How to Deal With Cloudy Aquarium Water?

The issues of cloudy aquarium water are because of different reasons. Too many people complain about the cloudy water in their aquarium and ask for the solution.

First of all, you should know that fish lives in the aquarium water and also leaves their excretion there, it can also cause the water to become cloudy and messy.

But it is not the main reason, the actual reasons might be different. Whypetfish team will not only explain to you about the solution to deal with cloudy aquarium water but also the actual reasons behind it.

You are going to learn a complete guide about dealing with different kinds of cloudy water.

Contents

1 How to Deal With Cloudy Aquarium Water?

How to Deal With Cloudy Aquarium Water?

Too many of my reader has asked me this question. They are in worry that their aquarium doesn’t look clean even they have changed the new water.

So, if your aquarium water also looks messy all the time then go-ahead for our detailed guide.

“In order to deal with cloudy aquarium water, first of all, you will have to find the route cause of it in your aquarium, then ultimately you will easily deal with it. The solutions are really simple but first, you should know the actual cause of the water-related issues”

Why is my New Fish Aquarium Water Cloudy?

Now, its time to find out the reason that what issue is causing your aquarium water to be cloudy. You might have just set a new aquarium and after some time, its water has turned cloudy.

Actually, when you have set a new aquarium, it is in a biologically blank state. It means that there is no life form present there at all.

Too many microorganisms are trying to establish their lives in that new aquarium but there are no suitable things for their survival.

But as soon as you put some nutrients in the aquarium and minerals for your fish, the other little life forms immediately develop and grow further.

Their multiplication is really unchecked and they create cloudiness in water. This condition is really more when you put too many fish in the aquarium and then ultimately feed them so much.

The bacteria found suitable conditions for their living and rely on that leftover food. Hence, causes water to become more cloudy.

This condition is also called as the bacterial bloom. Although, the nitrifying bacteria survive in the aquarium when you put fish in it, yet they are not harmful ones.

Another group of bacteria called the “scavengers” bacteria are the heterotrophic ones that feed the organic waste in your fish tank. These bacteria can multiply rapidly in every 20 minutes.

Nitrifying bacteria continue breaking the ammonia into nitrates and the other bacteria continue to feed on organic waste and multiply. Their excessive growth is responsible for the cloudy water in the aquarium.

What are the Causes Behind Cloudy Aquarium Water?

For every situation, there is a reason behind it, the same for the cloudy water appearance. There can be too many reasons behind it like;

Unwashed substrate

Sometimes it happens that all of the aquarium is really clean and pure but the substrate you add to it, is not washed properly.

The unwashed substrate makes the aquarium water cloudy. Maybe it is contaminated with fish waste or fish food or anything else in your case.

Ultimately when you put unwashed substrate in water, the contamination transfer into the water and make it dirty.

Sometimes the gravel remains dirty and leaves its dirt in clean water and you are just wondering that from where this cloudy formation has occurred.

Sometimes the gravel and sand pieces are so finely ground that they are difficult to wash, you can filter them for their proper cleaning. Because the dust pieces are so small that they can’t be cleaned as such.

That’s why you must care when adding the substrate in your fish aquarium in order to avoid the ugly haze and keep the water clear.

You don’t need to get hectic because the trapped dust and waste can be removed by the gravel vacuum.

Bacterial bloom

If you see an extremely thick white fog or cloudy material in your tank than it is a serious condition to look for.

You should take immediate action in this case. But if you have a cycling tank then you don’t need to get worried at all.

Because cycling will itself remove the clouding bacteria by taking some time. But if the tank is not cycling, you should take action yourself.

It seems like your aquarium is filled with milk. These are actually millions of tiny bacteria that keep growing inside the aquarium.

A single bacteria is invisible but when they multiply and grew more, then the unusual color appears.

If bacterial bloom increases more then it is a warning sign. You must get rid of these bacteria as soon as possible.

This bacteria also commonly appears when the aquarium plants are decaying, fish food is rotting and if too much fish waste accumulates in the tank.

In this case, maintaining proper cleanliness and water change will not allow them to grow in your aquarium anyway. You can use this product for better results.

