Cloudy water in tropical fish tank

[Misty77]

The water is slightly cloudy in our tropical fish tank (mainly towards the top) it was set up on Friday morning and we've done everything gradually and carefully. We introduced the fish slowly and have about 20 neons/guppies etc in there at the moment. No more fish are going in now for a week or so. The PH is fine as is the water temperature, and the fish are thriving; but something is obviously wrong somewhere. We have some of the Accuclear stuff but I'd prefer to find the root of the problem instead of using chemicals. A water change maybe ? Any ideas would be appreciated.

[B00]

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/qa/f/faq0015 .htm

[B00]

Following on............did you buy the tank anf fish from the same place and at the same time?

If you did you really should have been advised that a fishless cycle is better in the long run- the sad fact is that you will more than likely lose most if not all of your fish.

Fingers crossed for you anyway :-)

[Misty77]

We got the tank on the Friday , set it up and got everything working, and bought the fish a few at a time on Sunday and Monday - exactly as we were advised to do. The fish came from a different shop and are all healthy. They have even produced some fry...

[B00]

lol yeah the guppies will produce fry - unless they die whilst your tank is cycling - you will soon be overrun with the bu&&ers!!

What is happening in your tank at the moment though is a bacterial bloom.

What annoys me though is fish shops will happily sell fish to anyone without first obtaining some details from the customer. I'm not blaming you at all, but I find it unnecessarily cruel to introduce fish whilst the ammonia spike is dangerously high (in effect they burn!). If your local aquarium had just taken the time to find out how long your tank had been set up, they could have saved you the stress of seeing your fish going belly up over the next few weeks. Instead they'll rub their hands with greed when you next go back to replace the one's that have died.

Another link here which should explain it more for you.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/fishless _cycling.php

[Dr. Bigalow]

Hi Misty
It sounds like a bacteria bloom. It is the natural cycle of the tank, the nitogen cycle.
It may pass on it's own, but it may take a while!
Ammionia is being produced and being converted into nitrite, then again into nitrate (the final stage of the cycle) by the "good" bacteria in your tank.
Your pH will read ok however you may experiece fish mortality. Do small frequent water changes (10%) daily for a little while, maybe a week or two and the problem will likely pass.
By the way the accu clear won't do anything for you. That is for suspended particle matter, you're dealing with bacteria. Sorry you wasted your money.
One thing that I apply onto or into the systems that I install and maintain professionally @ Aquarium Effects is a uv sterilizer. If your tank is up to 50 gallons they have internal sterilizers for you to use and they are easy to install! This handy little gadget clears your water remarkably well and also kills parasites such as ich and also harful bacterial protazoa floating in your tank. Skeptics of the sterilizer say it kills good bacteria as well, yes it will kill some but that's what your filter is for!

Hope this helps you out!