[crazyhorse70]

Hi All!
I wonder if you can help. I was a keen tropical fish keeper for many years until around 15 years ago when I quit the hobby. I recently decided to go again and became fascinated with the aqua scaping side of the hobby (which was unknown to me before). I have watched hours of videos and read loads of articles and finally took the plunge last week. After purchasing a second-hand 110 litre tank, I purchased some Fluval plant & shrimp aquarium substrate, spider wood and dragon stone. I then spent the next week with a dry tank moving things around until I was totally happy. I purchased a load of plants, planted out the tank and filled with water. As a first go, and having previously been used to lobbing a few plants in and buying fish, I am quite pleased with the result below. Please note this is straight after filling, hence all the small bubbles everywhere.

A summary of the other important information. No CO2 being used, and the light is the manufacturer supplied 14w LED white & blue (Aquaone). The filter is a CF40 Marina canister filter, all completely clean (no imported bacteria). I added the recommended dose of Aquacare tap water conditioner (we live in a fairly hard water area) and Aquacare Bio-boost, along with a half dose of Aquadip liquid plant food. I went for half dose of the last one, due to the nitrates present in the substrate and the fact I added a few Tetra plant sticks into the substrate.

The water soon cleared and settled in, but after 24 hours the water suddenly turned a little cloudy / milky. I had planned on conducting 50% water changes every day for the first week, so I did this and as per the instructions, added 50% of the Aquacare tap water conditioner and bio-boost again. Still the water remains cloudy. I also checked the ammonia levels, along with PH, hardness, nitrites and nitrates, with everything right in the middle of the ok range, apart from hardness, which is near the high, but still OK.

Some 'googling' has led me to believe this may be a bacterial bloom, but I had a few questions: -

1. Could this happen within 24 hours of a brand new start up, even with the bio boost?
2. Presuming it is, I have read guidance on both water changes until gone, but also leave alone - it will sort itself out in a few days. Which is it?
3. If leave alone, how long should I give it before other action?

For now I have decided to lay off the third 50% water change this evening, but keeping an eye on the test results, unless advice is different here?

Hoping you guys can give an experienced newbie some good advice! Many thanks.

 

[nashihoude]

I don't have such problem before but may be it is the problem that the creatures enter too early and too more in your tank.
Do you try to take out the fish and filter it on your schedule?

 

[pearlieduvall]

thank you for your help it worked for me.

 

[gstalls2181]

I recently experienced this when I set up a tank. I did daily water changes and it just wouldn't clear up. After watching some YouTubers I trust I followed the advice to leave things alone and let nature do nature.

After 2 days maybe three the tank finally cleared up. New tank syndrome just means your somewhere in the middle of the cycle and your bacteria is in the water column but still eliminating ammonia so each time you do a water change your removing 30-60% of the ammonia. By leaving it alone your giving ammonia time to stabilize and then settle onto all the surfaces in tank and bio media where you want it.

Once that happens the cloudiness and bacterial bloom go away, you have a colony of healthy beneficial bacteria, your levels stabilize and the cycle is complete.

Beautiful setup, definitely doesn't look like a first attempt.

Stay Fishy Friend