Im setting up a new 55 gallon tank for a 2 small tiger oscars about 2 inches a piece , i also have a 9 inch pleco and a 4 inch pleco , i have 2 HOB filters (marineland 400B , and a tetra whisper 30-60) lights are blue actinic , this tank has been set up for aprox. a month or so , PH is stable around 7.5 , only had one drop in the beginning , temp is maintained around 76-78 , the water stays cloudy and has a really strong odor , for the past week ive been changing about 15% of water daily , and adding aquasafe, checking ph about 2-3 hours after and adjusting , but the cloudiness will not go away , the odor stays away for a few hours but then its right back , also for this week , they are getting fed about 6 pellets a piece every other day to reduce waste , also during water changes , i vaccum entire tank , any help is much appreciated

welcome to the site.

it sounds like your tank isnt fully cycled yet. check your ammonia nitrites and nitrates. if you have a reading above 0 keep doing your waterchanges until they are at zero. keep us posted on your progress

thanks for the advice , im new to the whole oscar world , but i have many other tanks , never had this happen before ,so it confused me .. someone was telling me to use a chemical called cycle after the waterchange to speed up bacteria growth. also he said something about using about a handful of rocks and about 10 gallons of water out of an established tank.... any truth to this?

i have not used cycle myself so i cant say if it works or not. as for the old tank water there would be little to no beneficial bacteria in it so why bother. the rocks on the other hand might house some bacteria but they would have to be moved rather quickly so that the bacteria does not die off. if you have other established tank you could take some biological media from them to colonize your new setup. this would speed things up a bit for you.

i strongly recommend a testing kit so you can tell when your tank is fully cycled thought. and continue with your water changes

marksback wrote:


yes, those things are true. water from establish tank had cycled water but no assurance that there are good bacteria in it. I never use chemical to speed up bacteria growth. but necromancer4 is correct is saying you export some filtering media in your establish tank to propagate bacteria in your new tank. When your filter shows some slimy dirt in it, they are actually bacteria. in a day or two, the water should improved and be crystal clear.

I have used cycle and it will help. But before you add it get your ammonia reading down as low as poss by water changes(make sure you dechlorinate the new water),then add cycle. keep checking your ammonia reading over next few days. if they become high then another water change and replace the cycle mix. i would stop feeding an till ammonia readings are 0 or feed very little.

you are heading for another problem too as you have too many fish in your tank and this will soon become a problem itself as your nitrates will start to rise as soon as your oscars start to grow, this will be very soon as oscars grow quick.your tank is only big enough for 1 oscar.

just a quick update , the tank is doing fine , its cleared up and the smell is almost gone , so thanks for the help

this tank is just a temp.home for them for now , im in the process of having a house built (about 3 months from completion now ) theres a 125 gallon going in the livingroom wall ,so thats going to be their actual home ,i was just worried something was going to happen to them in this tank , before they got to the new one ,as for this tank , its my wifes tank ,so who knows what she will want to do with it after the oscars are out and we are settled in

i am sure your wife will fall in love with your oscar
once your tank becomes crystal clear and not smelly.
the gracefulness of how oscar swim will make her happy.

actually she says they are mean nasty fish , (she decides to see if they would "swim" with one of her redcap orandas (i was at work) anyways it didnt last long

ha ha ha... oranda or any gold fish will not
mix with oscars and arowana. they will just end
up as good meal for these bigger species. that is the
very reason why i have a separate tank for them, oscar
at my home, orandas at my office.

my two daughters are now starting to like my oscars. they
are now interfering my feeding routine

if you spend some time just putting your hand in the water and slowly moving it closer you should be how to stroke them. that will impress her when they rub against your hand for food.))))

don't pull hand away fast if they bite, just grin and bear it. They will soon ignore your hand. also try to stay in a natural area. It will not always work and dose depend on your fish temperment.