# Murky water over night



## nemo2010 (Feb 3, 2012)

I am having a problem with water clarity in a 5gal fishtank with 1 gold fish and 1 plecostomus fish.

After replacing all water, filter cartridge water stays clear for just a few hours, it gets murky over night and really bad within 48hrs. Filter cartridge gets clogged and needs to be replaced every 3 days. What's causing it and how to resolve that issue?

Appreciate any help.


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## Fishaholic (Jan 16, 2012)

Plecos and goldfish are both very messy fish (produce alot of waste) so a 5 gallon is way too small for them, and that's why your water is getting so dirty. Those 2 fish would need a much larger tank, like 30 gallons. Plecos can also get huge, depending on the species.


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## nemo2010 (Feb 3, 2012)

Can it be resolved by installing larger filter?


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## bluenosebully (Jan 23, 2011)

Hi I had the same problem with the gold fish I had, I know people to have more with not a problem but they're dirty fish. I had to do a 75 % water change every 2-3 days. I ended up putting a filter rated for 60 gallons on the 20 gallon tank I had 2 fish in, and same problem. One ended up during (it was old), but problem has stoped. I was told you should have 30 gals for every gold fish.


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## logan84 (Jul 27, 2011)

I am a big fan of over filtering you water. On my 12 gallon I have a canister filter rated for 30+ gallons along with a sponge filter and power head as well. 

As mentioned your goldfish and pleco are going to get cramped on the quick if not already. Plus they are messy fish in general. 

Murky water can be a couple of things. A tank that hasn't cycled fully to a bioload that the cycled filter can't handle are the top two things to look at from your description. 

Good luck!


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## Rod4Rodger (Jan 2, 2012)

It is probably your nitrogen cycle. Try adding live bacteria. I use Special Blend but there are a number of brands and any should work.


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## hanky (Jan 18, 2012)

much larger tank or trade in your fish for smaller ones that wont get so big and messy, I larger filter will help somewhat but still got to much fish in 5 gallon


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

nemo2010 said:


> I am having a problem with water clarity in a 5gal fishtank with 1 gold fish and 1 plecostomus fish.
> 
> After replacing all water, filter cartridge water stays clear for just a few hours, it gets murky over night and really bad within 48hrs. Filter cartridge gets clogged and needs to be replaced every 3 days. What's causing it and how to resolve that issue?
> 
> Appreciate any help.


If that is a common pleco take it back to the store. They need minimally a 55 gallon tank as common plecos can get up to 2 feet long and are very messy. Even with a 55 gallon tank the pleco may get too big. Same deal with the goldfish unless you will be able to set up minimally a 20 gallon (and I lean more towards 30 gallons myself). Goldfish are messy and need a larger tank even though goldfish grow anywhere from 6" - 14" (depending on the type and they can get bigger).

My suggestion is to return both fish back to the store or donate them to your lfs and get either a betta fish or shrimp and snails.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

A larger filter could help but to be honest you are fighting a loosing battle, a 5 gallon tank is just much too small for a goldfish. Do you have space for a 30 gallon tank? 

Until you are able to get a bigger tank or rehome your fish try doing 50% water changes every day or two with dechlorinated water.

I'm not sure you should be replacing filter cartridges so often. The only type of filter media that should be replaced regularly is chemical filteration like carbon. Other filter media should just be rinsed in old tank water and put back in the filter. The biggest function of a filter is biological, that means that good bacteria build up in the filter that consume ammonia and nitrites.

If you tell us what your plans are we can help advise about new fish or setting up a new tank. Generally you'll get better advice in forums than from a fish shop. I know it can be really frustrating when you follow advice given in a shop and then find out it was wrong.


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## squishy (Apr 13, 2011)

Goldfish are very messy fish. U should have at least 3x the filtration for the tank so a 15-20 gallon filter would be good along with regular water changes. The problem with te smaller tank filters is that it won't create a strog enough suction or current to pick up the large waste those fish create. That being said gold fish are a cold water fish and plecos are a tropical fish so they do not go tOgether. Next Plecos grow HUGE and I'm talking like 2 feet long and keeping them in a smaller tank will not prevent them from growing. So he has to go unfortunately.

Next a goldfish will Only do good in such a small tank for a short period of time and if its like under 3 inches. Pet store will tell u they can be in a small tank but it's jus buisness talk, they sell a tank n when the Goldie dies they sell u another 1. Ur Goldfish really requires at lest 10gals with 30gpg of filtration. The pleco deff needs a large tank, it's own food (algae wafers or fresh veggies) and most importantly a heater because he is tropical. 
I kept a sick Goldie in a 5gal n had a 20gph filter n still had to use a dropper to pick up all left over food n poop it was such a hassle. My large tank has 4 goldfish and about 95gph o filter. I also clean it n do water changes every week or every 2 weeks. It rarely gets dirty n the cleaning only takes a few mins. See if u can take the fish back and exchange them for like a few guppies or a Betta or some glow fish (all these require a heater) or white clouds they don't need a heater n r very pretty good luck!


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## nemo2010 (Feb 3, 2012)

Thank you for your comments, I am going to purchase a 75gal tank within 2 months. In the mean time I have installed a 20gal filter in 5 gal tank to improve water quality, it works much better.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Glad to hear you are upgrading! Goldfish can get to be a foot long and common plecos can grow to be over a foot long. Keeping them in small tanks stunts the growth of their skeletons, but their organs continue to grow, so they die very painful deaths.

On the 75g you will need a filter that is rated for at least a 150 gallon tank, as goldies and plecos are very messy fish - as others have already told you.

Since you are getting a larger tank, you could think about adding a school of White Cloud Mountain Minnows, as they are also a cold water fish like the goldfish.


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

holly12 said:


> Glad to hear you are upgrading! Goldfish can get to be a foot long and common plecos can grow to be over a foot long. Keeping them in small tanks stunts the growth of their skeletons, but their organs continue to grow, so they die very painful deaths.
> 
> On the 75g you will need a filter that is rated for at least a 150 gallon tank, as goldies and plecos are very messy fish - as others have already told you.
> 
> Since you are getting a larger tank, you could think about adding a school of White Cloud Mountain Minnows, as they are also a cold water fish like the goldfish.


wcm minnows are sub-tropical , but they can live just fine with gold fish since the temps they need to be kept at overlap.


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