I have recently started a fish tank. Its 10 gallons. I let is filter for about 2 days before adding 2 gold fish. The day I went to pick up the fish I noticed the water was starting to cloud. I added the fish and waited 2 days to see if the water would clear up. It didn't . I changed the filter and water seemed to clear up but now has began to fog again. The fog is a faint white color. Fish seem to be fine. Any suggestions?

You maybe be starting your cycle..Wait a few days it should clear up...
Some call it the biological cycle, the nitrification process, new tank syndrome or even the start-up cycle. They all are referring to the same cycle - The Nitrogen Cycle. This very important cycle is the establishment of beneficial bacteria in the aquarium and in the filter media that will help in the conversion of ammonia to nitrite and then the conversion of nitrite to nitrates. Check out the aquarium water chemistry page (on the left) for more information on these terms.

This process can take from 2 weeks to 2 months or longer to complete. It is vital for anyone planning on keeping aquarium fish to understand this process. Learning about this process will help you to be successful in keeping fish and it should definitely improve your chances when keeping tropical fish. The best way to monitor the nitrogen cycle is to purchase an aquarium test kit that will test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph.

Test your aquarium water every other day and write down your readings. You will first see ammonia levels rising. A few weeks or so later you should see the nitrite levels rising and the ammonia levels dropping. Finally, after a few more weeks you should see the nitrate levels rising and the nitrite levels dropping. When you no longer detect ammonia or nitrites but you can detect nitrates you can assume that it is safe to add your tropical fish.



Photo Credit: Ilmari Karonen
Nitrogen Cycle Stages
Stage 1
Ammonia is introduced into the aquarium via tropical fish waste and uneaten food. The tropical fish waste and excess food will break down into either ionized ammonium (NH4) or un-ionized ammonia (NH3). Ammonium is not harmful to tropical fish but ammonia is. Whether the material turns into ammonium or ammonia depends on the ph level of the water. If the ph is under 7, you will have ammonium. If the ph is 7 or higher you will have ammonia.

Stage 2
Soon, bacteria called nitrosomonas will develop and they will oxidize the ammonia in the tank, essentially eliminating it. The byproduct of ammonia oxidation is Nitrites. So we no longer have ammonia in the tank, but we now have another toxin to deal with - Nitrites. Nitrites are just as toxic to tropical fish as ammonia. If you have a test kit, you should be able to see the nitrite levels rise around the end of the first or second week.

Stage 3
Bacteria called nitrobacter will develop and they will convert the nitrites into nitrates. Nitrates are not as harmful to tropical fish as ammonia or nitrites, but nitrate is still harmful in large amounts. The quickest way to rid your aquarium of nitrates is to perform partial water changes. Once your tank is established you will need to monitor your tank water for high nitrate levels and perform partial water changes as necessary. There are other methods to control nitrates in aquariums besides water changes. For freshwater fish tanks, live aquarium plants will use up some of the nitrates. In saltwater fish tanks, live rock and deep sand beds can have anaerobic areas where denitrifying bacteria can breakdown nitrates into harmless nitrogen gas that escapes through the water surface of the aquarium.
Just some info that I pulled off the net.....Good luck!!!!!!!

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mcook33 gives some really valuable info. The cloudiness is most likely an ammonia spike. Make sure you are doing water changes every day to every other day while you're tank is undergoing this process. Too much ammonia or nitrite in the water can cause serious problems, even kill your fish, so it's best to er on the safe side if you don't have a water test kit yet. Good luck with your new tank

The previous post are very good, but you also need to know.
To really help your goldfish thrive you absolutley need a bigger tank ASAP.
Fancy goldfish need at least 10gallons of water per fish while commons / comets really should have 20gallons per fish. Also to best help your goldies the filtration should be 10x the gallons. Goldfish do not have stomachs, when they eat the food nutrients are taken through the intestins and then they just poop the rest out. They are very messy compared to tropicals.

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