Clouded water

Question
Hi! I am having a problem with my water in the aquarium I just bought.....The water started clouding up the day after I set it up. I have tropical fish and it is a 3.5 gallon tank. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!I have used a number of things to clear it and it isn't working.

Answer
Hi Deana,

Don't worry!  Your tank is perfectly normal!

Brand new tanks (even if it's an old tank, as long as there is new water in it and especially with a new filter) will always, forever until the end of time, turn cloudy as soon as you set them up.  This is what's called an ammonia bloom.  The tiny particles of ammonia turn the water white and cloudy and you'll hardly be able to see through it.  But soon, when you introduce a couple starter fish (black skirt tetras, zebra danios, or red eye tetras are my favorite starters) that can tolerate the dangerously high ammonia levels, your nitrogen cycle will get started and the ammonia will turn into nitrates and nitrats into nitrites.  Your tank will clear up and be ready for the real fish you wanted to put in there about two weeks after it was first set up.

So, don't put any chemicals in your tank, don't do any water changes, just let the tank run like normal and it will cycle correctly all by itself.

I hope this helped, let me know if you have any more questions!  I'm sure your tank will be great once it's cycled and ready for your fish. :)

-Lindsay