# misty water



## paul_28 (Jan 20, 2011)

hey my tank gone all light green sort of misty colour. i did clean around tank for algae and did small water change but still the same lol its looks like a scene out of a horror film lol any ideas?


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## paul_28 (Jan 20, 2011)

i thinks it a combined effort of pooing by the fish lol i feed a small bit each day. its a 20gallon tank with black moors and minnows.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

It's from high bioload and insufficient water changes and too much light. It's waterborne algae. How many fish, what size? How much and how often are you partial water changes? Is the tank planted and how many hours are the lights on?


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## scherzo (Apr 24, 2010)

You should turn off the lights for 2-3 days and cover the entire tank to make sure that light does not get in. Sometimes using black garbage bags to cover everything can help.

Posting your parameters may help us help you too.. *like what 2wheels said*


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## paul_28 (Jan 20, 2011)

oh right, theres no light in tank, maybe sunlight doing it i not sure. i just did another water change and its looking better and the gravel cleaner i got made a difference too. u see i was told monthly water change and that it lasts for months without full water change.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

paul_28 said:


> oh right, theres no light in tank, maybe sunlight doing it i not sure. i just did another water change and its looking better and the gravel cleaner i got made a difference too. u see i was told monthly water change and that it lasts for months without full water change.


There's your answer - direct sunlight and no water changes. I suspect if you measured the nitrates it would be up over 100 ppm. You need to consider a 25%+ water change a week depending on the fish load. You said black moors, so there's more than one goldfish in there, which is already maxing out the size of that tank for low maintenance since you also have minnows in there.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Whoever told you not to do frequent water changes is a complete ignorant f**ing idiot, pardon my French. Goldfish have a huge bioload and need frequent water changes or they will get sick and die very quickly. For now, forget about covering the tank and do a big water change - like 50% and vacuum the gravel. Repeat this every day or two and the water will clear (and the fish will be much happier). Also, get a water test kit - you can get a master test kit pretty cheaply, but at least get kits to test for ammonia and nitrites and nitrates. Your local fish store will have the kits.

I had 4 fancy goldfish in a 30 gallon before moving them to my 100 gallon, and I was changing 80% of the water every week and vacuuming the gravel at every change. I never had an algae problem, and the tank sat in direct window light. Water changes won't affect your biofilter, either. They just take the toxins out of the water. If there's poop and food in there, feed less and change the water more.

How large are your fish and how many are in the tank? You need a larger tank, yesterday. A 20g is too small for more than 1 fancy goldfish, let alone multiple fish. The fish will get sick and stunted very fast in that situation. Also, what kind of filtration do you have on the tank? For goldfish, more filtration is better...you could put an HOB (hang on back) filter rated for a 30-50 gallon on there, which would help with processing the waste.

Please let us know how things go. I'd offer to lend you my spare tank, but it looks like you're in the UK....


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

just bumping this...wanted to see if the OP had found a fix?


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## paul_28 (Jan 20, 2011)

Is there any disavantage of doing 25 water change? theres talk of fish not coping but goldfish are tough fish i think. im going to be using that gravel cleaner, u do see how much it suxs up lol its amazing how much they poo. goldfish aparently would eat themself silly so i do try to feed less now.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

No disadvantage that I'm aware of...I was doing 80% weekly with no problems, and at one point when I had an ammonia spike, I was changing 50% daily for a few days.

Changing the water just removes any toxins in the water, which is what you want. In a natural setting, these fish would be in a pond or stream large enough to dilute the waste they produce. A tank isn't big enough, so you do it artificially through water changes. If you're concerned about disturbing the bacterial bed in the gravel, just vacuum 25% of the gravel at each water change and still take out a lot of water.


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## paul_28 (Jan 20, 2011)

wow 80 and 50 thats alot so would u add tap water safe stuff or just bung it in and leave it to cycle itself? i heard that the air pump acts like what the waves do in the sea and the filter helps keep water moving. thanks for the tips its helpful.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I never use dechlorinator, but I know I should, so I would recommend using "Safe stuff" or whatever product you are familiar with in the UK.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

effox said:


> I never use dechlorinator, but I know I should, so I would recommend using "Safe stuff" or whatever product you are familiar with in the UK.


You don't have to use dechlorinator if you age the water. Since we do not have chloramines, aging will not only remove the chlorine, but it was off gas excess CO2 and allow the pH to come to equilibrium.


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## beaux (Jan 18, 2011)

Yes as Elle said dont ever vacume all the gravel at one time only 25% or so. Cleaned a jewel ciclid tank that had been running for 4 years with no problems too much one time and it rolled over that night and next morning it was a 100% loss. Also when ya clean the filter pad do it in tank water not tap water this will help save the bacteria on it. Hope this helps some!
Beaux


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## fan4guppy (Jan 31, 2011)

Since chloramine was brought up in this thread I thought I would post in regards to this compound as it is considered dangerous to many. There is research being done on this in the United States. It is true that many of our water systems in Canada do not add this chemical to the water systems however for some parts of the world this compound is being added and it is quite dangerous not only to our aquatic friends but to some humans as well.

So when doing water changes make sure about the water chemistry of your water supply, if not it is wise to have a water conditioner that is capable of removing chloramines.

Here is an interesting URL on Chloramine and its affects.

Home - Citizens Concerned About Chloramine (CCAC)


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

I think the OP is in the UK. So I would definitely add dechlorinator/safe, as a lot of their water is pretty nasty in my experience.

The bubblers/airstones oxygenate the water by providing gas exchange at the surface. The filter contains the colony of live bacteria that eat ammonia and convert it to nitrates.

Check out this page for detailed info: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm


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