Tank Water Issue

[Hoyo12]

The tank has been up for... three years now, never had this issue that a quick water change couldn't fix. The temp. is about 78 degrees, seems that it is a Cichlid tank, and all fish are accounted for. Nitrate lvl, I am unsure of, but it shouldn't be very high after the water changes. If it doesn't clear up by after tomorrow after using the one medication to help clear up the water, should I just drain it and fill it back up? Of course I will have some of the original water from the tank that the fish will need to be in while I drain the tank. (about 15-20 Gallons worth)

 

[Swallowed]

i 75 percent water change twice a week, the thing is to never let your pH change too much from the water you are adding to the tank, as long as you don't drastically change the chemistry of the water too quickly you will be fine, i haven't lost a fish in over a year, and never do to a water change

Yeah, drastic ph change that could be. That was when i had community tanks,those little fish cant handle much.

 

[dmopar74]

lay off on the feeding.

 

[Deaths Sting]

how big is the tank?

whats the stock?

whats the filtration?

how often do u or her feed the fish?

how much do u feed?

what is the regualr water change regime for the tank?
i.e. %/ week or %/month over the past 3 years.

 

[Hoyo12]

how big is the tank?
55-Gallons
whats the stock?
1x Blood Parrot
2x Peacocks
2x Rusty Cichlids
1x Common Oscar
whats the filtration?
2x Whisper 40 Power Filters
how often do u or her feed the fish?
Twice a day I do believe
how much do u feed?
Not positive on that... they are fed flakes and Cichlid Pellets, and I know that she will occasionally feed the Oscar Bologna, lol.
what is the regualr water change regime for the tank?
i.e. %/ week or %/month over the past 3 years.
I think she does one 30%-40% every other week.

 

[therevolution]

how big is the tank?
55-Gallons
whats the stock?
1x Blood Parrot
2x Peacocks
2x Rusty Cichlids
1x Common Oscar
whats the filtration?
2x Whisper 40 Power Filters
how often do u or her feed the fish?
Twice a day I do believe
how much do u feed?
Not positive on that... they are fed flakes and Cichlid Pellets, and I know that she will occasionally feed the Oscar Bologna, lol.
what is the regualr water change regime for the tank?
i.e. %/ week or %/month over the past 3 years.
I think she does one 30%-40% every other week.

The tank would be overstocked by many people's definition by the oscar alone. 2 whisper 40 filters sounds questionable to me based on my perceived quality of those filters which is low.. and 30-40% WC every other week is way too few wc's especially considering the tank specs (bio-load and filtration)

Like some others said, do some 50% wc's for a few days and try to clean the sludge out of the gravel. Dont be worried about doing a 50% change...ONe time i left my 125 siphoning and i accidentally emptied the whole thing... My fish were literally in the puddles left at the bottom of the tank. Filled it back up and everything was fine. Just make sure to use dechlorinator!

 

[Deaths Sting]

how big is the tank?
55-Gallons
whats the stock?
1x Blood Parrot
2x Peacocks
2x Rusty Cichlids
1x Common Oscar
whats the filtration?
2x Whisper 40 Power Filters
how often do u or her feed the fish?
Twice a day I do believe
how much do u feed?
Not positive on that... they are fed flakes and Cichlid Pellets, and I know that she will occasionally feed the Oscar Bologna, lol.
what is the regualr water change regime for the tank?
i.e. %/ week or %/month over the past 3 years.
I think she does one 30%-40% every other week.

first off thank for answering the questions so clearly and quickly. it just makes life easier for everyone. i truly mean this.

judging from what Ive read in the thread and the information u just gave i can assume that the Oscar and others are large? correct me if im wrong.

with that being said, ill be blunt, i do believe ur tank is extremely over stocked and the filtration is minimal at best. i would suggest at least taken the Oscar out and maybe adding another filter for more mechanical filtration. the reason why in the past u had no problems is simple. they were much smaller and didn't produce as much waste and most likely were not fed as much.

 

[dmopar74]

flakes and pellets twice a day on a small tank will cloud the water up something fierce with the "dirty" fish in the tank. none of those fish need to be fed more than once a day, id do it every other day.

 

[Fishermoe14]

sounds like u crashed the cycle of a tank which has insufficient space and filtration capabilities for the current stock list..

 

[Hoyo12]

The tank would be overstocked by many people's definition by the oscar alone. 2 whisper 40 filters sounds questionable to me based on my perceived quality of those filters which is low.. and 30-40% WC every other week is way too few wc's especially considering the tank specs (bio-load and filtration)

Like some others said, do some 50% wc's for a few days and try to clean the sludge out of the gravel. Dont be worried about doing a 50% change...ONe time i left my 125 siphoning and i accidentally emptied the whole thing... My fish were literally in the puddles left at the bottom of the tank. Filled it back up and everything was fine. Just make sure to use dechlorinator!

first off thank for answering the questions so clearly and quickly. it just makes life easier for everyone. i truly mean this.

judging from what Ive read in the thread and the information u just gave i can assume that the Oscar and others are large? correct me if im wrong.

with that being said, ill be blunt, i do believe ur tank is extremely over stocked and the filtration is minimal at best. i would suggest at least taken the Oscar out and maybe adding another filter for more mechanical filtration. the reason why in the past u had no problems is simple. they were much smaller and didn't not produce as much waste and most likely were not fed as much.

lol, no problem.
They are a fairly large size. The Oscar is about 12", Parrot 5", Rusty Cichlids 3", Peacock male and female 5" and 3 1/2".
Yea, the tank is a bit overstocked, but I've seen much worse on here, lol. The tank actaully used to be worse two years ago. Lots of large Malawi Cichlids, and a quarter sized Oscar, lol. And a lot more food was added to feed them all. I don't recall her having any issues with the tank back then... the Oscar got to about 10" in a year, so he has been in there for awhile, but the tank never got this cloudy for this long, and in fact the stock is much less than before.
Sadly, as much as she hates having a huge Oscar the eats anything colorful that she would like in the tank, lol, she is too attached to him to get rid of. I've tried my self to talk her into getting rid of him, but nothing...
Sounds like I should get started on another water changes for her tomorrow.

flakes and pellets twice a day on a small tank will cloud the water up something fierce with the "dirty" fish in the tank. none of those fish need to be fed more than once a day, id do it every other day.

I'll have to let her know that. Thanks for the info.