Hey! I just purchased a 60 gallon tank(freshwater). It has been running for about 4 weeks and the water seems to still be a little cloudy. Currently i have 3 oscars and a blood parrot cichlid. Does any one have any suggestions. I dont have a aquarium store near me, all i have is petco and petsmart and i was looking for professoinal advise.
cloudy water is usually caused from over feeding or an algae bloom but if that were the case it would be greenish color, is it your first tank?
alot of first timers tend to overfeed, less food is better. i know i made that mistake when i first started, do a water change say 25 - 50% and if you haven't changed the media in you filter yet do that do a water test too just to make sure that nothing big is wrong if your amo is high that is probably a good sign that you are over feeding
give that a try and see what happens.
_andrew
Thanks! i dont feed them that much, i feed them every other day. I think it might be my filter system. Does anyone know what a good filter system would be for a 60 gallon with oscars would be?
Well, first of all you're overstocked
second of all, your filter system isn't able to work such a big bioload in the cycling process which causes the cloudiness of your tank
The cycling process takes anywhere from 6-8 weeks
Try installing a Ultra violet sterilizer in your setup. I have one for all my tanks and most of my customers buy them because it helps with algae and bacteria.
www.jeboaquarium.com
i have to agree with eve on this. the tank is not fully cycled yet. and i would NOT change the filter media as to do so you will start the cycle all over again and that seriously harm the fish you have.
The 3 Oscars, How old are they? Becuse I have 1 Oscar and a pacu in a 55 gallon and that is barely fitting them. You're filter may not be good enough for all of the fish you have in your tank.Which is why you're tank is cloudy. You could also be feeding them too much.Oscars are very messy fish! Chances are if you're fish run out of room they will hurt eachother. Oscars especially, they are very teritorial!
I would get another filter to supplement what you have. With the fish you have and especially as they will get much bigger I would personally get a 100-175 gallon capacity canister filter which sits under your tank. When these fish get big you'll be way overstocked, so you'll have to way over filter for the size of your tank. It's always better to over filter than under filter. You'll have a much more stable cycle with less cleaning and water changes. I usually use 4 or more times the filtration for my tanks and I don't have Oscars. I have a Rena Filstar canister filter that's rated at 175 gallons and costs about $120.00. I notice two filter pipes in the back of your tank. What are you using and what gallon capacity is it rated?It looks pretty big from the pipes. As your fish are still small you're probably just over feeding and/or don't have the cycle going yet at this point. I still think you'll need to add more filtration when they get big. Oscars are big eaters. You might add some beneficial bacteria after a water change and filter rinsing and add new charcoal and things may be good for a while.
Cloudy water is usually caused by over feeding or ammonia sky rocketing. Try to drain half of the tank and see what happens. Or don't feed them so much.
Hi the clouding in your tank could be due to tiny partials in the water that are to small for your filter system to remove. You should be able to buy a water additive at the pet store that clumps these particals together to help the filter remove them. I use Accu-clear made by API. www.aquariumparm.com
I feed my fish frozen brine shrimp sometimes and i have found if i don't thaw them out and rinse them off before putting in the tank it clouds up my tank a little. the rest of my cloudiness was overfeeding but rinsing the shrimp has helped keep my water clear now that i am not overfeeding them.
