Cloudy Fish Tank?

Question

I recently moved, so the fish tank became very cloudy, now it is a dark green cloud, seems like alge. Been changing 20% of the water twice a week, not sure if it is working. Is there a faster way to fix this without killing the fish and starting over?

Answer 1

You have an algal bloom caused by, either too much light, food, oxygen or nitrate in your tap water.
Test the tap water first for nitrate, stop feeding the fish next, reduce the light next, turn off the air pump if your using one or reduce the surface movement if your using a filter.
One of these should show some results, as you've been changing the water twice a week i would suspect its the tap water that has high concentrations of nitrate causing your problem. You could use charcoal in your filter which should take some of it out whether that would be sufficient I'm not sure failing that you would need to filter your new water or get a different supply, R.O. (reverse osmosis) or Nitragon which is a tube your trickle your new water through.Some ppl have suggested using mineral water however you've no telling what minerals are in there de-ionised water will be another suggestion by some again this is dangerous as theres no natural buffers in it to stop a pH swing.
Failing all this you could use a propriatary chemical that will destroy the bloom but and i repeat this is a last resort, 9 times out 10 it tells you its not harmful to fish or plants, that has not been my experience. If as suspected its the water supply check with your LFS to see how they cope with it in there tanks theres a distinct possibility that they use R.O. water and you'll be able to purchase it from them.


AJ

Answer 2

You may be over feeding. Left over food causes harmful bacteria that consumes oxygen. Oder also is caused by bacteria. (not to be confused with beneficial bacteria) therefore skip that chemical. Increase your filter size. Feeder fish nor any fish are necessary to start algae. Light is (the more light the more & faster algae growth). You also may have introduced to many fish to quickly IF they are gold fish feeders as they tend to be "dirty" by nature. Also general rule 1" of fish per gal. of water. I take you mean DE-CHLORINATOR not chlorine chemicals as chlorine kills fish. If the water were left as long as you stated chlorine remover would not be necessary. Chlorine would dissipate within 48 hours at normal room temperature. In new tanks because no beneficial bacterial have yet developed a sudden intro of that many fish could easily start clouding with little filtration. The aeration is help full keep it going. Given about 5days with less food the tank should clear up. You could use a chemical like "CLEAR" that causes "dirt" molecules to bond and be filtered out more easily or sink to the bottom, but it should clear without it. Cut back to 1 or 2 pinches a day and make sure they consume it in less than 5 minutes. Put your money into a better filter and buy chemicals only when nessary. Don't clean the tank & filter at the same time. If you do your getting rid of all the beneficial bacteria at once and you will have to start the process over once more. Clean one or the other wait 5-7days and then clean the other. You won't need to buy starter em-zines. Do use declorinator when doing water changes or addind fish before 48 hrs. unless you have well water.

Answer 3

I really think your on track with changing the water, but I really think you should change at least 1/3 of the water. Every time you change the water make sure you also change the filter too. In addition to that make sure that you keep the temperature of the water your adding is the same or as close as possible. Add drops to eliminate the chlorine. If it doesn't clear up in a few days you should remove the gravel or rocks and the ornaments. They should be boiled or cleansed in hot water drained and dried before re-entering them into your aquarium. You should also clean the glass on the inside, I used to use triple aught steel wool. That should really take care of the clouding. Also make sure that the water flow in the tank is adequately. Good Luck. It's a great hobby. I had aquariums for over 50 years.

Answer 4

the same thing happened to mine when I moved.. I found out that it was the city water.. what I did was empty 50% of it and added Poland Springs Spring Water. A week later, I did the same thing again. Then a week later, I did it again. Now my tank is crystal clear. I had enough bacteria in the filter that I didnt need to start all over.

Answer 5

Change the filter and/or charcoal. This could be the issue. You might want to add a few algae eaters too - those REALLY do the trick! Good luck!

Answer 6

put cotton balls in your filter be sure to take out the charcoal that is in it ,,i personally garantee this will work,it will take from:2-4 weeks to get it all out,,,fish will be fine,make sure your not over feeding your fish ,thisa also contributes to the cloudiness

Answer 7

Once a week take half the water out and then put back clean water along with a pump.

Answer 8

is the tank in front of a window? sounds like way too much sunlight

Answer 9

Theres a checmical called "green away"

Answer 10

Less light.