Cloudy Aquarium Water
Cloudy Aquarium Water
One of the most common challenges of keeping an aquarium is cloudy water. Whether the cloudiness is green, white, or gray, a fish habitat that is short of crystal clear is not just an eyesore but also a serious health risk for its inhabitants. Why does the water turn cloudy and what can you do about it?
Grayish or dirty white water is often encountered when setting up a new tank. In most cases, a sand or gravel substrate that has not been diligently rinsed before setup will generate sufficient debris to fog the water. The only solution would be to re-rinse the substrate until all the debris is removed. An efficient mechanical filter will also help take care of minute floating particles.
Green water, which is oftentimes also thick and hazy, is caused by an “algae bloom” or the rapid growth of microscopic green algae. High and prolonged levels of bright light are the main causes of green algae growth and proliferation. If a tank gets direct sunlight or if the overhead lighting is left on for more than 10-12 hours a day, algae overgrowth becomes imminent. The simple solution is to locate the tank away from direct sunlight and attach a timer to the overhead lights so that the ideal light exposure cycles can be maintained.
Milky white water that sometimes gives off a rotten smell is caused by decay. Uneaten leftover food deteriorates and fouls up the water. An overstocked aquarium will render filtration systems and nitrifying bacteria inadequate to handle the bio-load. The result is pollution from rotting food and excess waste, making the water murky. In severe pollution situations, drastic water changes may be necessary.
Cloudy aquarium water caused by decaying food can be prevented by feeding only as much as the fish community can consume in three to five minutes. Leftover food should be scooped out.
Murky water caused by excess waste products can be prevented by maintaining a balanced tank with a population of fishes suitable for the size of the tank and the capacity of the filtration systems. This ensures that the filters and the colonies of beneficial bacteria can keep up with the bio-load of the community.
In effect, cloudy water can be minimized if adequate colonies of beneficial bacteria are present to break down the harmful ammonia and nitrites (from decaying food and excess waste matter) into less harmful nitrates. Experts have suggested adding gravel from established aquariums to supplement the insufficient bacterial colonies in a cloudy tank. One simple solution is to add an EcoBio-Block product to the tank.
The EcoBio-Block Family Products are mineral-rich porous volcanic stones from Japan embedded with prolific bacteria (“bacillus subtilis natto”) that can actively multiply every half hour. The bacteria establish colonies quickly, degrading organic matter and nitrifying waste products, and keeping the aquarium clear, odor-free and healthy for years.
Cloudy aquarium water, which causes stress to the fish community, should never have to happen. Feed just the right amount of food, keep a population of fish suitable to the tank size and filtration system, and add a bacteria enhancing product like EcoBio-Block, and you are assured of crystal clear water and healthy fishes all the time.
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April 3, 2009 at 10:10 AM
March 11, 2010 at 10:05 PMjon hao
Can real coral cause the water to be cloudy/milky in my fresh water set up?
#150
March 11, 2010 at 10:51 PMAquarium Care
You should never place real coral in freshwater aquariums.
Coral is a marine organism. Because it is alive, it would die in fresh water. This would create too much organic waste matter and would make the water cloudy.
#151 | Author
May 16, 2010 at 8:39 PMBetty Minton
I have goldfish,I put easybalance in weekly as directions and my water is still cloudy. What do I need to do? I have Ick away blue,but my bottle got wet and I cannot read the directions,will this help clear the tank? Or what will help clear my tank?
#152
May 16, 2010 at 9:45 PMAquarium Care
Dear Ms. Minton,
Ick Away is for treating the “Ick” disease. It will not clear your water. Water generally gets cloudy because you have too much organic waste. It’s also not good for your fish. EcoBio-Block was formulated specifically to breakdown the toxins in your tank which cause cloudy water and odors and which are bad for your fish, into safer by-products which clear up your water. EcoBio-Block products are easy to use, attractive and last for about 2 years. You simply rinse it off with chlorine-free water; soak overnight and place it in your tank. Beneficial bacteria living in the block start to multiply and disperse into the tank. It is the beneficial bacteria that changes ammonia, into nitrites and then into nitrates. EcoBio-Block also appears to encourage the microbes which break down the nitrates into harmless nitrogen gas which then dissipates into the air, leaving you with clear water. Because the bacteria do the work of clarifying the water and because the block is made of lava which slowly leaches necessary trace minerals back into your water, the need for water changes is drastically reduced.
