hello to all!
i have a 10 gal tank. i've had it for about a month, hopefully it'll be cycled any day now. i was originally using the filter that came with the tank, then upgraded to a biowheel 125 because the water was so cloudy and thought it needed better filtration. the tank does seem a little better, but bought some Accu-clear by aquarium pharmaceuticals. and i've been using stress zyme by the same company to put good bacteria in weekly. and of course i've been using aquasafe water conditioner.

so i was wondering if it was safe to use these three things together in the tank, or is it harmful to the fish? i would rather not use the accu-clear, but i seem to need to once a week, even with the bio wheel. the levels of the tank are in the nitrates cycle, ammonia and nitrites down, nitrates up.

to end this long post, i just need to know if the chemicals are safe to use weekly together, and any ideas on why the water isnt crystal clear without the accu-clear even though i got a better filter?

thanks a bunch!!!!!!!!!!!!

to be honest, my water is pretty cloudy too, and i have a bio wheel 330...the stress enzyme and water conditioner are safe to use together....i don't know about the accu-clear thing though.......i have found that using chemical water clear-ers doesn't work...maybe you should try to just use the first two, and do weekly water changes, and after the tank has cycled your water should get more clear. how many fish do you have in there?

hello, thanks for replying.
actually the accuclear works great! about an hour after i put it in, the water is so clear u cant even tell there's water in there!

i thought that the water should always be clear as a bell. but if a little cloud is normal sometimes, then i wont worry about it and will stop using the accuclear.

i have 2 bubble eye goldfish. i know now about the 10 gallon rule, but didnt when i bought the fish. the petstore had said that goldfish needed 2 gallons of water per inch of fish. i have a bubble wall, so there's plenty of airation, and the fish seem to be fine, no gasping for breath or anything. i love these guys i do a 20% water change once a week and vacuum. sometimes twice a week.
any help is greatly appreciated!

You shouldn't worry about using the accu clear, the tank should clear up after the cycling finidhed How big are your fish in length?

i guess that Chompers about 2 inches and Baby's about a half inch longer because his tail is longer.

i had two ten gal tanks and both cloudy up on me . one cleared and one didn't had to start over with it. cause i hd to many gf and it was before i knew about koko's. i have a 46 and one 10gal now. the ten has one gf.

:angry: so petsmart is wrong about the 2 gal per inch of fish? are they trying to kill my fish? i didnt know much about fish till i found this site. it's great!

Yes, unfortunately they are completely wrong (not a great surprise - most Petsmarts have no idea about goldfish <_< ).

The 'inches per gallons' rule doesn't apply to goldfish because they are incredibly messy fish which need a lot of extra volume to handle their wastes and their sheer physical size when full-grown (it really only applies to small tropicals which don't produce much waste). As well as needing a minimum of 10 gallons per fish, they also need strong filtration and weekly water changes of not less than 30% with deep gravel cleans.

Cloudy water can arise from two main things: dirty gravel (did you rinse it thoroughly before putting it in the tank?) or too many nutrients in the water which has created a bacterial bloom. During cycling, feed the fish only once a day or even only every other day, and only as much as they will eat within two minutes. That often helps to clear it. You will also need to move your two little guys to a bigger tank when you can though; 10 gallons isn't big enough for them both and that's probably contributing to the cloudiness.

Hope this helps.

sigh! i feel awful that they're in a tank too small for them! yes, i rinsed the stones before i put them in the tank, i have a mostly bare bottom with just a few rocks hear and there. and i do feed them just once a day, though they are such pigs they make me feel like im starving them!

now i have to convince my husband that i HAVE TO HAVE a BIGGER tank!!!!!! he likes the fish and all, but he thinks the hobby is silly. with the cost and maintaince. expecially since u cant play with them! lol.

hmmm, maybe i should just get more tropical fish in the other tank since they're not so messy!!!! i have the biowheel 125 right now on the goldfish tank, but i guess i should go out and get a higher gph filter for them, till i can get a bigger tank. but i dont think a bigger filter will fit with the tank hood, the 125 just fits now!

omg, i'd love a 50gal corner tanks with those mahagony stands and cabinets. Let the hubby begging begin!!!!!!!!!! thanks for everyone's help!!!!!!!

so, accuclear works good? I think i'll try it.....I've tried "clear water" and "crystal clear" none of them worked for me
-If you want a bigger filter on your 10 gallon tank, all you have to do is cut a piece out of the hood. I had a biowheel 170 on my 10 gallon...I just used one of my dad's hacksaws to cut the hood...i'm sure your husband could help you out with that. I think if you keep up regular water changes on your tank, and have a good filter and maintain good water quality, your fish will be ok in the 10 gal for now. They are still pretty small...i had 2 fantails in a 10 gallon tank (i didn't know the rule) for almost a year, and they did pretty good. When they started getting bigger though, it was basically impossible to maintain the tank to keep them healthy...they started to get ick, and they were freaking out in there...they started flashing, and the bigger one wounded himself when he hit his face off of the filter pipe, that's when i decided that i had no choice but to get them a 30 gallon tank...they've been happy and healthy in there ever since..they even grew some more
-good luck with your goldies, I hope they do well!!

Put a little plastic ball in the aquarium and wait for him to walk by. Then bend over the tank and say "Fetch! Good boy!" When he comes over to investigate, complain that you either need a larger tank or fish-sized leashes, because they just aren't getting enough exercise.

OMG!!! That's hilarious!!

If it wasnt cruel to put gfs in bowls, it would be funny to have a mechanized bowl that rolls, kinda like a remote control car, but have it on a leash so you can walk your fish. Hahaha!

"No! Bad goldfish, you do not bite the mail man!"

u guys are soooo silly!!!!!!! we did go and look at the fish stores today at tanks. there was a 55 gallon bow that i liked. and can u believe this? my husband said that i should just get a 100+ gallon and be done with it, so i wont have to ask him for bigger tanks!!!!!!!!!! imagine all the fish i could get, but, sigh, i just have to figure out where to put it. i just dont have the wall space. i'd like to put it downstairs, but im going to have to rearange the furniture in the sitting room, dining room, or the living room depending on where i put it.

thanks for the help on cutting the tank hood! And yes, accuclear works great! put a couple of drops in and within the hour, it's crystal clear! cant even tell there's water in the tank! it's by aquarium pharmacuticals.

i cant wait to get the new tank, at petsmart they had these tiny baby bubble eyes, they were less then an inch long!!!!!!!! i want to get all three of them!!!!!!!!

thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!

I've found the P-clear and B-clear work better than Accu-clear when I've had cloudy issues...

also added a buffering agent to one tank as a form of a rock... the pH used to drop a lot.. now it's more stable.