Hey Fishnet, I've never been in here before, was hoping you could shed some light on a leetle problem I have

[TrinityRhino]

I have been given a 60L fish tank.
I have cleaned it out with warm water. bought gravel (rinsed and added)
filled the tank with water
added filter, plastic plants and ornaments and tap safe
turned on filter and it looked beautiful
after a day my friend bought me a heater so I could have tropical fish

heater has been on for two days now and almost as soon as we had put it on the water went cloudy

its very white cloudy iyswim

what have I done wrong and how can I sort it?

Can't help you there TRIN sorry

I love fish tanks though I've never had one.

A little bump for you.

Ouch!

Have you got a filter pump? Our tank was the same the first day we set it up but 1 filter pump later all was clear.

I have a filter which has been turned on since I filled it up and it was lovely and clear

the filter has stayed on the whole time, day and night but since I put in the heater its white looking

Cloudy whiteness means insufficiently washed gravel - apparently.
I know you said you'd washed it but did the water run clear?

My guess is one of two things- either tiny bubbles caused by the change in temperature, in which case it will sort itself out or it could be a bacterial bloom- it'll clear up as the filter grows enough bacteria to cope. Have a read of this, it will explain all about bacteria in fish tanks and how to do a fishless cycle (don't put any fish in before the tank is cycled!!!).

Or it could also be dust from the gravel but I would have thought it would be clear by now.

Ooh, you might need a flocculent! Otherwise known as water clarifier, easily obtained from your fish shop

hmm so the first thing I should try is rewashing the gravel?
I've never done the fishless cycling before

flocculent, that is a lovely word

Is the filter flow breaking the surface of the water? If it is tiny bubbles then a bit of water movement, especially at the surface, should fix it.

its kind of breaking the surface
the outlet is under the surface but the water coming out rushes to the front side of the tank and makes ripples

okay I've moved the filter up a smidge so that its breaking the surface
it is now louder and obviously making bubbles now

how long shall I try that before I decide to empty it and rewash the gravel?

You could also give it a good stir around and a bit of a splash to see if that makes any difference.

If it's a bacterial bloom it should clear up within a couple of days.

ok I'll give it a good stir and then leave it for a couple of days and see what its like then

thankyou everyone
I will be back

WOOHOOO THE TANK IS CLEAR

thankyou everyone