Algae Attack

Greenish color water appears in an aquarium if there is algae growth in it. Green cloudy water makes the beginners panic and even the fish inside is not visible at all. People are worried about their fish survival.

It is a particular type of algae which is named as phytoplankton. It is really very small that you can’t see it with the naked eye until it grows so much that it starts appearing a green color material inside the aquarium. You don’t need to get worried because it can not harm your fish.

Ultimately these green colored small algae cause so much dark green colored water. You can barely see your fish inside.

The primary cause of this algae is the excessive feed that is leftover in your aquarium. The nutrients like phosphates and nitrates also promote algae growth.

The phosphate comes through the decaying fish food and nitrate itself from fish. Excessive lights in an aquarium can also be one of its reason. A proper filter media can help you to get rid of this issue.

It will quickly clear all of the green cloudy tanks for your fish. But too many people also don’t care about the filter cleanliness.

As sometimes filters and really dirty and green cloudy water does not disappear and still, people complain.

So, in order to deal with this issue, keep the filter clean and do proper water changes as well.

Released tannins

Sometimes we have kept some seeds and driftwood in our fish tank that releases tannins when they are extremely old.

The dye is of a yellow-brown color and makes the water brownish-yellow cloudy water. It seems to be like a lemon tea but it also looks messy at the same time.

Your aquarium should be clean completely. The seed pods, leaves and driftwood all release a brown dye when you have kept them for a very long time.

This brown dye is actually the tannin. These tannins slowly leach in all of the aquarium and make it messy.

It also depends upon the type of driftwood. Sometimes when you have bought driftwood from your local shop from where the quality is not ensured, it creates issues.

They have colored the old driftwood to make it look like a new one. While some driftwood species barely release any color. While some release color naturally after soaked in water for a very long period of time.

For getting rid of the issue, use a high-quality fish aquarium driftwood and change it when it has passed a very long time soaked inside.

Another best solution is the Carbon filter which has the ability to remove any of the colors from the tank. It can make the water clean and clear like a crystal.

Solutions for Cloudy Water in an Aquarium?

Here is some solution to avoid cloudy water in your fish aquarium.

Use Activated Carbon Media on Filter

The best thing to deal with the issue is using a filter with carbon media on it. It can clean up all of the aquarium from all colors of cloudy aquarium waters as you have read above.

Besides cleaning the aquarium water, it will also clean the extra nutrients ( leftovers) that feed the bacterial blooms.

Do Not Overfeed the Fish

The second solution is that do not feed your fish so much and kill the route cause of this issue. When there will be no extra food, there will be no survival of microorganisms.

The food will not decay and doesn’t create suitable environments for the bacteria to grow, survive, and multiply.

Beginners usually put in a lot of food because they might think their fish will eat food to their full and will not starve to death. As soon as you become an expert fish owner, you are aware that how much your fish wants to eat.

When there will be no extra fish food lying in your aquarium, the bacteria will not grow for sure. So, don’t get worried, no fish can get to the starvation period if they are not fed for a day and it also depends on the different types of fish.

Some of the fish also don’t eat every day, so take great care of your pet fish but don’t get panic.

Don’t Put Too Many Fish in Aquarium

When there are too many fish in an aquarium, waste production is definitely more. You have to put more food for all so that everyone eats fully and no one fights.

Ultimately the same leftover remains in the water and the whole phenomenon of clouding water starts. So, keep the pet fish but not too much pet fish. Keep all of your pet fish happy and healthy and maintain a good environment for them.

Final words

When I was a new owner of my pet fish, I faced this issue after one month of fish aquarium establishment. I searched all of the causes myself and cope with them using filter media and some other methods.

I have cleaned all of my tanks manually and now there is equipment available that helps you clean your aquarium and deal with cloudy water issues.

Until now, I find newcomers getting worried about this issue and I remember my time always. After starting this website, still, I received too many question requests and finally, I decided to write on this topic.

Now I am glad that I have covered all the details for my dear readers. You should read this guide completely.

I have explained to you in complete detail what could be the possible causes of cloudy water in an aquarium and how can you cope with such issues.

Hopefully, you have gained a lot from this guide and now it’s time to implement the solutions if you are facing this situation in your aquarium right now.