Fish people I need help!!!! ACK!!!

Barrett · 01-30-2006, 08:25 PM

My husband bought me a beautiful new fish tank for Christmas for my two goldfish. We went with a Cascade 700 canister filter. I have never used a canister filter before. The sales person told me not to change the filter media for a month to let the tank cycle. I changed 10-15 % of the water every week though. I decided to try and change the filter media tonight and it was horrible! It was all slimy and gross! I cleaned everything off, kept the ceramic donut things in there and put new floss and carbon filters in it. I hooked everything back up and turned on the filter and when I looked at the water it was so cloudy I can hardly see the fish! I had just changed 40% of the water and it was crystal clear before I turned the filter back on. Are my fish going to die? Can they breath until the filter can clean the water again? Does anyone know what happened and what I might have done wrong? These are the first two fish I have ever owned and I love them with all my heart. Can anyone help me?

Crossfire Bulldogs · 01-30-2006, 08:31 PM

Isn't that the canister with the adjustable flow? I know sometimes when you clean them and the flow is a bit stronger you'll get that cloud from all the extra oxygen / debris in the water. I'd also check your ammonia levels since you changed water out.

Edited to add - Adding a Dacron bag with activated carbon, or a pre-made one like Chemipure or Aquarium Pharmaceuticals can help if all else is ok.

Barrett · 01-30-2006, 08:37 PM

There is definetly big debris in the water. The stuff floating around is white and the water is cloudy. I called the fish store and they are already closed. I hope I wasn't supposed to rinse the filters off before I put them in place. The box didn't say anything and the directions that came with the filter are no help!

Ack!!

Edited to add: It is a multi layered filter and I put a Pro Carb Filt-a-Pack filled with carbon and Zeolite ( I have no idea what the Zeolite is for) a Bio-sponge filter and Bio-Floss filter. I also have a bag of ceramic donut looking things in the top that I am not supposed to clean with tap water because it keeps the good algae in balance? I should have done this in the daytime so I could have called the fish store for help.

Crossfire Bulldogs · 01-30-2006, 08:39 PM

It sounds like you've just got alot of junk in there from the filter. I would have rinsed the filters a bit at least. I'd be more concerned with your ammonia levels and PH levels but if those are ok then I'd bet it's all just debris that needs to settle.

Edited to add - I forgot to ask, are you vacuming your gravel when you change your water?

Barrett · 01-30-2006, 08:45 PM

Yes I vacuum the gravel everytime I change the water. I have been changing the water by 10-15 % each week and tonight I changed 40 % before I changed the filter. I don't have any test strips for the water. The store has been out of them for a month.

Crossfire Bulldogs · 01-30-2006, 08:53 PM

How are the fish looking? Any signs of cramped fins ( keeping them tight to their body ) or spending the majority of their time at or near the surface? How big is your tank?

Crossfire Bulldogs · 01-30-2006, 09:05 PM

Quote:

I also have a bag of ceramic donut looking things in the top that I am not supposed to clean with tap water because it keeps the good algae in balance?

Right, cleaning those with chlorinated tap water will kill your good bacteria growth.

I just realized you said you got the tank for Christmas, how long has it been set up and running and how long have you had fish in it? Is the cloudiness your seeing a milky white in color or a greenish color?

Barrett · 01-30-2006, 09:06 PM

It's a 50 gallon tank. The fish are swimming around and moving their fins just fine. They seem to be ok and don't look like they are stressing out much. I am the one stressing out I guess. I have never seen the water look like that before. I had my little fishies in a 12 gallon tank before. We bought the 50 gallon tank for them for Christmas, LOL!! The filter on the little tank was so easy to clean and replace. This new huge canister filter is scarey.

