why is my fish tank cloudy and how can i fix it??

Answer 1

You haven't said what size your tank is or how many and types of fish you have, which can affect all of this. Otherwise, it sounds like you're just not giving your tank a chance to cycle. Don't try to buy your water quality. If you do the things you're supposed to do, it will happen naturally. While the cloudy water is a symptom, it should be the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates you should be worried about. If you get your water quality readings in order, your cloudy water will go away. You should be doing 25% water changes anywhere from once a week to every day depending on your water test readings, siphoning the gravel, disturbing it as little as possible, and only rinse the filter, decorations and plants in the old water removed from the tank. Don't put in a new filter every time. You can change the carbon or internal media once every couple of weeks, but you should keep the bag as long as possible. It gathers good bacteria. Too good of cleaning doesn't allow the beneficial bacteria to grow. Once you understand water changes and tank cleaning and the nitrogen cycle, you'll get the ammonia down and cloudiness will go away. Good luck!

Answer 2

Venice Girl, as usual, is right. The (white) cloudiness in your tank is a result of a bacteria bloom caused by excess ammonia. This can happen when the tank is out of balance, such as when you first set it the tank up, add new fish, or overfeed/overstock. If you allow the tank to finish its cycle, then the cloudiness will go away naturally. Don't waste money on any chemicals to try and "fix" this problem. They truly are a waste of money. Buy a water testing kit, if you haven't already, and watch the ammonia and nitrite levels. Once they are both at 0ppm, then you are good to go and the cloudiness will be gone. Keep water changes to 25% per week, and avoid changing the filter medium too much. This just lengthens the process.

Good luck.

Answer 3

You did not give us much information to go on and there is more than one cause, often multiples (especially in new aquariums).

Here are the main causes of cloudy water:

* A poorly cycled aquarium
* Overfeeding
* Poor Filtration
* Over crowding
* Poor water parameters

Corrective measures:

*Change 20% of your water every other day until improved (it is best to use a vacuum to remove as much mulm before it goes thru the nitrogen cycle). Please read this article for more information about proper cleaning methods:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_cleaning.html


*Read this article about cycling and take corrective measures such as adding filter media and/or substrate from a healthy established aquarium:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html

*Cut back on feeding and improve the quality of food and feeding method.

*Add additional filters or improve your filters such as by adding a Filter Max Pre Filter to your HOB or Canister filter.
Also follow proper aquarium filter cleaning procedures by only changing part of your media and rinsing the rest in non chlorinated water.

*Make sure your ammonia and nitrites are 0, your kH is at least 80 ppm (depending on fish kept) and your Nitrates are below 40 ppm. High ammonia is a major concern.
Another lesser known factor by many aquarists is the Aquarium Redox, if this parameter is poor, you can also have cloudy water problems. A correct KH and GH as well as proper water changes often will correct Redox.
For more about Redox:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Redox_Potential.html

Answer 4

That would depend on what is wrong with your tank. If it is a new tank you could have new tank syndrome where as your gravel had not been properly cleaned. you will have to swish the gravel around when cleaning the tank to remove loose particles. It is a pain but it works. Allow your filter to run to pull a lot of it out.

You could have a high phosphate level (your tap water alone can do this) causing an algae or a diatom bloom in your tank.
Algae are mostly-photosynthetic organisms that sometimes resemble plants but are not plants, having no true roots, stems or leaves. Algae grow in freshwater and saltwater. Saltwater algae are sometimes referred to as "seaweed." Like plants, algae require light and nutrients to grow. We supply plenty of both in our aquariums, with several hours of aquarium lighting a day and nutrients like nitrates and phosphates from fish waste.

