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Eau...can I pick your brains.....

9 replies

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 29/04/2013 10:03

I have my new tank now, it is lovely!! I collected it saturday, set it all up, half filled it and got filter running...all ok!!

Yesterday I added the water from their old tank, added the sponge from their old filter to the new filter and also added some bacterial balls in there as well - put the fishes in, floating them in the bags at first for half hour or so then totally in.

So far so good, they seem totally happy!!

Then last night DH was fiddling round in the tank as he was moving a few things about and now the tank is cloudy.......I thought it was where he had moved the gravel about and maybe unsettled it but this morning it is still cloudy.

I have googled it and it is suggesting a bacteria bloom?? Is this right?? Will it go on it's own or do I need to do something to help. God, I hope I am not killing them!!

Helpppppppp !!

OP posts:
EauRouge · 29/04/2013 13:31

Yes, it's probably a bacterial bloom if it;s not settling. It should be completely harmless to fish, don't worry. This can happen when there's a sudden decrease in bacteria, like if you change a filter sponge or clean it a bit too over-enthusiastically. It'll go on its own once the filter catches up. Have you tested the water?

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 29/04/2013 13:41

No I haven't - had to rush out the door to work today so didn't have time this morning.

Well, I did everything right so hopefully it will settle.

Should I test the water then?? Surely it's a bit pointless doing a water change already?

My tank is gorgeous, really lovely :)

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EauRouge · 29/04/2013 13:52

Yes, do test it because if there's a bacterial bloom then you need to check the ammonia level. It's normal to get a small spike when you move a filter so doing an extra water change is a good idea.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 29/04/2013 13:53

Ok, will do that later. What % do you recommend I should change if the amonia level is not good?? It's 190 litres - dont want to stress fishes out more than they have been already.

Thanks for your help :)

OP posts:
EauRouge · 29/04/2013 14:23

It depends on what the ammonia level is. If it's more than 1ppm then you can do a large-ish change, say 50-60%. You can do another one tomorrow if the level is still high. It's better to do more water changes and get the level down, high ammonia will stress them out a lot more than a water change.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 29/04/2013 14:25

Ok thanks!! I have the testing kits that are just strips and you match the colours...I take it the more different the colour is to the one it should be will give me an indication of how bad the levels are.

60% - thats a lot of buckets :)

OP posts:
EauRouge · 29/04/2013 14:40

You may not need to do that much, I would see what the ammonia level is like. I don't envy you cleaning out a 190 litre though, I used to have one that size and it took a while. I know some people just use a pump and pump the dirty water straight out of the window, would that be possible for you?

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 29/04/2013 14:54

No sadly not....oh well, DH and I will do tandem buckets, won't be too hard! I've done it the last 2 days, getting good at it now :)

Thanks!

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BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 30/04/2013 09:20

Well the water levels were ok so will just wait for the cloudiness to go away. I gave them a tiny amount of food last night but not as much as usual as didnt want to make it worse.

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