Edit:
the water is milky colored right now but it was perfectly clear before I messed with the filter. I set it up on the 27th of December. The fish store gave me a pouch of Bio-algae stuff to put in the water to help the tank cycle. They also said to put the rocks from the old tank in the new tank. We mixed the old and new rocks together. I waited two weeks and then put my fish in. The fish store said my goldfish would cycle the tank. So they ahve been in the tank for over two weeks now.

Crossfire Bulldogs · 01-30-2006, 09:15 PM

It sounds like bacterial bloom which is usually caused by stocking too much too fast. Your tank wasn't cycled fully when the fish were added and adding fish quickly overloaded the fledgling bacterial population with nutrients, causing a population explosion. How deep is your gravel? Fresh water really doesn't need more than 1/2 inch....more than that and your holding debris.

This is something that usually happens when many fish are added though so I'm a bit puzzled since you only have two fish in there right now but if the tank wasn't ready it's always possible. Since your changing out your water weekly I personally wouldn't recommend vacuming the gravel everytime you change your water out and give it every two weeks instead to allow your bacterial to get to where it should be.

In all honesty I really think your looking at nothing more than bacterial bloom and I'd leave it alone, the water should clear up in the next few days / week or so once the bacterial populations are better balanced. Maturity of the tank sounds like the suspect. jmo

Barrett · 01-30-2006, 09:23 PM

The good bacteria will eat the ammonia and bad bacteria right? My goldfish are about 4 inches long so they are pretty big. I bet I added them to the tank too early. I also have about 1 inch of gravel in the tank so it sound like I have too much. How long should I wait before I change the filters again? I waited a month the first time, I suppose I might have to wait longer? Oh man they were gross though...I don't know what to do! I guess I better make a trip back to the fish store tomorrow and ask some questions. I can take a sample of water to them and they can test it too. Thanks for your help Sonja!! The water is already a little better in the last half hour.

My problem is I'm a neat freak with my animals and I don't think I am supposed to clean the fishtank as often as I want to. I think I upset the algae balance by cleaning it too soon?

Crossfire Bulldogs · 01-30-2006, 09:38 PM

No problem.

Cleaning it is one thing but when you have a new tank set up it's never a good idea to clean it too often. Giving that good bacteria a chance to kick in is really important. With a tank that big you may want to ask if the store has sea salt to mix with your gravel. It will help a HUGE amount in keeping that ammonia in check since the golds are notorious for it and with only two fish in there you could easily get away with cleaning every three weeks or so.

It also helps to get some live plants started in your tank, look for low light plants like java moss, java fern, and anubias. You may want to consider getting a plecostomus to handle upcoming algae to help keep your tank clean and one of the easiest test kits out there. I believe you can still order online is made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - a Freshwater Master Test Kit. You may already know all this stuff but I remember when I got my first 55 - whoa, what a huge change in the way things are done! I was overwhelmed! Glad it's starting to look better!

Edited to add - I keep lsong my train of thought tonight! LOL I hope you'll post some pics of the tank when you get it the way you want it. I'd LOVE to see it!

Barrett · 01-30-2006, 09:58 PM

My fish are also goofy ( like all my animals for some reason

) because they are scared of the light. In my old tank and now my new tank, when I turned on the light my little fishies rammed themselves into the glass because they were scared. I finally figured out that I can place white paper under the light ( on top of the clear plastic tank cover ) to filter some of the light coming into the tank. The fish aren't scared when the light is filtered. I bought the lowest watt bulb I could find too. The water is much clearer now and my heart rate is coming down.

Crossfire Bulldogs · 01-30-2006, 10:03 PM

I've seen that happen alot when the fish are going into a larger tank, the light seems soooo much brighter and their not familar yet with their surroundings and they start bouncing.

Glad the filtered light seems to have done the trick for them. It didn't work when I went over to my first 55 and I ended up going with a combo light set of yellow and purple then slowly moved up to the regular lighting.

If the water is improving that fast then it's just debris. Yay!

