# Questions about my new 40 gal breeder. PLEASE HELP



## snakemansnakes (Nov 7, 2011)

I currently am working on setting up this 40 gallon breeder tank and have a few questions. I set it up about four days ago and started the filter and heater right away and got the temp currently between 81-82. I Have noticed the water was completely clear up until this morning when I woke up. Last night before I went to bed I tossed a guppy in this new tank as a trial run (possibly bad on my part, not sure) and when I woke up this morning the guppy was dead and the entire tank has been cloudy even up until now even with my penguin 250 running. Is there something I overlooked as to what caused this to happen. My LFS said that it would be okay to move over the fish from my established 20gal into this new tank, but I am not so sure on this advice. I did the trial because I have a few silver gar (rocket fish) that I got when they were smaller and thought they would be okay for at least a few more weeks, but they hit a bit of a growth spurt as of lately so I wanted to get this new tank up and running so I could get them moved over asap. If it helps I currently have 0 fish in this new tank, 5 amazon swords, a few misc plants (unsure of what kinds exactly, and just a couple decorations. I'm kind of at a loss what I can do to correct this and any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Please help.
Thanks in advance


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Hmm. Take some water in for a pH & ammonia test. Its possible the dead guppy made enough ammonia to cloud the water, but I wonder why the guppy died. Brand new tank? Sometimes the first fill will end up very acidic from the sealant.


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## snakemansnakes (Nov 7, 2011)

Okay, I just got back from my LFS and they said the amonia is a little high and that it should be at 0. So i'm going to do a half water change and see if that helps at all with the cloudiness and brings the amonia down. Will keep you updated. Thanks


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## snakemansnakes (Nov 7, 2011)

It was the first fish to even be in this tank also. Bought the tank last week from petco.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Change enough water to get the ammonia down to 3 ppm or lower, then wait. Its like you started a "fishless" cycle. If you didn't rinse the tank before filling it the first time, a 100% water change might be a good idea. If might have had some toxic residue.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

New tanks get cloudy for awhile. That's perfectly normal and expected. The bacteria in the tank start reproducing like crazy to the point where they cloud the water. Eventually they die back and settle on the various surfaces in the tank & filter, and the water turns clear again.


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## snakemansnakes (Nov 7, 2011)

So at this point it would be recommended to not put any fish in there or would they be okay? I'll go pick up a ammonia test kit later


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## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

Get some filter media from someone's established tank to seed your new setup, and you won't have to wait weeks for it to become established.


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

Dont put any fish until ammonia is 0.


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