how do i get the cloudiness out of my fish tank?

Question

i have a 75 gal fish tank with more than adaquate filtration but whatever i do i can`t get the water compleyly cloud free.anyone have any good ideas?

Answer 1

How long have you had this tank up and established Gary? I've had my newest tank going about four months now, my ammonia and nitrites are reading 0's across the board, well not currently is isn't, but thats because I am battling a really nasty parasite that made it's way in. My tank cycled out in about 8 weeks. Had been pretty clear like you want yours to be, but after one water change about a month ago, I don't know what happend but it got cloudy and stayed cloudy. Normally this is a bacterial bloom as the other answerers indicated, that is accurate, but mine never dissapated. I still read 0's in both the ammonia and nitrite, but the cloud never really disappeared. I had to dose that tank back earlier this week with a Copper Sulfate/Tetracycline treament to kill off some Costia that tore apart some of my Gourami, otherwise I'd probably say mine would still be cloudy instead of the mars red color it has now lol. There is a product that you could try and it's supposed to be good for algea control as well called Algone. I use this in my smaller treatment/community tanks and the water there is 0'd out in the ammonia and nitrites, and crystal clear like you say. It seems to work quite well, has no interference in your beneficial bacteria, and I have no algea problems to report. I've only kept/maintained 5 tanks so far in the last year, so I wouldn't say definitively there won't be any problems across the board without further testing on more tanks. I do say I'd feel confident this might help you though. This is provided you are still not in mid cycle of course. Your cloudiness if this is mid cycle is quite normal, if not mid cycle, I can say I have had the same thing happen, and as long as you are not reading a spike in your ammonia or nitrites, no algea growth, and your oxygen levels are still normal, let it ride itself out. How established is the tank and the population will be the two big keys to figure this out.

JV

Answer 2

First, I'm assuming this tank has been set up for a while and you're not doing more than 20% water changes. If you do more than that you could be forcing something called a "biological bloom" which will cause the water to get cloudy. The other possibility could be overfeeding. What is your water quality like? Have you tested to be sure the ammonia and other things are low? Most pet stores will test for you for free so do this before you do anything else. Once the water tests clean there are a few options. Frequent (every 1-2 week) water changes will help..but never more than 20% and try not to disturb your gravel too much. Making sure you don't feed more than your fish will consume in a minute and scooping out the left overs will help. Remember, the fish has a stomach the size of his eyeball. It's sometimes best to feed a very tiny amount a few times a day instead of a large amount as once as fish are grazers and eat throughout the day in the wild. Once those things have been done, if you still have cloudy water you can try getting a u/v sterilizer. This tends to help more with green cloudy water but will also help if it's just cloudy. If you email me I can send you some before and after pictures of my 55 gallon prior to and after placement of my u/v sterilizer. Nothing else every worked for my tank.
The last thing to keep in mind is to keep you hands out of the tank as much as possible. Hand soap and lotion can cloud a tank in no time. I just wanted to throw that in.
Hope this helps! Email me anytime!

Answer 3

If the cloudiness is white or grey, it's usually from unclean gravel. Although you may have lots of filtration, there is still some settling of food/feces/etc. into the gravel.

Best way to take care of this is vacuuming your gravel. It is recommended that monthly you perform a water change of about 20% of your tank. Make sure you have "new water" prepared and ready at room temperature. Vacuuming all of your gravel (your pet store can tell you how and sell you the tubing you need), and pour in the new water. Your tank will appear very, VERY cloudy but it will subside and you should have a clean, clear tank then.

Keep an eye on how much you're feeding as well. Overfeeding is a major cause of white/grey cloudy water.

If the cloudiness is green, clearly you have an algae issue. Your tank is getting too much light, whether direct sun or artificial. The tank will need to be moved, or the light needs to be kept off more often.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

So much of this answer depends on your tank and information you don't specify:

1) How long have you had the tank set up? If less than 2 months it's probably cycling (building a bacterial colony).

2) What type, number, and sizes of fish are you keeping? Some fish are greater waste producers than others, others like to root around in the gravel and stir things up looking for food. If you're overfeeding, this can also contribute to cloudiness.

3) Do you have a substrate (gravel/sand) and is it new? Was it rinsed before adding it to the tank? If you don't use a substrate, bacteria in the tank that are multiplying have nothing onto which they can attach other than your filter media.

4) Have you added new carbon or zeolite to your filter without rinsing it?

5) Is the cloudiness a color other than white? Green could be an algal bloom, brown/yellow can be decaying plants, too much organic wastes building up in the gravel, driftwood leaching tannins (looks like weak tea).

Answer 5

Depending on how old your tank is ... if it's fairly new it could be cycling still. If it established it might be a fungus or bactieria bloom.

As the new aquarium goes through the initial break in cycle, it is not unusual for the water to become cloudy, or at least a little hazy. It will take several weeks to several months to establish bacterial colonies that are able to clear wastes from the water. Over time that cloudiness will resolve itself.

Decaying plants or excess food that remains uneaten, can also cause the milky water seen in bacterial bloom. Regardless of the cause, don't panic over bacterial blooms. Keeping the aquarium very clean by removing debris such as decaying plants and uneaten food, vacuuming the gravel regularly, and performing partial water changes, will quickly resolve most cases of bacterial bloom. Cut back feeding to every second or third day, which will cut down on excess food decay. If there are particles of debris in the water that you are unable to remove via water changes and vacuuming, a flocculent may be used to clear them away. Flocculents cause particles of debris to clump together so they can easily be removed by the filter (be sure to clean your filter so it's working at peak efficiency). Flocculents are generally marketed as water clarifiers, and may be found at your fish shop.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

My trick to keeping an aquarium clean is get a bigger one for fish that can reach two feet in length. Depending on what kind of goldfish you have, they can grow to over two feet and live for 20+ years if well cared for. Even some of the goldfish that stay small need a minimum of 20 gallons to lead a happy life. Goldfish produce a lot of waste, and 1.5 gallons get's dirty very quickly. To put things in perspective, I use a 5 gallon bucked when doing water changes. My temporary bucket would be a better home than your fish "tank" Bettas are not cold water fish. They prefer a temp of 80-82. That temp is unhealthy for goldfish. Both goldfish and bettas need filters. My advice, find new homes for your fish.

Answer 7

Cystal clear water is not always good water. The filter should take care of the cloudyness a day or so after the water change. If your tank is cycling the cloudyness is coming from the bacteria trying to establish themselves. Try adding 100% polyester fiber fill to the filter. You can get it at wal-mart for around 3 dollars for a pillow sized amount. Or you can buy it at the petstore by the large handfull for 10 dollars. Its the same stuff. If you get it from wally world make sure its not the fire retardant kind, should say somewhere on the package. That will help polish the water for you. Good luck. BTW green water is good water. You don't want it crystal clear. The lake is green isn't it?
When in doubt change the water.

Answer 8

Frequent water changes. At least 25% every 2 weeks. Filters do not keep the water clear. Make sure you declorinate the water.

Answer 9

Try to change the water at least about 60%. Everyday, for three days,

Answer 10

I just had the same prob....i went to walmart and got this stuff called clear water.....removes odors and cloudiness........worked great......