File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Hi /an/

I've had an aquarium for 3 days, but now the water has been all hazed/fogged and the filter has some green where the water goes. It also smells worst than other aquariums. I also just changed 10% of the water.
What is wrong?

Thanks
>> Anonymous
you didn't cycle your tank, that's why.

google it.
>> Anonymous
>>184921
You're right, what should I do?
>> Anonymous
>>184925
not>>184921
but from the context of your conversation, it would appear that you should cycle your tank.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>184931
Slow down, I'm lost here.
>> Anonymous
You should get that chemical stuff that helps your tank cycle faster, the name escapes me at the moment though
>> Anonymous
>>184961
Anyone knows what he's talking about? Thanks!
>> Anonymous
>>184962
Biospira. I use it on all of my new tanks and it basically instantly cycles it. You can probably find it online.
>> Anonymous
google it dump fuck
>> Anonymous
that instant cycling stuff sometimes works, often it doesn't. just live with it and keep doing 10% water changes at least once a week for the next 5 weeks or so while your tank cycles. keep an eye on your ammonia, nitrite levels. once you see only nitrate you're good to go and just have to do regular water changes or plant your tank to keep nitrate levels down
>> Anonymous
Google "nitrogen cycle." Basically, what it is is that with the introduction of living things (fish) in to previously lifeless water (chlorination killed all bacteria, etc), all of a sudden the amount of bacteria has exploded and the "ecosystem" (tank) doesn't have the ability to manage it yet. During this time, the tank will go through spikes in three dangerous chemicals; ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite.

If you want to do it the old fashioned way, get a test kit at the petstore and monitor the water, doing water changes every few days until everything settles. But my favored way is to just throw some Biospira in and be done with it.
>> Anonymous
>>184975
the amount of nitrobacters hasn't exploded. his water is getting cloudy because there aren't enough beneficial bacteria to break down wastes and his ammonia level is rising. what do you think biospira does? it adds bacteria to the water, if there was an "explosion of bacteria" already WTF good would it be to add more.
>> Anonymous
>>184979
Oh. That makes more sense, yeah. The point is, he needs to monitor it or add stuff to make it go faster.
>> Anonymous
Also, my filter is all green/white, should I change it or what?
>> Anonymous
>>185433
Yes, you should take out the filter and clean it in hot water every couple of days.
>> Anonymous
>>185462

this is actually not a good idea unless your filter is excessivley dirty.

A filter will build up beneficial bacteria in it. These bacteria are what break down fish waste (which is toxic to fish) into harmless compounds. If you change or clean your filter too often then you kill off these bacteria which are actually required for a healthy tank.

When you do clean the tank (or filter) make sure you don't do it all at once. If you do a water change then don't change the filter at the same time. Likewise when you change to a fresh filter, don't change the water for a little while. This gives time for the good bacteria to maintain proper levels in the tank.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I flipped over the filter => Result in picture

(for some reason it still looks hazed on the photo, but iRL it's much better ;D)
>> Anonymous
Another quick question, should I keep the lights on 24/7 or just for the day?
>> Anonymous
>>186218
fish need sleep too

good god I really hope this is a troll
>> Anonymous
>>186221
Ha I'm not a troll. Ofcourse I shut down the light at night, just checking to make sure.

But can't fish sleep with the lights on?
>> Anonymous
>>186218
What I do is turn off the lights when I go to bed, turn them on when I wake up. That should be fine.

>>186222
Pretty much like asking you to sleep with the lights on. You can, its just nicer if you turn them off. Also, the algae wont grow as fast.
>> Anonymous
>>184917
I think the problem is that you have a Big Daddy in your tank.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>186227
I lol'ed
>> Anonymous
OMG OP, if you want to keep an aquarium you really need to read up. Yes, everyone is right, to start an aquarium you need to have good hearty fish poop a lot and cycle your tank. If you don't know what
"cycle" fully means you need to look it up. And yes, you can leave your lights on 24/7 if you want to grow massive amounts of algae everywhere and have your fish be insomniacs.

http://www.petalia.com.au/templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?Story_No=2022

go. read. learn.
>> Anonymous
OP. I have had about 10 fw tanks, and 2 SW tanks.

Listen up.

You should have cycled your tank, but in order to cycle your tank, you must have fish in it.

The cycling works like this.

Fish poop. A strain of spira bacteria turns the poop from poop to ammonia. another strain of spira bacteria turns the ammonia into nitrogen, nitrate, nitrite, etc... eventually the bacteria will turn 'ammonia' into something benificial to the fish. this cycling can take about a month, with freshwater tanks...depending upon the bioload, and size of the tank-and amount of filtration, and how long you leave the lights on, and pretty much every single little thing you do to the tank.

Here's my suggestion to you as what to do with your tank, like somebody else said earlier...RESEARCH your ASS off.

But since most people here dont listen-lol...here's what I will tell you to do.
>> Anonymous
Change 10-20% of your water every 5 days.

Lights on for 12 hours, lights off for 12 hours.

Unless your filter is disgusting, leave it the hell alone-because that's where you're going to see most of the cycling bacteria growing. if you rinse it off in hot water, like somebody said earlier, you'll kill all of that bacteria, and let the tank start cycling again.

biospira works, but it's unneccesary, and expensive.

when you get new fish, never put the petshop water in your tank. take fish out of bag after you float them, and put them in the tank. pour the water down a drain.

dont overfeed your fish. no more than they can eat in 3 minutes...unless you go saltwater. that'd be different. most saltwater fish require food 3x a day. from your pix, you have goldfish-comets to be exact. goldfish (as well as most other fish) will keep eating and eating until there's no more food-because they cant tell when they're full. 3 minutes a day for them. Not only does poop turn into ammonia, (which is toxic for your fish) but so does unneccesary food. Also, if they eat too much, they can get stressed and sick. Stress=Ick.

There are chemicals that can reduce the cloudiness, but during cycling, most chemicals do more harm than good.

good luck with your fish adventures
>> Anonymous
also, comets and fancytail goldfish tend to grow quickly. Most tanks cant hold a full grown one, so look into a place to put them such as a friend's pond when they get big. I've seen comets get to 17 inches. My mother has a pond with about 5 of them.

Again, good luck.
>> Anonymous
>>186543
you don't need fish in your tank to cycle it. fishless cycling is actually really easy. get a filter/or float your own or a big cup of gravel from an established tank and transfer it to yours. then feed the tank like you would if you had fish in it for the next 3 weeks or so, though fleshy foods work best. the food will break down into ammonia and you're good to go. some people actually add straight ammonia. and the bacteria doesn't trun fish wastes into ammonia, they excrete ammonia with their wastes. in animals that have to worry more about water loss they turn the ammonia into urea, and in animals that have to worry the most about water loss they turn urea into urate (uric acid)
>> Anonymous
OP here -> The water in the tank is clear now :)
I feed them 1 fingertip of food 2x a day, planning on giving them 'strange' food soon (banana, lettuce,...)
>> Anonymous
>>186610

this is true. You don't need fish per se, just a source of nitrogenous waste.

Personally I find using fish to be the best method though. Fish waste is the ideal "seed" for your cycling becasue it contains the correct proportions of exactly what chemicals you're setting the tank up for. I set up the tank with clean water, add a cupful of water from an established tank (if I can get it), and then throw in a couple of cheap fish (feeder goldfish, for example) and let them take care of the cycling.

I have tried it without the fish, and it does work but it takes longer, and it also seems that the chemistry swings are a bit bigger once the real tank inhabitants are addded.