how can i clear up our cloudy fish tank?

Answer 1

change the water.

Answer 2

Well... it depends on why it's cloudy.

Is the tank fairly new (under a month old)? And is the cloudiness white? You may be experiencing a bacterial bloom. Your tank needs good bacteria to get rid of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. If the tank is new, or if you just did a major water change and gravel vacuum, it'll go away in a couple of days. It really isn't anything to worry about. All the same, get your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates checked to make sure you're in an acceptable range.

Did you just add decorations or gravel? If you did, and you forgot to rinse them first, you may have gotten some dust in the water. Don't worry, as your filter should pull it out.

Cloudy water isn't really a problem. If it doesn't clear up within the next day or two, you should to a 20% water change (which you should be doing weekly anyway). If you want, take some tank water out and clean your filters. Do NOT use cold tap water, as a) you'll introduce chlorine to the tank, and b) cold water will kill any beneficial bacteria you have on the filter pad.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

EDIT: Whirlwind - You ever actually go to That Pet Place? It's HUGE! It's like... it's the size of a Walmart, but it's all pet stuff! And their fish room is bigger than the house I live in!!

BTW - The website is www.thatpetplace.com

If you don't like any of our answers on here, you can actually call the 800 number on the website, and they'll be able to help you out. They actually do know what they're talking about, unlike a lot of other pet stores.

Answer 3

I have a dozen tanks and I have seen it all. DO NOT change water it will just do it again and prob kill your fish too. Small water changes 10% or so once a week. Use a power filter with a bio wheel is a good thing to do(marineland or penguin). Adding live plants can help also. There is water clearing additives that you can easily find on the net that also work but keep in mind that it will only be temporary. The problem will not go away till the nitrogen cycle is stable. This takes time. You should feed your fish lightly for a while and that can help also.

Answer 4

Dont know much about a salt tank so i hope youare talking about fresh water....First off, did you just recently clean the tank? If so, give it some time and let all the sediment settle again, if thats not the case, make sure all your chemical levels are good. There is also a water additive that you can get at almost any pet store that has a good fish department that will clear up the water with just a few squirts. I forget the name of it since i havent had a tank in a few years. Do a google search for That Pet Place, they are located in PA (they do mail order too) and they have an excellent selection of aquarium products and even some info.

Answer 5

More than likely you are just experience the natural aging process of the tank. What happens in a new fish tank is that the water you first out in it is completely free of any bacteria. However, once you add fish to the tank they start to add waste products (food decay/or fish bi-products), when this happens a beneficial bacteria starts to grow in order to break the waste down into less harmful chemicals; first nitrite, and then to even less harmful nitrate. When you see a white cloud, it usually means that you added to many fish at once to your new tank.
When you add too many fish they produce more waste then the bacteria can keep up with, and often cause the toxicity of the water to elevate and become harmful. Small water changes will help, but you destroy the bacterial and then the viscious cycle begins. You should never add more than 20% of your tanks total fish capacity. (If you have a 10 gallon tank, no more than 2 - 1" fish).
Also eventually nitrate levels do become toxic, and that's why it is important to do small water changes every 6-8 weeks depending on the size of your tank and number of fish in it. Never do a full water changed when you have fish living in your tank as you will be taking away a lot of their bacteria. Also if you ever decide to change the gravel you need to do it in stages as millions of beneficial bacteria have found a home there, and you will be destroying the delicate balance of your tank.

Answer 6

Depends on why the tank is cloudy. Try a partial water change if you haven't done that in a while, making sure to vaccum the gravel, and change the filter catridge. Live plants also help with this problem, so you may want to consider that if you don't have any already. If you just recently changed the water with more than a 50% water change, a slightly white cloudyness to the tank is normal, and will clear up within a week.

Answer 7

Take out some of the water, but not all. I would say half of it. Put your fish in a bucket or bowl with some of their water. Wipe down the inside with a sponge using NO detergent or soap. Fill the tank back up with fresh water, add the chemicals to take out the chlorine. Put your fish back in. My tank is always cloudy right after I clean it, but it should be crystal clear within a day or two.

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Answer 8

do a 50% water change if the cloud is really thick, never ever ever ever ever do a 100% water change (in anything larger than a ten gallon that is reasonbly stocked) unless all your fish died and you're starting a new aquarium. Also, most of the stuff to clear the water just adds more chemicals to the water, and even if it does clear the water up, the toxins in high concentration that caused the cloud in the first place are still in the tank building up until you do a water change. If you don't then the fish will probably die.

Answer 9

The water can be cloudy for a couple of reasons- the most common are

Overfeeding- the water is dirty brown cloudy. You should do a partial water change max 30%. Then wait a week or so and do another.

Cycling- the water is cloudy white. The water doesn't have enough bacteria to support the biological load. Test your water to make sure it is within safe parameters for the fish. If it is then leave it alone. It can solve it's own problem. Within a week you should see iprovement. If the test shows your water chemistry is off then do a partial 25%.

Answer 10

I would try a 20% water change every 3-4 days until clear's up. If its a new tank, there probably arn't any healthy bacterial in the tank to take out the nitrates. This is due to overfeeding or not enough oxygen. I'm guessing this is the case. You'll need more filtration. Depending on how large your tank is you may want to purchase a powerhead that pumps oxygen into the water and keeps the flow going. The best place to purchase any filters, powerheads, food, etc. go to www.bigalsonline.com i know it sounds funny, but it'll save you a ton. A 130 dollar filter for 36 bucks.....on average. Hope this works.

Answer 11

If the tank is newly set up and its a sort of whitish cloudy then it is normal and its just the beneficial bacteria. Within a week it should all settle and be clear again. You can do water changes but don't remove all the water and if you clean the filter cartridges rinse them in the dirty tank water that you removed, not tap water. The beneficial bacteria will colonize on the cartridge and the chlorine in the tap will kill them.