I changed half the water in my Aquarium and the water is cloudy?

Question

The water was really dirty in my 10 gallon tank, so I changed about half of it. It initially seemed much cleaner, but then the cloudiness came. It is real cloudy and I have never had this problem before. Help.

10 Gallon tank with gravel. I used the additive/dechlorinator with the tap water. I've cleaned my tank before and have never seen this. It has been like this for a couple days.

Wow thanks everyone.

I had a plant that was rotting a little, so I took it out. Then I cleaned my filter which I do regularly. It's a Penguin 100. It seems better already, but I might have to get a bigger tank cause I have too many fish. 2 Algae Eaters about 4 inches long now, and 2 tropical fish the size of a quarter, and 2 more about 2 1/2 inches long. I don't know what the tropical fish are called. I didn't buy them. The two small ones are yellow and kinda transparent, and the larger ones are almost a royal blue color.

Answer 1

Do you have gravel or sand at the bottom? If it's sand, it will take a while to settle.

Did you use dechlorinator in the water?

Is your filter working? And is it working at full capacity? Just look at the amount of water coming out...if it's a trickle, you need to take the filter out (assuming it is an external filter), clean the tube and the part with the magnet, replace or rinse the filter cartridge, and then see if it works better when you plug it back in and fill it with water.

Does your cloudy water smell bad? If it does, you might have disturbed the good bacteria colonies in the tank (by taking out too much water at once, or getting the gravel too clean), and it's having to cycle again. If that's the case, change two gallons each day until it clears up.

Do you have live plants? Are they rotting and making your water dirty?

Do you have too many fish in the tank? The general rule is one inch per gallon of water.

Sorry to answer your question with more questions...but there are a lot of things that can cause cloudy water in the tank.

Don't buy those water clear tablets from the pet store...they won't help.

Answer 2

A diatom filter will get rid of all cloudiness in a 10 gallon in about 30 minutes! Plan B : oxygenate the water! What kind of filter do you have? Is it clean? DO NOT take out all the gravel all at once and wash it in hot water! This will kill all the beneficial bacteria and instead of a cloudy tank you will end up with a fogbank! You should be changing at least 10-20% of your water on a weekly basis and adding a water conditioner to the water you are adding to get rid of chlorine and chloramines. This will help get rid of harmful fish wastes that accumulate in the water. How would you like to swim in a toilet? Do not feed your fish more than they can eat in 5 minutes. Excess food will contribute to a cloudy tank. You either stirred up debris from the gravel when you added the "fresh" water or/and you created a bacterial bloom. How many fish are in the tank. What size and type are they? Water temp?

Answer 3

This story is a common, but unfortunate one. Take time to read it, because this kind of story perpetuates the myth that water changes are harmful.

John is a proud fish owner who’s had a tank running for almost a year. He takes good care of his fish, feeds them properly, adds water to the tank when it evaporates, and keeps the glass sparkling clean, both inside and out.

One day a friend stopped by and noticed the gravel was a little dirty. He asked John if he’d vacuumed the gravel that last time he did a water change. John stared at him in confusion, he’d never heard about water changes. He quickly read several articles and found out he should have been doing partial water changes water every few weeks. Feeling like a jerk for neglecting his fish, he immediately performed a massive water change, vacuumed the gravel thoroughly, and changed the filter media.

Everything looked pristine, and John felt much better -- that is until the next day when he discovered that half his fish were dead. Within the next couple of weeks the remaining fish died, even though he performed several more water changes. John didn't replace his fish, and gave up on fish keeping. He told people that changing water killed his fish and is unsafe, even though books say differently.

What Went Wrong?
Did the water change kill John’s fish? The answer is yes, but not because water changes are inherently bad. The cause is more complex than that. Over time the by-products of fish waste, uneaten food particles, dead leaves from plants, etc., alters the chemistry of the water. Because the fish live in the water, and the changes happen slowly, they adjust to it.

A sudden, large water change causes such a drastic shift in the makeup of the water that the fish often cannot tolerate it. Those that do not die immediately are stressed and may succumb over the next few weeks or months. Naturally the owner thinks that the water change was a bad idea.

Should Water be Changed?
Now for the million dollar question, if changing water can kill fish, why do water changes at all? The answer is that regular water changes are important for the long term health of your fish. The dissolved wastes in the water, which are not apparent to the naked eye, won't kill the fish outright, but the stress reduces their immunity to disease.

Fish are exposed to bacteria, viruses, and parasites more often than owners realize. If the fish have a strong immune system they rarely get sick even when exposed to disease. On the other hand fish that become ill usually have been stressed by poor water conditions and/or improper diet. The best thing you can do to keep your fish health is to change the water regularly.

How To Start Doing Water Changes
If you haven't changed your water for months, or years, it is not wise to make a massive change. However, you still should start changing the water regularly. Start small, changing less than 5% of the total water volume. Wait a week, and perform another very small water change. Continue this process for several months, each time increasing the amount slightly. This will subject your fish to a slow change in water chemistry, which they can adapt to without harm.

You'll find that as you get used to the water changing routine, it takes less and less time to complete. It’s time well spent, as clean water is the key to keeping fish healthy and increasing their lifespan. Remember that the next time someone tells you that water changes are fish killers.

Answer 4

It is good you removed the plant. This should also be done every other water change to check the roots. Be sure to cut off any dead roots.

Also, your tank is a bit over crowded. Over feeding your fish will also lead to a cloudy tank and ammonia spikes. Doing a 20-25% water change weekly and cleaning the gravel as you have been doing should keep your tank running clean and clear.

Be sure to test your water quality on a regular basis. With that many fish in the tank, your ammonia can spike without warning.

Good luck.

Answer 5

You have done the wrong thing if you removed half of the top water.Follow the methods:

First take a pipe(found in most hardware shops) and take the two ends in same level in your hands.

Cover one end of the pipe with your hands and insert other end into a tap.

Then when the pipe is full take it out and cover the water filled pipe's bothe ends.

Insert one end into the bottom of the aquarium and the other into a bucket.When 25% of the water is drained,take away the pipe.

This is called siphooning.

You should do this every 7 days.

And donot forget to add more water from the top coz 25 % water was drained.

Every 2 months u have to do another job.

Keep 75% of the water in buckets or a bathtub along with the fishes.Then drain the 25% remaining water.Again add the previous 75% water kept in buckets.Then add the fishes.Then add externel water form top.

This way your aquarium water should not cloud.
Donot use any chemicals.Just use declorinator and three drops of malachite blue.

If you have sand gravels,remove them today.Buy the better gravels.And if you donot have you need to have filters.
Undergravel filtration,HOB filtration or canister filtration,bio filtration and sponge filtration.

If you follow these your fish will never die.

Answer 6

I guess this tank has been set up for a while? Even so, a major water change could have disrupted your biological filtration.

Without more info, I can only take a guess at the cause. Could be bacterial, an algae bloom, stirred up stuff from the bottom (although this should have happened right after your cleaned, but maybe you have fish that are stirring the stuff up), or this could be something leaching from wood or dying aquatic plant leaves. See the link below for more info:

Answer 7

Most pet stores and good aquarium suppliers have a liquid you can put into the tank - only takes a few drops and it clears the water. Aquaclear is one brand that comes to mind but may be different in the US.

Answer 8

Too many fish in your tank, they wont live as long as they should in a small tank

Answer 9

Weird. New tanks are often cloudy when it is cycling for the first time -- maybe you changed enough for it to have to cycle again.

Answer 10

I'm guessing it's because the clean water has cleaned out between the stones and loosend the slime