Well I have been having goldfish now for about 6 years but I have never really knew how to do the whole water testing thing..b/c I never knew I had to test the water until I started at Koko's. I love my goldfish dearly and I have been having my 2 fantails for about 2 years now and a black moor I have had for about 9 months......so I would really like to know how to take better care of them and therefore I asked for a 55 gallon tank for christmas...so my boyfriend bought it for me and gave it to me as an early present. But know I have to cycle it and so I put it up last thursday and now today makes a week it has been running fishless. All I have put in it is some water conditioning tablets.....but what else do I put?.....im so lost ?/!.....and the water all of a sudden one tuesday it got really cloudy.......

Please HELP...your friend,
Aimless

Hi,

I just finished my fishless cycle a few weeks ago. This link http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/FishlessCycle.html will give you all the info you need. It really helped me alot

Here are the steps I'd recommend:

1. Purchase a water testing kit at your local pet store
2. Test your current tank to see if it's cycled
3. If it's cycled, then great! Easier work for you:
Transfer your gravel/decorations. Transfer your filter media. Then transfer your fish.

Done! Your new tank will be cycled immediately if you're old media is cycled.

However, if it turns out your current tank is not cycled, you have another option:

**Transfer SOME of your old media to your 55-g and finish a fishless cycle (instructions available on the Koko's main website).

Hope you figure out a course of action! Good luck on your new tank!

The fishless cycle thread is a good one. It should walk you through what you need to know.... but if you have and questions, just ask.

Something you said here concerns me, though. The tank should not be cloudy now - at one week with no ammonia added...... unless there were polutants in the water such as stray bacteria, etc. that have now bloomed in a tank of stagnant water.

How much filtration do you have on this tank? I have found that to keep one of my tanks (a 56 gal odd shaped one) clear, I need 285gph + 280gph + 280gph = over 800 gph even with slow down..... Much less than this and the tank appears hazy.

At one week, with no ammonia additives, you do not have any beneficial bacteria blooming yet. You may, however, have some undesireable bacteria blooming and you may wish to change out all the water and start again......

Definitely test all your water, especially tap water.

Is it possible that ammonia in the tap water could start a fishless cycle?

If there were enough ammonia in tapwater to start a fishless cycle, then you have much bigger problems than cloudy tank water. Ammonia in tapwater would be an indication of septic tank cross-contamination. If that were the case you would have to worry about contamination by coliform bacteria as well as other toxics. Doubt that this is the case.

Dennis

Ew, that's great to know... Now I have to call my condo's water company to see what their ammonia readings SHOULD look like... bleh.

sorry it took so long ot reply i have had computer problems...I think I might can make it to town tomorrow to get a test kit...I didn't know I wasn't suppose to add decorations to a fishless cycle...the day I set to tank up I added a dozen or so medium sized rocks, a decoration plastic fish log and a water fall (that put oxygen it the water you know the bubble things)....and I also put on the filter that came with the tank which is a AQUA-TECH Power filter for a 30-60 gallon tank and I also bought an additional one which is a EMPEROR 280......and all has been cycleing

Are these new decorations or ones from your old tank?

They are all new ones.