We are newbies to fish keeping. We just bought a 15 gallon tank which the salesman told us was good for 5-6 goldfish, but we learned from this website that it would be safe to keep only two small ones in there at max! Live and learn, I guess. We won't be going back to that fish store.

Anyway, we've started the aquarium filter, put in the rocks and pebbles and 3 potted plants that we bought from the store. Filled the tank with dechlorinated water. We've run the filter/pump for about 3 days now and the water is looking a little cloudy. Is this normal??? We're a little worried that something has gone wrong and might have to restart with new water.

Can someone help, or is this normal? (we live in a hard water area). Can we start "cycling" the tank soon?

Thanks in advance for any help!
fishywomble

Hi there and

Off the top, your tank is dangerously close to exploding!


Just kidding.......


No, seriously, this is a perfectly normal occurance. In fact, it's exactly on schedule.

Below is a few links to help you get your tank cycled and ready for your new goldies:

cycling tanks

This is a good page to follow. At the bottom of that page, there is a link to cycling without fish. Follow it to the "T" and your tank will be cycled within 4-5 weeks. If you can get some brown filter goo from a HEALTHY, established tank, your tank could be fully cycled within a week or less. ONLY, and I stress this, ONLY use the brown filter goo from a healthy tank that has NO sick fish in it whatsoever.

Do you know someone who has a tank thats been set-up for a good length of time with healthy fish in it? If so, head over there, take out a filter cartridge and swooosh it around on a jug of tankwater so that a bunch of the brown gunk comes loose and is floating around in the jug of water. The more, the better. This brown gunk should be directly transported to your tank and just poured right in. The tank will look like a mess for a few hours but by morning it should be cleaned up nicely by the filter. Your filter is now seeded with beneficial bacteria from the HEALTHY tank and is more than halfway through with cycling. All that is needed now is to follow the directions on the fishless cycling page untl the ammonia and nitrItes drop to 0ppm.


Okay, with cycling explained, here's a link to a page that explains everything you need to know about keeping your beneficial bacteria colony healthy and strong. Wich, in turn, will keep your tanks water nice and clean for your fish:

Maintining filters and beneficial bacteria colonies

So, your main objectives at this point are getting some test kits and begin daily testing. This will be the ONLY way for you to know if your tank is really ready for fish or not. I highly suggest using the dropper style test kits. Purchasing a reshwater master test kit will provide you with a year or two's worth in testin. They run about 25-30 dollars at most local shops but compare that to the costs of dipper style tests and I think you'll agree that droppers are best. Not to mention the fact that they are way more precise.


Post back with any questions you may have. I'll be happy to help you further.

Post back soon.

Paul

Thanks Paul, for the reassurance!

We don't have any fishkeeping friends but we might be able to ask some people at the fish store to see if they can help. Thanks for the tip!

xox,
fishywomble

DO NIOT and I mean, DO NOT use anything from the local fish shops tanks to cycle yours. You will be adding parasites to your tank as well. It is commonly known that ALL goldfish from a local shop should be considered to have 1 or more different parasites on them. This means that their tanks are infested with them too. Including the filtration and gravel.


So, if you don't have any fishkeeping friends, You'll have to go the long route and cycle your tankwithout inoccluating it with media from another tank. Sorry but, its waaaaay better to be safe than sorry............

Good luck!