AQUARIUM PROBLEM – CLOUDY WATER

cloudy water of aquarium fish

Cloudy water is one of the most common problems aquarists have to face. Whether we’re talking about new aquarium set up, aquarium tanks cycles which have been running for a few week or established mature tanks at one time or another, I have some friends asking me why it can be happened.

If you have the same cloudy water problem then you have to read this article as it contain some basic information which will help you how to combat the problem and how to avoid future occurrences of the similar problems.

Aquarium New Setup :

Clear Water Aquarium Fish

When we arrived home with our new aquarium tank, sand or gravel and some beautiful jewels ornaments. Everything is put in the tank but the water has been clouded up. One cause of cloudiness is the cycle process of the water itself since the water tank will be unbalanced, but when the cycling process is over, the water will be clear by itself.

A must to do when setting up the aquarium tank is to rinse the sand and gravel being added thoroughly since if this is not done, it will create clouds when water is added. Add the substrate in a bucket, clean up with clean water, gives a swirl to water and empty the muddy water. Repeat the process until the water in a bucket is clean, and then the substrate can be added.

The ornaments must be safe for aquarium fish otherwise toxins etc. may come into the aquarium water. Always rinse them before adding them to remove any coatings or foreign debris on them. Bogwood, log tannins will released tannin into the water unless it is pre-soaked in couple of days, changing the water as it moves. Tannins give the water a yellowish color. Since these tannins are acidic in nature, they also will affect the pH, therefore, giving an unnatural balance water.

The water in the cycling process will undergoes many changes at some stages, which cause the cloudiness, once the cycle is complete then the water can be clean itself, in some cases, this can be happened overnight.

Cycling Tanks Process:

Cycling to Clear Cloudy Water

Our tank is now cycling, in recent weeks, we added the fish, plant etc., but for no reason, the water has gone cloudy. This may be due to decaying plant material, overcrowding the tank, feeding on fish. The reason for the cloudiness is likely a bacterial bloom caused by these factors.

Another cause of cloudy water could be nitrates, phosphates added to the water tank. Test your water and if it is the case, then you may need a water purifier like an HMA filter or RO filter to keep your water aquarium clean.

If the plants leaves change to be leave rotting, remove or cut them before it can be fouled the water. The general rule for keeping fish is one inch per gallon of water. If over this then your filtration system can not cope the area, so it will not remove bacteria water efficiently.

The fish is only have a small stomach, it is best to feed small amounts 2-3 times per day, instead of one large meal. Any uneaten food must be removed from the aquarium if possible, try cleaning the substrate surface on a regular basis with a gravel cleaner, etc., and then take up the ornaments for a clean if needed.

Regular water changes, remember that small regular changes are more effective to keep the water stable, rather than a large ones done at once (I change 10% water every week). All this will help preventing the bacteria blooms in your aquarium. I mentioned the nitrates and phosphates can cause the aquarium water to be green, as well as the wrong location of aquarium where receive lights for too long period.

Green water on aquarium is caused by algae, it may be necessary to add phosphate / nitrate removal to your aquarium to combat algae, removing algae food source, or even restricting feed the fish to not every day. Check the food you give to the fish since some have a certain phosphates in them, then change the brand of food you are using if needed.

Is your aquarium place in a direct sunlight for part of the day, or how long you leave lights on? The sunlight will promote algae growth as well as lighting. Lights should not be on for more than 12 hours and if you use less, then try to reduce the time more to make the water clear.

Keep clean the filtration system, do not let it get clogged. If the particles are the cause of discoloration, try to add the filter wool to catch them, but it must be replaced periodically.

Nitrates in water will increase over the period of time, the only way to reduce is through regular water changes.

There are a number of additives that are available to add into your water system clarity, they are known as flocculants which is working by bonding of the suspension debris together, which in turn enables the filtering to remove them out of the system.

But remember, it’s only a short term solution to the problem, in fact, overuse of these can cause more problems by changing the balance of your water. Cloudiness can also be caused by small air bubbles suspended in water, normally after the water changes, it should disappear in a couple of hours.

To summarize, keep your aquarium and the equipment clean, regular water changes, do not overfeed the fish, and not too many fishes in your aquarium.

Follow these rules and you will have established a thriving beautiful water clarity. Other forms of algae begin to cover the glass tank and decoration, while the tank is settling down, once the water balanced and everything calmed down, algae will disappear unless something is wrong with the establishment, and no more cloudy water.