New 125g water gone super cloudy??

[Lollum96]

So I setup the 125g about 3 weeks ago and it consists of a large over tank bucket filter.

The water in the last week has gone super cloudy the only thing I can see different is a little mold was growing above the filter. I cleaned this away off the ceiling today.

Still I have absolutely no idea what is causing this issue and what I need to do about it! As in do I just need to refill the tank or does the whole thing need disinfecting.

The tank shouldn't have even started cycling yet as I've introduced no fish or anything to the tank. I've not even started the cycle process...

Again the only suspicious thing I could find was a little black mold growing on the ceiling above the filter! The filter bucket also had some strange looking orangey gray gooey residue on the outside!

 

[duanes]

Bacterial blooms are common in newly set up tanks, fish in, or not.
Since bacteria are ubiquitous its only natural, there are spores in the air, you just need to be patient, I find the more (if) you try to mess of fuss with it, the longer it will last, the longer the tank will be cloudy.
The only thing that might hasten clarity is actually activating the cycling process, so you can get the proper bacteria going, those hat you actually need

 

[esoxlucius]

Don't worry about it, it's completely natural.

Just for reference, I'm setting up my little hex tank again but i'm in no rush whatsoever so I'm doing it the good old fashioned way.

I put a small filter, heater, substrate and decor in last Saturday, filled it up and added some fish food, and just left it.

Today, almost a week later, it is slightly cloudy, my manzanita wood is full of fuzz, and I have close on 2ppm ammonia from the decaying fish food. Not very appealing at the moment!

A lot of people would be getting flustered about the cloudy water, or the white fuzz on the wood, or the ammonia spike, but it's all completely normal.

As the tank "matures" over the coming weeks the water will become crystal clear, the fuzz on the wood will naturally subside and the ammonia will be a thing of the past as the BB go to work.

 

[jjohnwm]

Frankly, the only thing that I would be concerned with here is the mold on the ceiling. If you have mold now...I can only imagine what will happen at the height of summer with the much higher humidity. Your tank and bucket should be covered to minimize evaporation, and you likely need a dehumidifier running non-stop.

Mold is no joke. It is a health hazard for you, and can easily damage your house. Nip this in the bud now.

 

[neutrino]

Agree with the other comments. It can take time for a tank/filters/media to settle in and stabilize. If you have access to some mature media to add to your filters it can aid the process. Or there are some bottled products out there that might help (bottled bacteria, etc). I haven't tried them because I've always been able to move an extra running filter or some media to jump start a new tank, but some seem better than others or they work better for some than for others.