What's making the water cloudy and green?

Question

I have a small aquarium,use a sponge filter system and aerater.I do 10% water changes every 2 to 3 weeks using the water I have taken out to rinse the filter sponge in to maintain the "good bacteria" however just recently I have had a problem keeping the water clear and within a couple of days it is green and cloudy so what am I doing wrong. I use a tap water treatment too any advice welcome.

cold water, two goldfish not positioned in direct sunlight.

live in hard water area so have to use treatment to get rid of many additives to water.

Answer 1

The green cloudy water is algae. Sounds like you maybe overfeeding and the algae is making use of the extra food & fish waste.
Goldfish are messy fish and should be in BIG aquariums or ponds.
Personnally, I disagree with idea that you can quit water treatment...you can only do that if you keep buckets of aged tap water ready to use (the chlorine/chlorimine would evaporate). I also disagree with the undergravel filter...not for a beginner and a pain to set-up & maintain. A plain, inexpensive HOB (hang on back) filter is the easiest filter for smaller tanks -- they combine all 3 filter methods plus add O2 to the water from the falling return stream.
To clear up the cloudy algae, do a 30% water change, don't feed your fish for a day or 2, then feed them about half what you had been. A fish's tummy is only about the size of their eye, but most fish are greedy little critters and will keep eating as long as their is food.
And get a bottle of a Algae Destroyer, or something similar.
Also, from now on, instead of 10% every 2-3 weeks, change 20% every 1-2 weeks.

Answer 2

Cloudy water is one of two things.

If the water is green then it is an algae bloom. Algae blooms are caused by too much light and too many nutrients in the water. They are relatively easily cleared up by reducing the lighting, especially direct sunlight, and by lower the nutrients in the water. Reducing the lighting is easy. Simply shut off the light on the tank and only run it for 8-10 hours a day. You should also ensure that your tank isn't getting any direct sunlight as this will cause you algae problems, either as a green bloom or simply algae on the tank and ornaments. You lower the nutrients by doing more frequent and larger water changes and by feeding less. Fish should be fed only what they can eat entirely in 5-10 seconds. Any uneaten food should be netted out of the tank to prevent it from breaking down.

If the water is white then it is a bacterial bloom. These are caused exclusively by too many nutrients in the tank. To clear the water you will need to increase the frequency and size of your water changes, and decrease the feeding. Fish should be fed only what they can eat entirely in 5-10 seconds. Any uneaten food should be netted out of the tank to prevent it from breaking down.

Neither cloudy water situation is particularly harmful to your fish but are a symptom of a greater underlying problem that must be resolved.

One way to clear the cloudy water immediately is through the use of a micron or diatom filter. This will pull out the particles that cause the cloudiness, but it WILL NOT resolve the problem that caused the particles to be there. This is a short term fix and needs to be used in conjuction with the above fixes.

Answer 3

You don't say what kind of aquarium you have whether it is tropical or cold water. Neither do you say where this aquarium is positioned. Without that information it is going to be hard to give you an answer, but I will base my answer on the worst case scenario:- positioned by a window and is tropical.

I have 11 years of aquarium experience this answer will be suffice for both cold water and tropical.

Stop using the tap water treatment, this is only used on a new set up and only once! I set up by filtration with no chemicals as this method will let the water get its own bacteria. All of my set-ups have been successful from day one.

The reason for my saying this is that the 10% change will put fresh tap water in but it mixes with the mature water. There is no problem with this.

You are changing the water far too often! You are weakening the mature water (diluting it)

Fianally the sponge filtration system requires an active charcoal structure. If you are using just a sponge filter then stop! The more experienced aquarist will tell you that an under gravel filter is far superior to any sponge filtration system. I firmly recommend the Algarde under gravel filter. Not only does it filter the water through the substrate it aerates the water too! The bactrerial medium lives in the space between your bottom plate (glass plate of the tank) and the top of the filter. All harmful chemicals are broken down by the bacteria at this level. Once mature, a water change is very rarely needed. I change my water on a 75% change at 18 months.

You will need a minimum of 1 inch (2.5 cm) - 1.5 inch (3 cm) of gravel (medium grade) ideally 2 inches (5cm) of gravel

One of the best known causes of green water is the build up of water bourne algae caused by light! If you have your aquarium positioned very close to or near a window where natural daylight can fall on it this will cause your green water (It will eventually turn pea green) the above mentioned filter will help cut this down but it can't stop it. re-position your aquarium as far away from the window as possible. The other source is the aquarium lighting. Try to keep the light off for at least 8 hours at night. Algae with thrive in cold water just as good as tropical, but here is a tip. If you are running a tropical tank don't heat the water to no more than 26 Celsius (79 Farenheit) this will keep the algae under some control. So will proper tank maintenance, i.e. scraping the glass with an algae scraper once every 4 weeks. Also use living plants in the aquarium. Cloudy water is caused by not enough oxygen disolved in the water. If the cloudiness is green also then you have a severe water bourne algae problem. In the worst of cases a reset-up is required!

I added this after 4 hours: I live in London, notorious for hard water and I don't have any problems with using water straight from the tap without using chemicals. A lot of people have the misconception that it is required to use chemicals to make the water safe. 15 gallons of water will dechlorinate in 24 hours from fresh, just by putting a steady stream of bubbles through it. It will take just 36 hours if left to stand! Some of what is said comes from the manufacturer of the chemicals, they want to sell their products. There is no evidence to show that water untreated and allowed to naturally dechlorinate is more harmful than water treated. They pose the same risk!

As for the under gravel filter, it keeps the waste materials and food where it is supposed to be,at the bottom. It also nuetralises amonia. This is true for cold water fish as well as tropical fish. It is less hassle and once in place never need cleaning! It is easier to set up than a sponge filter. Just lay it on the bottom of the tank attach the air lift tube cover with gravel, put the airline tube in to within 1/2 of the bottom of the tank. (The airlift tube may need to be trimmed to fit) fill tank with water filter will begin as soon as you turn the air pump on.

All in all less maintenance is required, less work to be done on your part.

If you need any further help please email me through the link on my profile.

Answer 4

nicely definitely it is an algae bloom and it will get so undesirable which you will basically have the flexibility to work out 2 inches into the tank. you will possibly be able to desire to do a blackout, positioned a trash bag over the tank and shop the lights off for 3 days. the different selection is to circulate and purchase a bottle of the algae killer stuff. I even have an identical challenge appropriate now besides the shown fact that it is not too undesirable in my tank appropriate now.

Answer 5

the problem either is bacteria ,rinse the filer in used aquarium water the same water you have removed from your aquarium to keep the good bacteria in the filter.the green may come from algae .do you have direct sunlight ?or maybe long hous of exposure of light in your tank?

Answer 6

Hi, I had this same problem. My filter was blocked. i took the sponge part out (it was disgusting) and cleaned it under the tap. I replaced it and the tank is now clean like it used to be.

Answer 7

hi, the same thing happened to me but my friend had this big long metal stick thing with a special fish tank cleaner on the end. One day i went to the pet store and asked them about it it was brilliant !
hope you found that useful!
P.s clean the gravel cause all the food and stuff gets stuck in there!
bye

Answer 8

Buy 4 algae eaters (can't remember the official name for them), they'll clean up yer tank in a jiffy. No need to feed them, they live off the gunk. Besides, they look so silly stuck to the side of the tank!

Answer 9

does your tank sit in direct sunlight? if so the usually causes algae to grow very quickly, make sure, also, that you haven't overcrowded your tank with fish. try and AQUA CLEAR filter - they work wonders...

Answer 10

It's algae. Is the water warmer? What about oxygen content?