i have a 10 gallon fish tank and i clean the water very good and still the water remains cloudy... how do i fix this? i need help... is there something i buy or can i just do something while at home? i clean the water every week and take good care of the tank... what do i do?
2006-10-06 14:59:37 · 12 answers · asked by ♥chica♥ 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Believe it or not your aquarium is too clean. beneficial bacteria break down toxic substances (ammonia) produced by the fish. when you keep your aquarium too clean (change too much water, continually wash out your filter with tap water) you are actually removing the beneficial bacteria. the cloudiness which seems to return after a couple of days after you clean your aquarium has been coined "new tank syndrome" and is actually caused by a bacteria (not the beneficial or harmful type) that multiplies in high ammonia water. the best course of action is to cut down on the feeding (less food, less ammonia produced), keep the aquarium light off for about a week (the beneficial bacteria grow better in the dark (or low light conditions), and to add a beneficial bacterial culture (cycle by Hagen). once your aquarium is no longer cloudy do regular water changes (25%) every month (make sure you use an aquarium gravel syphon) and change your filter carbon every month. don't do the water change and filter cleaning (remember this can make your aquarium too clean) at the same time and always make sure your fish eat all of their food within 3 minutes without anything floating to the bottom. you can feed this way 2 time per day and everything should work out in time.
2006-10-06 15:09:59 · answer #1 · answered by Robin 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Another possible issue - how many fish do you have in the tank?
The ideal is usually a gallon of water per inch of fish.
My tank kept getting cloudy and I had 6 fish, but two were almost four inches long each (goldfish). When I removed some to get the gallon-per-inch ratio, just a few days later the water cleared up.
It could be something as simple as having 6 or 8 fish, but if they are all 2 inches long, we're talking 12 to 16 inches of fish for a 10 gallon tank.
All in all, it could be overcrowding enough that the filter cannot clean the water the way it should.
(just my two cents)
2006-10-06 19:42:06 · answer #2 · answered by Reuben Shlomo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be an algea problem. Even though the water is cleaned, the rocks and other thing in the tank may be coated in slime, which allows algae to grow back quickly when new water is added. Get a test kit from the pet store and test the water when it gets cloudy to see what is going on.
2006-10-06 15:08:25 · answer #3 · answered by David T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't change your filster media more then once every six weeks
Try not changing more then 20% of the water every week. Any more and the beneficial bacteria in your tank get stresses and cannot deal with the fish waste
Reduce what you feed by 25% and divide the feeding to twice a day.
Increase the amount of surface area within your tank for more bacteria to grow on (porous substrate for plants, silk plants, decorations)
Buy a filter with a bio-wheel
Buy a protein skimmer (they do work for freshwater tanks)
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2006-10-07 04:52:07 · answer #4 · answered by iceni 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Best thing to buy is at walmart, it is in a yellow bottle and called aqua clean....we buy that, and our tank is great....dont take all the water out at once because the fish need the bacteria that is in it, change at least 1/4 of the water once a week, then once a month clean tank and change water....the nitra ban and aqua clean works great no matter what!!
2006-10-06 16:48:00 · answer #5 · answered by dcopsy3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What did you do to cycle your tank? i'm guessing that on account which you in easy terms put in a goldfish and you purchased the water cloudiness ("new tank syndrome") that what you probably did to cycle the tank replace into the source of the priority. Did you utilize between the "bacterial" products (biozyme, and so on.), and if so, replace into it an "previous" product? you besides mght point out biking the tank for a month. Did you "feed" the micro organism in this time? you could desire to put in some fish nutrition to get them to multiply; if no longer the micro organism died until now you place the goldfish in. Goldfish (even small ones are great eaters. in case you have (or can purchase) an ammonia try equipment (and particular nitrate), verify to work out if the ammonia is extreme (nitrate low). if so, then you definately don't have a perfect bacterial inhabitants to interrupt down the nutrition/feces interior the tank (and you could desire to have a greater concept of what could desire to be occurring). save up the partial water differences!
2016-12-13 03:33:45 · answer #6 · answered by suire 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't do anything. It's a bacteria bloom, and no matter how much you change the water - it's gonna just have to run it's course.
I have one going on right now in my 90g tank, and I do weekly water changes of up to 60g's a month.
2006-10-06 16:52:35 · answer #7 · answered by sly2kusa 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go and get a filter, they do wonders. I had that prob, and the filter lasts a long time, and you dont smell the nasty fish smell either. Also watch how much food u are giving the fish.
2006-10-06 15:08:41 · answer #8 · answered by tanyae2002 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If there is a good pet store close, take in a sample of your water. They should be able to test it for you and guide you as to what to do.
2006-10-06 15:12:52 · answer #9 · answered by sncmom2000 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
go to your local fish store or pet center and ask them
they will have something to help you out...
also do not feed them to much food...
make sure your filter is working properly.
good luck
2006-10-06 15:03:32 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