesterday I went back with pictures of my tank and the Store manager told me to I have an Imbalanced Tank and too much waste is causing the extreme cloudiness. He told me to change 50% of my tank (Which I did Last night it made a difference) and here’s the scary part, 25% Daily for 4 days straight.

My biggest concern, I did a drastic water change a month into my tank and within 24 hours all my fish were dead. That could have been caused by three things- Over stressing my fish, it took me a more than an hour of cleaning or me being an idiot and taking out 75% water change and adding possibly tainted Conditioner(It was like a blue dye) from Wal-Mart.

In expert opinion is it safe for me to change 25% of the Tank for 4 days straight? I am now using professional grade conditioner and love to have my tank in crystal clear condition like I see here on this forum. Any other suggestions are welcome.

 

[Lady G]

You need to change about 50% of the water weekly really.

Is this tank cycled? Do you have a testing kit, if not you really should get a good liquid testing kit...don't bother with those strips they are crap.

My suspicion would be the tank is cycling, there is a "cloudy" stage in the cycle, if this is the case I agree with the advice given to you. Your Nitrates and ammonia levels may be high and the water changes will help to reduce these.

As far as the water test they did for you, is pH the only thing they tested? Your Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites are your biggest concern...pH is not as important, not to say it isn't important the biggest thing with pH though is you want it to stay steady.

 

[haynchinook334]

i agree with LADY G. sounds like the tank wasn't cycled yet. you might of had your ammonia spike that killed all your fish.

 

[haynchinook334]

OOOhhh, by the way....WELCOME TO MFK!!

 

[ShareefBadmash]

Thanks for the quick reply. After the first incident, I cleaned it all out and cycled it for 5 days before I bought the new chiclids. Cycled again 2 week ago and cloudiness appeared again. For testing kits I do not have one so I took the water sample to the store and let them check it. They checked for hardness, ph, ammonia etc. I will purchase a testing kit tonight so I can do it myself.

Most importantly do you think I should cycle another 25% tonight and for 4 straight days?

 

[ShareefBadmash]

OOOhhh, by the way....WELCOME TO MFK!!

Thanks, I am really amazed at how much details and professionals are on this site.. I wish I came here before I killed my babies before

 

[Lady G]

Well, a full cycle...will take longer then 5 days. You can do your cycle with the fish in the tank, it is harder on the fish, but as long as you keep doing the water changes and keep an eye on all the levels....they should be ok.

Yes, I would suggest doing the water changes. I know when I started with my first tank...I was given very bad advice from the LFS. In the end, I was doing 30-40% water changes everyday until finally my levels evened out and the tank was stable.

Get the testing kit asap, and do testings a couple times a day, when you see a rise in Ammonia, Nitrates or Nitrites, do a water change to bring them back down. It is a pain, and at some point you will feel..."Is this really worth it" and my feel you are going to be doing it forever, it will end and it will be better and well worth it when all is said and done. It took me about 2 weeks of doing tons of water changes, first I was doing like 40% everyday, then I was able to go to every other day, until finally I was able to go to my once a week change.

If you know anyone with an established tank, you can also see if they would let you get some of the media from their filter and add it to yours, also maybe some of their gravel. You can put that in a cut panthose, tie it and toss it in the tank. The established bacteria on the media and gravel will help the cycle along.

 

[Lady G]

Thanks, I am really amazed at how much details and professionals are on this site.. I wish I came here before I killed my babies before

Hey, many of us have been there...

 

[Trippingpara]

Welcome to MFK! I agree with Lady G. Your tank is not cycled. I would just continue with 25%-50% water changes weekly. You need to let the tank cycle fully which can take up to several weeks (there are many ways to speed this up). You'd be okay making the water changes daily but it can cause undue stress to your fish that are probably already stressed out from the bad water parameters. Check your water daily, change if the parameters are bad, otherwise continue with a weekly change. If you want to do water changes daily (if your water is that bad, you may need to), I would try to lessen the impact on the fish by not rummaging your hands around and making them scurry looking for cover.

 

[Tigerfish908]

Hey, many of us have been there...

I know I have been there with the cycling process..After 2 weeks u should b good if using bottled bacteria...
Are u using any bottled bacteria to help cycle the tank? If not u might want to purchase a bottle of "Cycle" from your lfs asap to help speed up the process.