Cloudy water....

[largemouthfan]

I just filled my 55g tank yesterday morning. I have gravel(which i rinsed before putting in) , an artificial tree stump, some artificial plants and some slate rocks in the tank. i put in some Tank Buddies Complete Water Conditioner a couple hours after filling it. Anyway, it seemed pretty clear but when I woke up this morning the water is very very cloudy. Last night I added a few goldfish and 2 crayfish but i don't think that should really make that much of a difference as I've done it before. Does anyone know what could have happened to the water and what I can do to fix it?

Thanks!

 

[duke33]

Welcome. Someone will chime in. Do a water change.

 

[largemouthfan]

I will probably do a water change. Do you know what would cause this and how I can avoid it in the future?

 

[largemouthfan]

Welcome. Someone will chime in. Do a water change.

Thanks for the welcome. This seems like a really good forum.

 

[duke33]

Do you have a test kit? Use it or get one and post your parameters. That will tell you what might be wrong..if anything. It could be a bloom.

 

[largemouthfan]

Do you have a test kit? Use it or get one and post your parameters. That will tell you what might be wrong..if anything. It could be a bloom.

I don't have a test kit, but I can go get one once the pet store opens up.
I will post my test results once I have them. If it is a bacteria bloom, is there anything else I should do besides a water change to make sure it doesn't happen again with the new water?

 

[duke33]

Are you over feeding?

 

[largemouthfan]

Are you over feeding?

No. I have 12 very small goldfish in there with the 2 crayfish. I fed the goldfish once a few hours after putting them in and they ate most of it right away. There was barely anything left over.

 

[Bud8Fan]

I'm going to bet you have high ammonia in your tank as the tank is not cycled yet and it is indeed a bacterial bloom.

To prevent it in the future with a new tank don't add so many fish at one time. Add them slowly over time so that the nitrifying bacteria can establish and handle the load.

 

[largemouthfan]

Ok I got a test kit:

Nitrate approx. 20 ppm
Nitrite approx 0.5 ppm
Alkalinity approx 120 ppm
pH is about 7.2
Ammonia is about 0.50 ppm

Where should I go from here? I do have a water conditioner made by Wardly that is supposed to neutralize ammonia. I also have a water clarifier Accu-Clear from API. Should I use both of these?... One?... Neither?