Something wrong with my fishtank?

Question

I have a 10 gallon fish tank: 2 goldfish and 1 plecostomus. I feed them once a day and i have a carbon filter. i've had the tank for almost 2 months now, yet the water gets extremely cloudy every single week. also, for the filter, the cartridges need to be changed every week because if i don't, there's a backflow and the water spills out of the filter. am i doing something wrong?

Answer 1

First of all, goldfish are extremely messy fish and produce so much waste per fish that it is recommended that you only keep one goldfish per 20 gallons.  Given that simple information, your biggest problem is too many fish and not enough water.  The goldfish add too much waste for your 10-gallon tank & filter to handle efficiently.  To keep all 3 fish, you'd need a 55-gallon tank.

Secondly, goldfish are cold water fish and optimum tank temperature for them is between 65 and 73 degrees.  Plecostomus fish require water a bit warmer, between 72 and 82 degrees.  Unless you have some way of keeping a steady temperature between 72 and 73 degrees, one or all of your fish will suffer in the long run.

Thirdly, I don't know what kind of filter you have, but you need more than a carbon filter insert to handle the ammonia/nitrite load of goldfish.  You'll need to provide some sort of medium in your filter (other than the carbon) on which bacteria grow that take care of ammonia and nitrite (both harmful to your fish).

If you want to keep all of your fish healthy, you'll need to separate your goldfish from your plecostomus.  Your 2 goldfish need a minimum of a 40-gallon tank, and your plecostomus needs a minimum of a 15-gallon tank.You'll need to monitor the temperatures in both tanks to make sure the goldfish are cool enough and the plecostomus is warm enough.  You shouldn't need to change your cartridges out every week - if you do, that's a sign that your tank is overstocked.  Changing the cartridges is usually a monthly maintenance task.  Also, when you change the water out, you'll need to use a water conditioner to remove chlorine/chloramine from tap water.  Chlorine/chloramine will kill the beneficial bacteria in your filter and your tank will never be properly cycled.  If you don't know what "tank cycling" is, you need to google it to get a concept of what I am talking about.  

Good luck - I hope all of your fish make it.  

EDIT

You may also be over feeding - follow the guidelines exactly on whatever food you are feeding.  If it says "3 pieces per fish twice a day", don't put a pinch of food in 3 or more times a day.  It is always tempting to overfeed goldfish because as soon as they are done eating, they act like they are still hungry.  Resist the urge and only feed what is recommended.

Answer 2

It could b algae. Happen to my tank.

I will tell u wat to do.

Put your goldfish somewhere else for 3 days or 1 week.

I just did it and it is clear as ever!

Trust me...it will be good.

Make sure is algae...

Answer 3

It sounds like either an overloaded tank or you are feeding too much.  There is no need for a pleco in a 2 month old tank there isn't enough algae. If the goldfish are small they should be fine.  But if they are larger they may be too much for a ten gallon tank.  Goldfish are notoriously messy fish.

Answer 4

goldfish are really "dirty" fish all in all - they make a ton of waste - and need more frequent water changes than other fish. pleco's are algae eaters as far as i know - and might not be helping your situation if the problem is fish-waste.  also, goldfish and pleco's can get wicked big.

Answer 5

Changing your pads weekly is a bad idea. Your not letting your good bacteria build up. Try to feed them a different kind of food or you could go to your local pet store and buy some bacteria booster . Or ask them to take one of there sponges out of there filters and squeeze it into a bag and then go home and put that in your tank . Make water changes of about 15% every other day untill it stops.