If you just buy a fish tank and add in the chemicals and salt as directed is the tank supposed to be foggy?

Question

I added all the stuff about 3 days ago. No more than a cap full as directed. But the tank is smokey. Is it my filter? It looks to be working fine. I haven't put in fish yet because I've been waiting for the bacteria to build for 3 days as i was directed at petland but i don't think the tank is supposed to be foggy like that. Am I wrong?

Answer 1

did u put in the correct volume of chemicals and salt to the volume of the tank? That maybe why...but i dont know i dont raise saltwater fish.

Answer 2

i wud filter it more. it should clear up

Answer 3

Hmm, I'm not exactly sure about what's wrong there, but are you sure that you added the right number of chemicals? Check that your filter is working too.

If you put rocks/crystals in the bottom of the tank, make sure that they are clean because they may be slightly dirty and making the water yucky.

Also, if you use sand in the bottom of your tank, then that's almost definately the problem. You shouldn't really use sand because it clouds the water and is way harder to clean out.

Answer 4

MINE DID THE SAME THING WHEN I FIRST SET IT UP. BUT IF YOU FOLLOWED THE DIRECTIONS EXACTLY. THEN DON'T FRET IT WILL CLEAR UP IN ABOUT A WEEK. JUST BE PATIENT, WHEN EVERYTHING KICKS IN IT SHOULD BE CRYSTAL CLEAR LIKE MINE. JUST WAIT.

Answer 5

Give your filter time; it should clear it up.

And if they told you to only wait a "few days," they were mistaken. It's closer to a few *weeks* before the cycling process is finished. Don't torture your fish by putting them in too soon.

Answer 6

Unless you are putting in a source of ammonia, you tank will not be building up bacteria and the fogginess isn't a bacterial bloom.  

What chemicals and salt did you add? Is this a freshwater or saltwater tank?

It takes 6-8 weeks to fully cycle a new aquarium.  

Answer 7

i would give it about a week to get unfoggy. sometimes it takes longer than other times

Answer 8

it takes awhile for a tank to adjust and settle....

Answer 9

What you are seeing is a bacterial bloom.  This is a good sign.  It means that a large number of 1st stage bacteria have built up in your tank but they have not yet settled down and colonized the filter media and the available surfaces.  The cloudiness should disappear in a day or two.  Possibly less if you have a good filter.  It may take up to a week for the 2nd stage bacteria to build up to the correct amounts and settle, but you won't see any cloudiness from them.