cloudy water in fish tank?

Question

I have a 20 gallon aquarium have been operating it for about a year have no problem keeping it full with fish change water evory 10 days to me seems cloudy. I have real plants in it could that be a cause or not or do I need a bigger filter. if so what type.

fish are all tropical platties guppies ect no gold fish and have tried chemicals to clear. no change

Answer 1

Your filter should be rated so that it turns over 5-10 times your tank volume per hour. For a 20 gallon, that would be 100-200 gallons per hour (find the GPH rating for your filter to compare). Healthy plants shouldn't cause the water to be cloudy.

It may be that you've got a few too many fish, are overfeeding them (give what they'll eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day), or have recently medicated for some problem and the treatment caused your bacterial population to crash. If you've medicated, chances are your tank's cycling again and the cloud you're seeing is a bacterial bloom - a good thing.

You don't mention a color for your cloudiness. If you've got driftwood or plants, they may be leaching tannins (from the wood) or dying leaves may be giving off compounds that will turn your water yellow-brown, and algae blooms will tint the water green.

You might need to step up your maintenance to a 25% water change every week.

http://www.fishlore.com/CloudyWater.htm

Answer 2

First of all...what kind of fish? If they are goldfish, then gold fish are pretty dirty fish. I babysat my friends goldfish all winter and had a real hard time getting rid of the cloudiness.

I have a 20 gallon tank.....have had it for about 2 1/2 years. It is full of tropical fish and never cloudy. I get comments on it from family and friends on how clear it is.

Do you have one of those 'sucker fish'? I can't remember their real name but they are known as sucker fishes. They cling to the sides and whatever they can in the tank and 'suck' up the crap, literally. However, I don't have real plants in it, just fake. So the plants could be the prob.

I clean mine about once every 2 weeks. When I change the water, I only take about 1/3 of the water out. Fish do need some bacteria. I add tap water conditioner, CYCLE (which reduces fish loss and keeps aquariums healthy), and CLEAR (a biological Water clarifier that clears cloudiness caused by Bacterial Blooms due to excess organic matter and new tank syndrome.)
You may also need a bigger filter. I had to replace the filter in my friends goldfish tank because it was a huge tank and they were using the smallest and cheapest filter possible, and it helped a lot once I changed it.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

There are inexpensive tablets that you can purchase at almost any pet food store that can clear up your aquarium's problem of cloudy water. Try this method first.

If this does not help, get a handful of gravel from an established aquarium with healthy fish and sprinkle that gravel on top of the gravel that you already have. The beneficial bacteria that are living on the handful of gravel will quickly multiply to cover the surfaces of the rest of the gravel in your cloudy aquarium. The beneficial bacterial will digest the waste in your water, and the water will quickly clear.

Answer 4

Had the same problem with a 10 gal guppy fry holding tank. It had a 100 bio-wheel and I changed it with an old tetra 10 junior or what ever it is and added extra carbon to filter and in a day clear as a you know what!! Good Luck!! ><>:)

Answer 5

What does the cloudiness look like? Is it large chunks floating in the water or is it like a cloud? What color is it?

If it is green, it is an algae bloom. A blackout for about a week and lots of water changes over that period of time should take care of the problem.

If it is white then it is probably a bacterial bloom, but with the information you have given then it is unlikely.

Answer 6

1feed your fish less
2the equipment u use 4 d water change may be dirty.
3you may have too much fish
4have you got a bacteria- friendly filter? its the types where you put carbon, zeolite etc in, not just a sponge.they may be a bit more expensive and the carbon needs replacing every once a while.

Answer 7

its fine its just the good bacteria settling in it should be fine in 2-3 days



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Answer 8

i could have a chlorine deficentcy. (the kind that dont kill fish)