What do you get to keep fish tank water crystal clear?

Question

I was wondering because I had a fish tank before and the water always got cloudy and dirty looking. I am thinking about setting up a tank again and just wanted to know what to buy to keep the water crystal clear and how much will it cost? Thanks for your answers.

Answer 1

You probably aren't doing water changes often enough. You should change 15 to 25 percent of the water every week. You also need to have proper filtration. General rule is that the filter should process the water a minimum of 5 times per hour (30 gallon tank needs a filter rated at least 150 gph). Sometimes the cloudy water can come from diatoms which are tiny microbes. They aren't necessarily bad for the fish but make the water a greenish cloudy color. That will eventually clear itself up but you can also get rid of it with a UV Sterilizer. They are expensive but work great. The link below documents the progress of my tank using a UV Sterilizer to clear up green water.

Lastly, stay away from any type of chemicals, not only to clear the water, but for anything (pH adjusters, algae removal, snail removal). Once you start using chemicals, you become dependent on them and it can become very expensive.

Answer 2

Although crystal clear water is what we all want, that isn't necessarily benificial to your fish. As fish keepers we want a beautiful tank, but on the same hand, algae is a part of the water world, just as is other Debris.

Cost is irrelevant. A 10 gallon can be as clear as a 200. The filter should filter 3X the volume in your aquarium once per hour. Your water had gotten cloudy and dirty for a number of reasons. There is no better cure than routine maintenance. Even with the best intentions, what you deep "Crystal Clear" isn't always the best water quality for your fish. Good filtration, if you are looking for Crystal water, run an undergravel filter accompanied by another filter. The undergravel will allow debris to be pulled to the bottom while the second filter will clean the water.

Routine cleaning and maintenance also will help maintain a clean tank. Phosporus pads will also help with the algae when added to the filters. Keeping the algae scraping to a minimum.

Answer 3

Algae needs three things to thrive sunlight, oxygen and food, it's possible if you live in a farming area that your water supply maybe high in Nitrate from ground seepage, this will provide the food, now how you deal with this depends on the type of Cichlids one supposes that they are not large and would uproot plants, plants of course will compete with the algae for the food, so light again the plants will compete for the light and here it depends on where the light source is coming from is it in direct sunlight? if so try and shade it during the daytime or if you have aquarium lights put a break in the middle of the day when the lights go off for an hour and see if that will improve, and finally oxygen, unlike the fish algae can take oxygen from the surface area especially if the surface is agitated, water can only take in so much oxygen dependent on temperature, surface area, and pollution however, the more you agitate the surface the more oxygen bubbles disperse at the surface thus creating an abundance for the algae and nothing else point the nozzles on the filters to as far as they'll go downwards so leaving the surface less disturbed. If you well water has too much Nitrate naturally you will either have to source another water supply or depending on the level do far more water changes, thus negating the Nitrate produced in the tank itself. Test the well water for Nitrate and if you have a reading above 20ppm then you will have to think about either using a resin filter on your system or finding an RO water supply. If its below that then with more frequent water changes and live plants you should be able to solve the problem more or less. There is also a product by Denerle, which is a green absorbent material however, for the life of me I can't remember what it was called. Finally you could insert a UV filter into your filtration system, problem with this is that it kills most nasties in the water and could eventually compromise the immune system of the fish, so you may introduce a fish with some treatable disease and wipe the fish out because they can't fight it off, as they're out of practice as it were.

Answer 4

First be sure you have a good strong power filter on the tank. Then the best thing to get is a gravel siphon and use it! A gravel vacuum siphon is available at any pet shop for just a few bucks and if you use it to clean the gravel as you remove and replace about 25% of the tank water each week you won't have any problems with cloudiness. It's also about the best thing you can do for the health of your fish too.

MM

Answer 5

You have to replace the water every so often even when it has a filter. Double check and make sure your filter is turning over the water fast enough for the size of the tank and the dirt factor of its occupants. And then make sure you change the water every week or two. There is no magic answer for crystal clear water.

Answer 6

You have white haze? That's a bacteria bloom. Happens to new tanks. Sometimes it happens when you change filter media.
You need to get your tank cycled, which means grow bacteria that break down waste. This can take up to 6 weeks. You can shorten this time somewhat by using Hagen Cycle or Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Stress Zyme.
Also don't change your filter so often. Change the carbon. Rinse the pad/bag in your "fish bucket" with some tank water.
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/en_us/productCategory.asp?categoryname=WaterConditioners
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=121&PROD_ID=01076000020101

Answer 7

make sure you buy a good filter it the most important thing. On the filter make sure that it filter the water more then the size of your tank example if your tank is 60gal, then get one that filter a 100gal per hour or if you get a 20gal tank then you want to make sure it filter 40gal per hour, I find that the filter that you put on the bottom of the tank is more messier then using a vacuum that you can buy at the fish store. I myself will once every three month will stir the rocks on the bottom and let the filter do the work oh get the filter that hangs on the outside of the tank it easier to change the cartridge.

Answer 8

A good maintenance schedule and proper bioload are all you need to keep your water beautiful and clear. No additives necessary. They don't really help, and seem to stress out fish.

Answer 9

I can't remember for sure what it is called. I want to call it Stay Clear but I am not positive. If you go to a reputable aquatics store and tell them what you are looking for they will know exactly what it is.

Answer 10

Some good aquarium plants and and algae eater will help a lot.