Cloudy Aquarium?

Question

What are all the factors that could cloud up an aquarium?
And what is the best thing to do about it?
I am pretty satisfied with crystal clear, but is there anything that might work better?

To Answer 1:
Most of my cloudiness occurs after I clean the tank.

Answer 1

The most likely cause (especially in a new aquarium) is cycling. This refers to a rapid reproduction of the bacteria that use the ammonia produced by your fish (as a source of energy). By using the ammonia, which is toxic to the fish, it's converted to nitrite (also toxic), then to nitrate (non-toxic in moderate amounts). As the bacteria population grows, it's able to convert more and more of the ammonia. Once there are enough bacteria that all the ammonia is able to be completely converted (takes 3-6 weeks in most cases), the bacterial reproduction rate slows down and the cloudiness will go away on it's own. Overstocking the tank (too many or too large of fish for the tank size) and overfeeding (only give the fish what they can eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day and remove any food not eaten in that time) will only make the problem worse. If you try to "overclean" the tank to get rid of cloudiness, you'll only prolong the process (and cloudiness).

If you've used antibiotic medications in an established tank (running for more than 2 months), the antibiotic will kill the "good" bacteria associated with cycling, so the tank will have to go through that process again.

Some other potential causes are not rinsing the gravel before you add it to the tank (particularly true of carbonate substrates which should only be used for marine and cichlid tanks).

All of the above refer to a "white" cloudiness. If the color is other than white, there are a few additional causes:

Yellow-brown: buildup of organic materials (dead plant leaves, not cleaning fish wastes and/or excess food from the gravel), tannic acids leaching from peat or driftwood.

Green: free-floating algae


See the links below for more info on cloudiness and cycling:
http://www.fishlore.com/CloudyWater.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Answer 2

There are many things that can cloud the water in your tank, but the 3 main issues for cloud water are: Bacterial cloudiness, algae bloom and chemical cloudiness or discoloration.

A bacterial bloom will cause a milky or white colored cloudiness to the water. This is caused when bacteria (usually beneficial bacteria that you want in your tank) are growing in the water instead of on the surfaces. This can be from a recent increase in the bioload (more fish for example) or recent damage tot he bacteria in the tank (antibiotic treatments or a filter cleaning). This type of bloom is an indication that something is wrong, but will usually correct the problem and clear on it's own within a few days to a week. While there may be many root causes, it's all in the end a result of increased ammonia in the tank.

Algae blooms cause a green color to the water and can be so thick you can't see more than 1/2" into the tank. This is caused by excess nutrients in the water (nitrate and phosphates usually) and an excess of light. Natural light is most likely to cause such a bloom, but longer durations of artifical light will also cause such a bloom. The best correction for this is reduce the duration of llighting to 8-10 hours a day, block any natural light from getting in the tank and large water changes to remove the nutrients from the water. Chemicals to kill the algae are a bad idea as they will only cause a worse bloom in the end.

Chemical discoloration in the water also has many potential sources. Peat Moss, bogwood, even iron in the tap water can cause discoloration. In most cases, the best cure for this is water changes or the use of carbon in the filter.

Hope that helps

MM

Answer 3

Cloudy water is caused by a number of things. The most likely reason is that the aquarium is not clean enough. The gravel bed traps algae, leftover food and fish waste, and if you don't have a proper bacterial cycle going that'll end up clouding the water and making the water toxic. Put Stress Zyme from API in once a week and rinse the filter once a week to keep the water clean and safe, and as an extra measure you could put in water clarifier once a month.

Answer 4

Clean it! Cloudiness occurs due to fish waste or leftover food that has rotted at the bottom. Do a water change and get your fish some fresh water instead of trying to use some chemical to fix it. Make sure you also clean the filter.

Answer 5

The fish waste leaves amonia and there should be bacteria in the filter of your tank that like eats it, but this bacteria takes 1-2 weeks to grow and there can't be fish in there or they will die.

Also when you clean it only take out half the water to leave some of that bacteria in there

Answer 6

All good post above me! so listen to them, there are also the Tank Cycles, and or New tank syndrom but there kind of hard to explain in a few sentences! IF you would like to know more about the Tank cycles and New tank syndrom you can use the contact me link on my Q&A Page

Best Of Luck,
Adam D.

Answer 7

Well, uneaten food can cloud up your water, and to keep it clean, do a 30% water change every month, change the filter every month as well. Purchase a gravel vaccumen, to clean the gravel, when you do a water change.
Good Luck

2N!$H