Barrett · 01-30-2006, 10:29 PM

I took the strainer off of the tube that goes into the tank so it could pull big debris out of the water. I think I should have rinsed the charcoal before I put it in the filter. The boxes that all the filter media came in had no instructions at all.

I am making a trip back to the fish store tomorrow with a pencil and paper. I need to learn more about the canister filters. They definetly are not as easy as the little filter I had on my 12 gallon tank. Yes I am very happy my little fishy-butts are going to be ok. Their names are Heckle and Jeckle and I love them very much. I've had them for about 7 months and they have grown so much! They are my first fish. I would like to add a plecostomus but they get huge, don't they? Will a 50 gallon tank hold them forever? I don't think I will ever be getting a bigger tank than this one. I heard that snails can multiply faster than bunnies so I am too scared to try that.

01-30-2006, 08:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
Barrett dachshund Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 2,758 Rep Power: 156	Fish people I need help!!!! ACK!!! My husband bought me a beautiful new fish tank for Christmas for my two goldfish. We went with a Cascade 700 canister filter. I have never used a canister filter before. The sales person told me not to change the filter media for a month to let the tank cycle. I changed 10-15 % of the water every week though. I decided to try and change the filter media tonight and it was horrible! It was all slimy and gross! I cleaned everything off, kept the ceramic donut things in there and put new floss and carbon filters in it. I hooked everything back up and turned on the filter and when I looked at the water it was so cloudy I can hardly see the fish! I had just changed 40% of the water and it was crystal clear before I turned the filter back on. Are my fish going to die? Can they breath until the filter can clean the water again? Does anyone know what happened and what I might have done wrong? These are the first two fish I have ever owned and I love them with all my heart. Can anyone help me?

01-30-2006, 08:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
Crossfire Bulldogs Sourmug Mom Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Snuggled Between The Snorts & Snores. Posts: 7,844 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 284	Isn't that the canister with the adjustable flow? I know sometimes when you clean them and the flow is a bit stronger you'll get that cloud from all the extra oxygen / debris in the water. I'd also check your ammonia levels since you changed water out. Edited to add - Adding a Dacron bag with activated carbon, or a pre-made one like Chemipure or Aquarium Pharmaceuticals can help if all else is ok.
	__________________ Get more out of Global Paw. Check out these great features. Global Paw Book Club -- Art Classes -- Woof Review I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief. ~ Gerry Spence As a member of Global paw staff my opinions are not necessarily those of the website or the owner. Last edited by Crossfire Bulldogs : 01-30-2006 at 08:34 PM.

01-30-2006, 08:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
Barrett dachshund Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 2,758 Rep Power: 156	There is definetly big debris in the water. The stuff floating around is white and the water is cloudy. I called the fish store and they are already closed. I hope I wasn't supposed to rinse the filters off before I put them in place. The box didn't say anything and the directions that came with the filter are no help! Ack!! Edited to add: It is a multi layered filter and I put a Pro Carb Filt-a-Pack filled with carbon and Zeolite ( I have no idea what the Zeolite is for) a Bio-sponge filter and Bio-Floss filter. I also have a bag of ceramic donut looking things in the top that I am not supposed to clean with tap water because it keeps the good algae in balance? I should have done this in the daytime so I could have called the fish store for help.
	Last edited by Barrett : 01-30-2006 at 08:43 PM.

01-30-2006, 08:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
Crossfire Bulldogs Sourmug Mom Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Snuggled Between The Snorts & Snores. Posts: 7,844 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 284	It sounds like you've just got alot of junk in there from the filter. I would have rinsed the filters a bit at least. I'd be more concerned with your ammonia levels and PH levels but if those are ok then I'd bet it's all just debris that needs to settle. Edited to add - I forgot to ask, are you vacuming your gravel when you change your water?
	__________________ Get more out of Global Paw. Check out these great features. Global Paw Book Club -- Art Classes -- Woof Review I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief. ~ Gerry Spence As a member of Global paw staff my opinions are not necessarily those of the website or the owner. Last edited by Crossfire Bulldogs : 01-30-2006 at 08:44 PM.

