Cloudy Aquarium Water

Cloudy aquarium water is suffered by most aquarium keepers at one time or another. There is no single answer to what causes it and the solution usually depends on the color of the water and the cause.

When you are first setting up your aquarium you can sometimes get white or grey cloudy water. This can be down to the gravel not be washed well enough to start off with simply causing the water to wash out residue from the gravel. Simply start again, drain the tank, rewash the gravel and refill the tank. One tip is to put a saucer on top of the gravel as you pour in the water.

Sometimes the water can react with your gravel causing chemicals to leach out of the substrate clouding the water. If you test some of your substrate before filling the tank you can usually predict this. Test your water pH, add some substrate and leave for a couple of days before testing again. If the pH has risen showing an increase in alkalinity you may well need to change the substrate or use water conditioners.

Once a new tank is set up you can often get a bacterial bloom a few weeks later as the nitrogen cycle starts. This will settle down in time as the balance within the tank is found but can be controlled through partial water changes in the early days. Excess food or too much fish waste can add ammonia to the water as it decays causing a build up of friendly bacteria. Vacuuming the gravel when doing regular water changes will help to control this until the biological cycle kicks in.

The other type of cloudy water that all aquarium keepers hate is green water. This can be caused by a variety of things and depending on the cause the solution will be different. It is caused by algae growth and its presence shows that the balance is out in the aquarium. Prevention is the best cure here but if you have got green water you need to test to find out the cause and then deal with it.

Too much light can cause problems in the freshwater aquarium. If your tank is in direct sunlight that will favor algae growth. Don’t leave the lights on for two long. Twelve hours a day of between two and four watts per gallon is plenty for the plants. Give more light and the algae will start to outgrow the plants.

Too many nutrients like phosphates and nitrate swill cause an algae bloom. In a planted aquarium you want the plants to take up the nutrients and deprive the algae so look after the plants, change some to a fast growing variety that will use up more of the nitrates. In the short term, water changes will reduce nutrient levels and help to control the algae.

Phosphates and Nitrates are produced as a result of the nitrogen cycle. Decaying matter in the tank is converted to phosphates and then nitrates by friendly bacteria. Keep the levels down by having a good routine of cleaning, water changes and good housekeeping. Remove any dead plant matter before it decays, don’t overstock the fish and only feed then what they can comfortably eat in a couple of minutes. Anything not eaten will add to the load and potentially cause green water.

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