Why does my fish tank keep clouding up? I have a 35 gallon tank and ive tried just about everything.?

Question

I've tried water changes. New rocks. New filter pumps. Now i'm only using an under gravel filter and it's still cloudy. all the balances are fine. I'm lost

Answer 1

Your changes of filters can be half the battle.
You need to allow your filter to establish and for your tank to fully cycle. Cloudy water is often aerobic nitrifying bacteria that is in the water column, where it should not be.
*I would lower your bio load, add another filter (best if you can get a cycled sponge filter or similar from a friend or LFS).

*Cut back on feeding.

*Do not wash or change your gravel further

*Changing water properly will not cause more problems as aerobic nitrifying bacteria secretes a glue like substance (proven in scientific experiments several years back!) that allows these nitrifying bacteria to adhere to filter media/gravel. So water changes will lower any nutrients in the water column that may be adding to your problem.

I will also note that UGF will tend to allow for more organic mulm build up that will further exasperate your problem.
I would read this article for more about the cycling your aquarium:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html

This article about Freshwater basics will help you with more info about cloudy water: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Basic_Aquarium_Principles.html

Finally do NOT add distilled water, this is the last thing you want to do and will complicate your problems as distilled water is lacking essential element necessary for proper osmotic function of the fish as well as Aquarium Redox. Please read this for more about this:
http://aquarium-answers.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-do-fish-drink.html

Please add any more details if needed.

Answer 2

You have one of two issues.

1) bacteria build up
In new tanks this bacteria boom is expected. If this is a new tank you will have to let it cycle, this is normal and good for your tank. If this is a tank which has been established for a few months now you probably aren't cleaning the tank right.

When you clean you should drag an aquarium siphon through the rocks, this will help to get bacteria and gunk loosened so that it can be sucked through. During this process you will pick up debris in the water--this is fine!
You should not remove more than 35% of your tank (unless you have a SERIOUS paracite hurting your fish). Changing more than this will set back the cycling of your tank, and cause it to cloud up again.
when you replaced the rocks you did your tank some serious damage! All kinds of bacteria good and bad live in your rocks, they are an important part of keeping a healthy tank. don't do it again --it isn't the cause of your problem. When you changed the substrate you might have caused the whole cycling process to occur again.

2) water borne algae
Algae can live free floating in you water. At first the water appears to be cloudy and then it begins to turn green after a few weeks. The only thing I reccommend that you do is regulate the ammount of light that your tank is getting. It should only be getting 8 hours of light so getting a timer may be the best idea. DO NOT purchace those anti-clouding and anti-algae chemicals, I have never gotten them to work and have obsreved poor effects on my fish. All of these things can be fixed without expensive chemicals.

If I were you I would not use the UGF. Hang on back ones work much better because you can see when they are clogged, you can easily clean them, and you don't have to worry about the entire tank getting cleansed.

Answer 3

It's a bacteria "bloom",changing stuff won't help. The water will clear when the bacteria run out of nutrients. Keep testing your water,do small weekly water changes,and wait for the day when the "cloudiness makers" starve themselves out. Also,make sure that you are not feeding the "bloomers" by over feeding your fish. Until the bloom has run its course feed only once a day,and make it a very small feeding.
Also,while I'm a great believer in U/G filters, I always have a "hang-on" or sponge filter running in those tanks to provide a "back-up" to the U/G. This allows me to be a little more aggressive in my gravel cleaning without worries about weakening the bacteria colony that I so carefully cultivate there.
Don't give up,and be patient,these blooms can last a long time(several weeks) and they look horrible,but they are basically harmless. Just keep the water quality good and don't over-feed. Good luck.

Answer 4

Cloudy water is normal for the first 2 weeks. It is harmless bacteria in the water that causes the cloudy look. It will go away by the 3rd or 4th week. If you keep changing the water, then you are starting over and you will keep getting the cloudy water at about 1 to 2 weeks into it.

Answer 5

I'm writing you from Italy, sorry if my english is full of mistakes. The cloudy water can be for a lot of things. Try the active carbon (we call like that in italian, i don't know if in english is the same) and it change the cloudy water in crystal water, trust of me! But don't use a lot because it change the water qualitis and that can be bad for fish and plant, do some test of water after used the carbon, ok? Bye.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

I know this is a long shot, but have you tried distilled water? Maybe it's your water. Also try a product called "clearwater" from your local pet store. Try getting a plecostamus {Algae eater}. Get a double flowing filter with "bio-filters" filtration. They should cost about 35 bucks at your local pet store. And try not to change the water too much, it'll only stress them out and kill them. Sometimes it takes a while for the water to calm down so it appears cloudy. Let it settle after the treatments. And keep your fish tank away from sunlight as it can only cause algae and more cloudiness.

Answer 8

its the enw gravel new gravel makes ur tank look cloudy and give it time if it doesnt clear up u can buy chemicals in ur petstore which gets rid of them best of lucks

Answer 9

your tank is trying to settle and establish .. and you keep changing things.. so it starts all over.. stop messing with it.. let it cycle.. sometimes a week or so.. sometime a month..

just let it be!