I Need Some Advice?

[MikeScott]

ive had this tank sitting in storage now for almost two years, i finaly pulled it out and got it set up,

i bought a new aquaclear filter and and air pump, some gravel and about 30 goldfish (feeders) its been a week now and ive got three fish left in my tank, ive declorinated the tank, washed everything befor i put it together, the water seems a little cloudy so i did a 25% water change,

anyone have any ideas on why my fish are slowly dying??

btw, the tank in my profile picture is the tank in question

[ckmullin]

what are your water parameters? Seems like a lot of fish for a tank (i assume) is not cycled since you talk about a week's time frame.

A good guess at the age of your tank would be wayyy too high ammonia.

Do you have a test kit to check ammonia, ph, nitrate, nitrite?

Suggest strongly if you don't to purchase.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Too many fish for a small new tank, perhaps the first 2 or 3 goldfish died of natural causes, but they unleashed an chain reaction as their little bodies and other waste contaminated your water. The cloudiness is a good indication of ammonia/bacteria spikes.

Every tank and filter needs time to settle a healthy colony of bacteria. You can also buy living bacteria colonies already stablished at your local fish store. Like that Biomax stuff for sell at pisces pet.

[ckmullin]

Should have also added to that 1st post: Come to my place, i'll give ya some substrate and some filter material that has the needed bacteria. Your choice.

It'll save yourself some time since you already have fish.

[laurensdad]

sounds like a cycle problem

[jeremoose]

Definitely a cycle problem. You should definitely take ck up on his offer, some established bacteria will have you up and running in no time.

[MikeScott]

Fantastic!!

thanks for the advice, ive got three remaing goldfish, they seem to being doing ok there way mor active then any of the other ones were, so i may just head down to the store and pick up some of that biomax, and a good Ph test kit,

thanks!!

[Jayba]

Stop feeding the fish for a day or two, their poop, extra food rotting etc are broken down into ammonia, that explains the deaths and clouliness. The next step of the cycle is for bacteria to convert the ammonia into nitrite (Which is also toxic to fish), the final bacterial step is the nitrite is converted into nitrate, which in lower doses is ok. We do waterchanges to remove the nitrates. Your best bet is squishings from an established tanks filter.

The test kits you need are amonia, nitrite and nitrate, not PH.

[Fisher]

Stop feeding the fish for a day or two, their poop, extra food rotting etc are broken down into ammonia, that explains the deaths and clouliness. The next step of the cycle is for bacteria to convert the ammonia into nitrite (Which is also toxic to fish), the final bacterial step is the nitrite is converted into nitrate, which in lower doses is ok. We do waterchanges to remove the nitrates. Your best bet is squishings from an established tanks filter.

The test kits you need are amonia, nitrite and nitrate, not PH.

+1

While you're cycling your tank MikeScott, you can search the database here for info on what "cycling" can look like. You will discover several approaches to the process, but they generally fall into two categories (maybe three) with functional variations for each. Of course, it's always good to have a helping hand from folks who have been there done that. Be sure to share some photos of your journey... and your next tank too.