I just did a 40% water change and the water is still cloudy after a couple days. what is wrong?

Answer 1

Since you did such a large water change it could be new tank syndrome and just needs a while longer to filter. If that is the problem is it should clear on it's own within a week to ten days.

Answer 2

You didn't say how long your tank has been running, or how many fish (if any) you are currently housing in the tank.
Always run a tank filtration system for approx 6 weeks BEFORE adding any fish. This allows the bacterial system to set up fully.
Add fish in small numbers (2 or 3) at a time.
Don't change more than 20% water every other week.The cloudiness is your tank adjusting to the new water. It will become clear once the bacterial system sets itself up again. This could take 1-2 weeks. Don't add anything during this adjustment.
Once the bacterial system is FIRMLY established, you shouldn't see major clouding when doing water changes. Make sure you are using a water treatment and/or adjust the PH of your tank according to the type of fish you are keeping.

Answer 3

The water will not change its apearance after one water change. I have 6 fish tanks ranging from 10 gallons to 55 gallons and have had the same problem that you are having at one time or another. Basically you have two options. You can go to your local pet store and get a bottle of "Water Clarifier" which basically just removes the iron or cloudiness from your tank when used properly. Your other option is to continue to do water changes every couple of days but only do about 25% at a time. Just because the tank is cloudy does not mean that it is dirty. It could mean that your water is going through a phase of it nitrogen cycle. It takes your water quite some time to go through a whole cycle.

Answer 4

You've done 40 pct probably a bit over the top. 2 things first off test your tap water see how much nitrate is in there, secondly did you clean you filter? Bacterial blooms are caused by either one of those, it will clear eventually by itself, what has happened more than likely is that you've got water from the tap with too much nitrate in it for the tank so the bacteria in the tank have increased to convert the nitrate, or you've killed your filter by cleaning the media in running water instead of tank water, always clean the filter in tank water or run 2 filters one of which you clean one water change and then the other the next water change. Either way it'll clear eventually.

Answer 5

It's probably a bacteria bloom.Keep up the water changes,but only do 25% at a time every two or three days. The bloom will go away when the nutrients that are feeding the particular type of bacteria you are dealing with are consumed. It could take a while, meantime, be sure you are not over-feeding. Just one small feeding per day. It will not harm your fish,to reduce the feeding level.

Answer 6

some times the stuff you put in to make the water safe for the fish makes the water cloudy it should go away in a few days

Answer 7

Are you using water that came directly from the tap or water you allowed to sit for a few days before using? I always allow my water to sit for three days prior to adding it to the tank - after adding my chemicals to remove chlorine and other contaminants from the city supply.

The other problem may be the existing water is so dirty that you're not getting it clean. Check with your local pet store, they know the type of water in your area.

Answer 8

I had the same problem. Is it near the sun? I had to go and buy this stuff that is for cloudy water. It took it about two hrs to start working. But it fixed the problem.