01-30-2006, 08:53 PM	#6 (permalink)
Crossfire Bulldogs Sourmug Mom Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Snuggled Between The Snorts & Snores. Posts: 7,844 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 284	How are the fish looking? Any signs of cramped fins ( keeping them tight to their body ) or spending the majority of their time at or near the surface? How big is your tank?
	__________________ Get more out of Global Paw. Check out these great features. Global Paw Book Club -- Art Classes -- Woof Review I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief. ~ Gerry Spence As a member of Global paw staff my opinions are not necessarily those of the website or the owner.

01-30-2006, 08:45 PM	#5 (permalink)
Barrett dachshund Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 2,758 Rep Power: 156	Yes I vacuum the gravel everytime I change the water. I have been changing the water by 10-15 % each week and tonight I changed 40 % before I changed the filter. I don't have any test strips for the water. The store has been out of them for a month.

01-30-2006, 09:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
Barrett dachshund Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 2,758 Rep Power: 156	It's a 50 gallon tank. The fish are swimming around and moving their fins just fine. They seem to be ok and don't look like they are stressing out much. I am the one stressing out I guess. I have never seen the water look like that before. I had my little fishies in a 12 gallon tank before. We bought the 50 gallon tank for them for Christmas, LOL!! The filter on the little tank was so easy to clean and replace. This new huge canister filter is scarey. Edit: the water is milky colored right now but it was perfectly clear before I messed with the filter. I set it up on the 27th of December. The fish store gave me a pouch of Bio-algae stuff to put in the water to help the tank cycle. They also said to put the rocks from the old tank in the new tank. We mixed the old and new rocks together. I waited two weeks and then put my fish in. The fish store said my goldfish would cycle the tank. So they ahve been in the tank for over two weeks now.
	Last edited by Barrett : 01-30-2006 at 09:10 PM.

01-30-2006, 09:15 PM	#9 (permalink)
Crossfire Bulldogs Sourmug Mom Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Snuggled Between The Snorts & Snores. Posts: 7,844 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 284	It sounds like bacterial bloom which is usually caused by stocking too much too fast. Your tank wasn't cycled fully when the fish were added and adding fish quickly overloaded the fledgling bacterial population with nutrients, causing a population explosion. How deep is your gravel? Fresh water really doesn't need more than 1/2 inch....more than that and your holding debris. This is something that usually happens when many fish are added though so I'm a bit puzzled since you only have two fish in there right now but if the tank wasn't ready it's always possible. Since your changing out your water weekly I personally wouldn't recommend vacuming the gravel everytime you change your water out and give it every two weeks instead to allow your bacterial to get to where it should be. In all honesty I really think your looking at nothing more than bacterial bloom and I'd leave it alone, the water should clear up in the next few days / week or so once the bacterial populations are better balanced. Maturity of the tank sounds like the suspect. jmo
	__________________ Get more out of Global Paw. Check out these great features. Global Paw Book Club -- Art Classes -- Woof Review I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief. ~ Gerry Spence As a member of Global paw staff my opinions are not necessarily those of the website or the owner.

01-30-2006, 09:23 PM	#10 (permalink)
Barrett dachshund Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 2,758 Rep Power: 156	The good bacteria will eat the ammonia and bad bacteria right? My goldfish are about 4 inches long so they are pretty big. I bet I added them to the tank too early. I also have about 1 inch of gravel in the tank so it sound like I have too much. How long should I wait before I change the filters again? I waited a month the first time, I suppose I might have to wait longer? Oh man they were gross though...I don't know what to do! I guess I better make a trip back to the fish store tomorrow and ask some questions. I can take a sample of water to them and they can test it too. Thanks for your help Sonja!! The water is already a little better in the last half hour. My problem is I'm a neat freak with my animals and I don't think I am supposed to clean the fishtank as often as I want to. I think I upset the algae balance by cleaning it too soon?

