One question that often baffles, even experienced, aquarists is what causes a cloudy fish tank? The answer is not entirely straight forward as, depending on when your fish tank turns cloudy and what colour it turns, there may be different reasons for it happening.
Let's start with a new tank and move forward through the tanks life cycle.
When a tank is first set up the water may well seem cloudy straight away. This can simply be caused by minute air bubbles being suspended in the water and will disappear after a few hours. Leave the tank overnight and it should clear.
A new tank has yet to complete the nitrogen cycle so is unable to deal with the waste produced by your fish. As the nitrogen cycle gets under way you may find the water turning milky. This is usually a sign that the bacterial stage of the nitrogen cycle is underway. Bacteria have started to multiply so quickly that they can cloud the water giving it the milky appearance. Although unsightly this will pass as the nitrogen cycle completes and settles down. Partial water changes of 10-15% will help to reduce this. Be careful not to over-feed any fish that you have as this can add to the problem.
If the tank is so new that you have not yet added fish or started to cycle the tank, cloudiness may be due to an ornament reacting with the water. Are all your ornaments aquarium friendly and were they all rinsed thoroughly before setting up the tank. If one of your ornaments is dissolving, then it needs to be removed and a large water change also needs to be done.
If you have added bogwood to the tank, this may leech a yellowy brown stain into the water. This will settle down with time and water changes and is harmless. The wood is simply adding tannin to the water. Giving the wood a good scrub in clean water can help to prevent this. As the wood ages and starts to grow its own covering the tannin problems will stop. Water changes will gradually get rid of this dis-colouration.
There are a few things that you can do to help keep all forms of cloudiness at bay.
Avoid over-feeding your fish. Feed enough so that the fish can consume everything in about two minutes. More than this and you will end up with excess waste in the water which can cause cloudy water. Keep the gravel clean. Use water changes to vacuum up any food or waste debris on a regular basis. Use bottom feeding fish, shrimps and snails to clean up leftover food. Do not overpopulate your tank. Think about the inch to a gallon rule but be sensible about it. An inch of Neon Tetra is a lot less than an inch of Guppy. Also remember the snail population. This can quickly expand and they produce waste in exactly the same way as fish. An occasional cull may be needed.
Rather than doing large water changes stick to frequent smaller water changes. Change half of your water in one go and you can upset the natural balance of the tank leading to a bacterial bloom as the cycle re-established itself. Most causes of cloudy water can be solved with time and a good maintenance routine. Regular water changes will solve most water quality problems
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