Let us know if you have any other questions.
Administrator
#153 | @152 | Author
May 19, 2010 at 1:20 PMKelsey W
I have a small 2.5 gal freshwater aquarium. My water was allowed to circulate for 3 days before I got my fish (3 tiny neons- less 2 are just over a half inch in length, and 2, inch long white tip razboras). The lady at the aquarium assured me that I was not overcrowding my aquarium, but I now doubt that. My aquarium has been cloudy (yellowish) since about 4 hours after adding my fish. I thought maybe adding a bubbler would help, it hasn’t. I have rinsed all substrate and plants prior to adding, and don’t believe I’m overfeeding. I DO think I may have originally added too much water conditioner, but I’m not sure if that would have been the problem. Adding clean water hasn’t helped. Is there a store in Colorado Springs that would sell your EcoBio-block products? I’ve had a 10 gallon for years and never, ever, had cloudy water. This is both confusing to me, and quite disheartening as I despise watching my fish suffer in inadequate conditions.
#156
May 19, 2010 at 8:33 PMAquarium Care
Dear Kelsey,
Cloudy water is due to too much organic waste. You may be overfeeding your fish, but I think you also may have too many fish for such a small aquarium. Also, because it’s a new tank, you are probably experiencing “new tank syndrome” which occurs when the natural ecological balance of the tank hasn’t stabilized yet. The water conditioner wouldn’t affect this conditon. EcoBio-Block would definitely help your situation.
EcoBio-Block is presently only available online. We would recommend that you get the EcoBio-Stone S. Continue to change about 30% of your water every few days until the bacteria from the block build up sufficiently to handle the waste in the water and monitor your levels of ammonia and nitrites. Usually EcoBio-Block takes 2 to 6 weeks to start to work, but since you have such a small tank, it will probably work much faster. We send the product by priority mail, so you would get it in a couple of days. Be sure to use non-chlorinated water and rinse the block and soak it overnight when you receive it. If you should need to treat your fish for any illness, simply remove the block until the fish are well.
#157 | @156 | Author
July 29, 2010 at 10:44 AMPatricia
I had my oldest Red parrot fish lose its color and within 4 days, died. Now all of a sudden my water is cloudy, smells, my Parrots, Black Convict, and Firemouth fish, colors are fading too. Tank is 120 gallons with 2 Pink Kissing Gouramis-5-6″, 2 Silver Tip Sharkis-5″, 2 Silver Dollar-4″, 1 Electric Yellow-3″, 2 other cichlids-3″, 1 loach-small, 1 black spotted Catfish-6″, 1 Pocathamus-13″, 2 Red Parrot-3-4″, 1 Black Convict-3″, 2 Firemouth cichlids-2″. This is an established tank of 3-4 years. Most of the fish are 2-3 years old. I run two of the largest charcoal filter Emperor makes (400 I think) which I rinse weekly and replace every couple months. I add salt crystals monthly when the water level decreases and I add fresh water (both routines since start-up). I fear my fish, those that are fading fast in color, will die very soon. This has never happened before. Your thoughts please.
#162
July 29, 2010 at 2:32 PMAquarium Care
We assume this is what happening in your tank.
When the water evaporates, the salt does not. Therefore, slowly but surely you have been making the tank that their freshwater fish are in into a salt water tank. You’ve been doing this for 3 – 4 years, so that means that you have added LOTS of salt during that time period. The fish can get used to it up to a point, and then they simply cannot deal with it – they lose their color and die.
I’m pretty sure this is what is going on. You should take a water sample to the local fish store and ask them to test the salinity – and have them do a series of 30% water changes every other day using fresh water only and not adding any salt. And add EcoBio-Block products for healthy tank.
#163