Algae come in many forms. There are microscopic, one-celled algae, filamentous algae that resemble hair, algae that grow in sheets, and macroalgae that look like plants. There are even algae that live inside the outer integument ("skin") or calcium shell of some corals, anemones, and other sessile invertebrates called zooxanthellae. There are slimy-looking algae that are often not algae at all, but a colony of primitive photosynthetic organisms known as cyanobacteria. There are also very hard-to-remove little dots of green that sometimes grow on aquarium panels which also are not algae, but diatom or radiolarian colonies (microscopic, one-celled, animals with hard shells) with algae incorporated in their matrix. With all that said, let us answer some common questions right up front:

Algae growth is inevitable in an aquarium.
Algae consume nutrients in the aquarium that if allowed to accumulate, are harmful to fish. Algae can be a good thing.
The presence of green algae in an aquarium indicates a healthy environment for fish.
There is absolutely no way to completely prevent algae from growing in an aquarium, without killing the other life in the tank.
Chemicals should never be used to control the growth of true algae in an aquarium, and should only be used in rare circumstances to control cyanobacteria.
Correcting a severe algae problem requires time and patience.
Natural methods of controlling algae are the best and most effective.

Algae removal from the tank panels can be done on an as-needed basis, but no more than once a week. Removing algae involves either correcting negative water conditions to control or slow excessive algae growth, or an age-old process known as "elbow grease" (scrubbing it off!). Algae removal in an aquarium should be done only when necessary. We have seen many aquariums where daily removal of algae resulted in fish that were so stressed, most had diseases and were dying. You should never remove all of the algae from your tank. Allowing some algae to grow in the aquarium can be beneficial to the aquatic environment. When algae is removed from aquarium side panels, care should be taken to select an algae scrubber that will not hurt the finish of an aquarium. Be careful not to get gravel caught in an algae scrubbing pad where it can scratch the aquarium. Never use household cleaning pads to remove algae. They contain fungicides that kill fish.

Your first mistake is boiling the water. Boiling water consentrates the nitrates in it causing algae to grow even faster. However, I've never heard of it growing within an hour Wow!

First, test the water you are filling up your tank with. Many public water supplies (our homes) have a concentration of nitrates at around 7ppm or higher. (Bottled water is no better).

This could be the start of your problem.
Be sure your tank is not within direct or indirect lighting such as a window or in a room where the lights are on constantly. Is you tank near a heat source. Sometimes we do not take into consideration a fishtank is near a heat register which can and does add additional temperature changes to your tank.

Did you clean the filter as well? Be sure the entire filter is cleaned and free of algae.

Use a razor or scraper and gently scrape all sides of your tank. Clean your gravel and return it to the tank as well. DO NOT wash the gravel in the tank. The residues of the algae will remain.

Overfeeding your fish or changing the food can also cause cloudy water and a simple 25% water change should be done.

Sometimes adding too many fish at one time or too close together will cause the tanks bioload to spike. The introduction of too much new waste products can turn a tank cloudy.

Sincewe cannot see your tank and only have limited info, you will have to decide which best fits your tank.

Test your water. Be sure your levels are all where they should be.

Answer 5

If it's grey it's a bacteria bloom. This is caused by new tank syndrome, over feeding, over stocking, and under cleaning. Water changes, and limiting feeding may help. Also you should test your nitrate levels, and consider if you are over feeding. (Once a day what they can eat in ~2 minutes, skip one day a week.)

If it's green it's an algae bloom. Generally it's caused by over feeding, not enough water changes, too many plant nutrients and/or new tank syndrome. Water changes, reducing the light, and adding plants may help. Also check nitrates, and limit feeding as above.

Answer 6

there are many things that can cloud a tank general hardness, algae...need more info. Recent additions of fish or decorations? Last water test?

Answer 7

It is probably experiencing a bacterial bloom. It should settle down in about 2 weeks.

Answer 8

try farting in a clean jar and cap the fart and release it if possible in the fish tank it will clear up the tank in moments

Answer 9

If you leave the light on 24/7 you are allowing little green organisms to live and grow.Turn the light off at night and in a couple of weeks it'll clear up.

Answer 10

It could be anything.

Try to answer this: My TV doesn't work. Why is that?

Without more information, who knows? Maybe evil spirits.

How long have you had this tank?
What fish do you have?
What kind of filter do you have?
How often do you clean it?
Did you just set it up?
What kinds of dechlorinators and stuff do you use?
Is it planted?
What kinds of decorations do you have?

See, these are the kinds of things you need to tell us if you want someone to know what is going on.