How To Solve A Cloudy Fish Tank

A cloudy fish tank is a problem that plagues even the most seasoned aquarist and solving this problem is a very common task. There are a number of things to take note of when trying to solve a cloudy aquarium including as what caused it to be cloudy as well as what color is the water in the fish tank.

What we will do in this article is to consider a new fish tank first and proceed through the life cycle that it goes through.

When you first set up a brand new fish tank, you might almost immediately get cloudy water. When a tank is first set up the water may well seem cloudy immediately. This is generally because of tiny air bubbles that will normally vanish in a few hours.

A brand new aquarium has not had the time to go through a proper nitrogen cycle and thus is not capable yet of coping with the waste produced by the fish in the tank. At first you will notice the tank water turn a milky white which is an indication that the bacteria has be gun to multiply. These bacteria multiply very fast which will produce the milkiness of a cloudy aquarium. In this case, you will not need to do anything as it will fade away as the nitrogen cycle is stabilzed and it does not harm the fish. A partial water change involving about less than a quater of the tank water will help speed up the process. You will also need to ensure that you do not overfeed the fish or you will encourage more bacterial blooms that will turn the water cloudy again.
A cloudy fish tank that looks brownish in color is generally caused by contamination from the aquarium ornaments. Before putting anything into the aquarium you need to ensure that it is friendly to your fish and that it is washed properly. Don't ever use detergent to wash anything that you will put into the tank. Certain ornaments especially if they are made from clay may deteriorate if soaked too long in water.

Driftwood or bogwood does tend to turn the water brown. The culprit in this case is the tannin that it releases into the water when it is first soaked. It will eventually sink to the bottom of the tank and can be vacuumed up, or partial water changes can also help. You should always soak new wood for a couple of days separately before placing it into the aquarium.

These are some of the ways that you can solve a cloudy fish tank.

Firstly, do not over feed the fish. Your fish should be able to consume everything in under two minute s. Anything longer and the excess food will sink to the bottom and encourage bacterial growth which will eventually give you a cloudy fish tank.

Secondly, vacuum the gravel periodically. To make this task easier, you can have bottom feeders in your fish tank to consume excess food that sink to the bottom.

Thirdly, do not have too many fish in your tank. An old rule which you can follow is the inch to a gallon rule. An inch of a fish to a gallon of tank water. Also be wary of fish that breed too fast such as Guppy. Also, be prepared for fish that produce too much waste, goldfish being the biggest culprit here.

Lastly, never do big water changes. This upsets the nitrogen cycle of your fish tank. Always do partial water changes of not more than a quarter of the aquarium water.

In most cases, a cloudy aqurium can be solved and prevented easily with a good scheduled maintenance. Something as simple as water changes once a week can be ef fective to solve not only a cloudy fish tank but many other aquarium problems as well.