01-30-2006, 09:38 PM	#11 (permalink)
Crossfire Bulldogs Sourmug Mom Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Snuggled Between The Snorts & Snores. Posts: 7,844 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 284	No problem. Cleaning it is one thing but when you have a new tank set up it's never a good idea to clean it too often. Giving that good bacteria a chance to kick in is really important. With a tank that big you may want to ask if the store has sea salt to mix with your gravel. It will help a HUGE amount in keeping that ammonia in check since the golds are notorious for it and with only two fish in there you could easily get away with cleaning every three weeks or so. It also helps to get some live plants started in your tank, look for low light plants like java moss, java fern, and anubias. You may want to consider getting a plecostomus to handle upcoming algae to help keep your tank clean and one of the easiest test kits out there. I believe you can still order online is made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - a Freshwater Master Test Kit. You may already know all this stuff but I remember when I got my first 55 - whoa, what a huge change in the way things are done! I was overwhelmed! Glad it's starting to look better! Edited to add - I keep lsong my train of thought tonight! LOL I hope you'll post some pics of the tank when you get it the way you want it. I'd LOVE to see it!
	__________________ Get more out of Global Paw. Check out these great features. Global Paw Book Club -- Art Classes -- Woof Review I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief. ~ Gerry Spence As a member of Global paw staff my opinions are not necessarily those of the website or the owner. Last edited by Crossfire Bulldogs : 01-30-2006 at 10:00 PM.

01-30-2006, 09:58 PM	#12 (permalink)
Barrett dachshund Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 2,758 Rep Power: 156	My fish are also goofy ( like all my animals for some reason ) because they are scared of the light. In my old tank and now my new tank, when I turned on the light my little fishies rammed themselves into the glass because they were scared. I finally figured out that I can place white paper under the light ( on top of the clear plastic tank cover ) to filter some of the light coming into the tank. The fish aren't scared when the light is filtered. I bought the lowest watt bulb I could find too. The water is much clearer now and my heart rate is coming down.

01-30-2006, 10:03 PM	#13 (permalink)
Crossfire Bulldogs Sourmug Mom Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Snuggled Between The Snorts & Snores. Posts: 7,844 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 284	I've seen that happen alot when the fish are going into a larger tank, the light seems soooo much brighter and their not familar yet with their surroundings and they start bouncing. Glad the filtered light seems to have done the trick for them. It didn't work when I went over to my first 55 and I ended up going with a combo light set of yellow and purple then slowly moved up to the regular lighting. If the water is improving that fast then it's just debris. Yay!
	__________________ Get more out of Global Paw. Check out these great features. Global Paw Book Club -- Art Classes -- Woof Review I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief. ~ Gerry Spence As a member of Global paw staff my opinions are not necessarily those of the website or the owner.

01-30-2006, 10:29 PM	#14 (permalink)
Barrett dachshund Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 2,758 Rep Power: 156	I took the strainer off of the tube that goes into the tank so it could pull big debris out of the water. I think I should have rinsed the charcoal before I put it in the filter. The boxes that all the filter media came in had no instructions at all. I am making a trip back to the fish store tomorrow with a pencil and paper. I need to learn more about the canister filters. They definetly are not as easy as the little filter I had on my 12 gallon tank. Yes I am very happy my little fishy-butts are going to be ok. Their names are Heckle and Jeckle and I love them very much. I've had them for about 7 months and they have grown so much! They are my first fish. I would like to add a plecostomus but they get huge, don't they? Will a 50 gallon tank hold them forever? I don't think I will ever be getting a bigger tank than this one. I heard that snails can multiply faster than bunnies so I am too scared to try that.

01-30-2006, 11:16 PM	#15 (permalink)
TinyAlbinoDancer Always room for one more Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: CA Posts: 2,578 Rep Power: 166