Hey guys,
just setup my new planted tank on saturday.
water was fine that day
turned cloudy on sunday and been like that since.
looks cloudy to me anyway.
hoping its not green water.
looks kinda of a brownish tinge.
though i can still see the tank's contents fine.
how long will this last?
looks ugly....
my tank specs:
1.5ft (45L capacity)
36W PL 9 hrs a day
canister co2 at 1 bps
added a small dose of equilibrium, flourish, potassium, phosporus n nitrogen on same day as setup and no more
plants are mosses, mini pellia, jap hairgrass, and some stem plants which i dunno the name.
It will be cloudy for the first week at least, because you most probably have not added any bacteria. Try buying Seachem Stability and dosing it to help your tank cycle faster.
It's normally known as New Tank Syndrome, where the Nitrogen Cycle is in process.
been using aqumedi's bio bacta
wonder if it helps?
jus wondering if with a planted tank plus bottled bacteria, how long roughly i should see the tank start clearing up?
jus need a rough gauge so that if too long passes and no improvement then i'll know somethings wrong somewhere else at least.
my 1.5feet tank took me about 10days before it starts to become crystal clear. I didn't add any additional bio bacteria. but i guess it varies also, maybe the filter also plays some parts?
From experience, the pH and other indicators can change a lot during the week.
Adding bacteria can help.
Dont waste money buying bacterial, let it recycle by itself and it will be crystal clear in no time
It's not just "Step1: Add Water, Step2: Add Fish" If everything else don't work, add plastic plants and fish
Tank's still cloudy...
seems like got a bit of improvement, though it could be my hopeful imagination haha
Can someone please advise me wat color the water should look during this "cloudy" stage
i can;t decide if my water looks a little greenish, a little brownish or just chalky.
am thinking if i should be changing water during this cycling stage.
so far just been topping up evry 2 days.
been 5 days since i began running the tank.
if i should be changing water, how much and how often to change during this initial cycling stage?
Be patient. You will be suprise when you come back home one day and see the tank crystal clear.
It should looks cloudy.It looks like some milk spill into your mineral water.
You can change 50% 80% or any amount you like.
Adding mulm will really help to shorten your cycle time. But if you are not in a hurry to show your tank, just be patient.
for me i wouldn't do water change for the initial cycling.
Shihyong is right, be patient.
The Happiest of people don't neccessary have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way
When will there be 25 letters in the alphabets?
Be patient, it will clear up, give it another one week's time. Don't fertillise the water column. the plants won't be feeding until the water clears up
It's not just "Step1: Add Water, Step2: Add Fish" If everything else don't work, add plastic plants and fish
Are we trying to grow plants or bacteria?
Regards
Peter Gwee
Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger
haha well anyway i added a little ferts to the water already couple days ago.
its quite a conflict between adding ferts right away or not adding at all.
many different people seem to have different views on this.
and after a 2nd look i decided that the water looks abit brownish.
wondeirng if the dw is leaching tannin or is it the beginning symptoms of algae bloom.
hope not. thinking of stopping liquid ferts till water clears.
soaked the dw for a couple days before i put them in and the pail water seems fine.
will give it another week or so and see how. den will decide to do WC or not
if it turns clear but is a kind of clear brownish i may add bit of carbon to the eden501 n put for a week or two to try clear the color out.
plants seem to be doing more or less fine though.
the stem plants are growing at a tremendous rate. like an inch a day omg.
mosses are all showing green tips, tho some of the ones higher up near the light turned brown. wonder if its too hot. but temp's at 26 deg accoridng to the thermometer, 24 deg if i on the aircon
hairgrass not much change tho, no spreading or anything. a few leaves of grass turned brown, maybe shedding leaves to acclimatise to the new conditions. hope they grow and cover my middle ground.
wondering if i should add in a couple otos this weekend. seems kinda early but not sure if they'll help.
any views on the happenings in my tank?
It's a new tank, most of the time you will have cloudy water issues.
I'd wait at least 2 to 3 months, then start worrying. Peter is right, we are trying to grow plants, not bacteria
Just focus on growing the plants well, and the water will naturally clear up soon enough. Stop fiddling with the filter too!
good news.
water seems to have cleared up today after i came back home.
its much more clearer now. just a little bit of cloudiness left
but it looks a little brownish though.
now seriously suspecting my dw is leaching tannin.
tho i soaked it for a few days before i put it in and the pail water seemed fine then.
plants all looking fine.
but the mini pellia seems to be melting...........
water is CONFIRMED brownish.. clear brownish but brownish nonetheless
what shd i do to make it clear?
n noticed a thin oily film on the water surface
wats that?
how can i get rid of it?
No need to do anything, just change water every 3 days and wash the filter, after 2 weeks sure clear up
It's not just "Step1: Add Water, Step2: Add Fish" If everything else don't work, add plastic plants and fish
Always do larger water changes for new tanks say 50% 2x a week for the first few weeks to remove any possible trace of NH3/NH4/NO2 if the plants/bacteria don't get to it fast enough. It also cleans up the water column good if the wood is tank cured instead of pail soaked.Originally Posted by lee1224
Use a surface skimmer or add some surface current. You would loose a tad bit of CO2 but then CO2 is cheap.
Regards
Peter Gwee
Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger
ok ... 50% WC 2x a week for the next few weeks
after tat i suppose 30% fortnightly will do?
must i clean the canister filteR?
read that people rarely touch it...especially when the tank is cycling
50% or more is better for both plants and critters since they like clean water and algae hates it.
If the flow rate drops, clean the mechanical section would do. Flow is important in a planted tank since it brings the CO2 and nutrients to the plants.
If you know how to grow plants well and seed the tank with old filter material or enough dirt from an established tank, you shouldn't need to worry about that.
Plants go after the NH3/NH4 produced by critters/rotting stuff and convert them into biomass whereas bacteria only convert it into less toxic NO3.
Focus on growing plants well and you really don't have much issues after that. Since plants remove NH3/NH4, the more the merrier. You only need to crank their needs and they will do the job.
Regards
Peter Gwee
Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger
Ok thanks!50% or more is better for both plants and critters since they like clean water and algae hates it.
If the flow rate drops, clean the mechanical section would do. Flow is important in a planted tank since it brings the CO2 and nutrients to the plants.
If you know how to grow plants well and seed the tank with old filter material or enough dirt from an established tank, you shouldn't need to worry about that.
Plants go after the NH3/NH4 produced by critters/rotting stuff and convert them into biomass whereas bacteria only convert it into less toxic NO3.
Focus on growing plants well and you really don't have much issues after that. Since plants remove NH3/NH4, the more the merrier. You only need to crank their needs and they will do the job.
Regards
Peter Gwee
Btw i place my rainbar at the middle back of tank while co2 diffuser is at front right corner. the fine co2 bubbles only seem to be blowing ard the right side of the tank.
so should i shift the diffusor?
where shd it be placed optimally?
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