Learn a few easy and natural methods on how to stop cloudy water in fish tank, which is super effective.
Having a fish tank in your house is undoubtedly the best way to add some personality to your house. But if you own an aquarium you must’ve faced cloudy water in your fish tank by now. This is the most common issue, which is super annoying and destroys the appearance of the fish tank.
But it’s actually not that hard to treat cloudy water and make your aquarium clean again. However, you must use the right methods, otherwise, it might hurt the fish.
How to Stop Cloudy Water in Fish Tank
So, let’s go over a few safe and effective methods on how to stop cloudy water in fish tank that you can use.
Why the Tank Water Gets Cloudy
Before you move on to learning how to cure cloudy water in an aquarium, you should have a clear idea about why it happens in the first place. It can actually be caused by a lot of things, such as bacteria, phytoplankton, etc.
All these have different symptoms as well. Some will turn the water white, some will make it green. Also, these different types of issues need different remedies as well. Let’s have a look at the types of cloudy water that you can get, and how to cure it down below.
White Cloudy Water
This is a common problem that you might face where the water gets white. That typically happens after setting up your aquarium within two hours, and that happens if you don’t wash the substrate before adding that inside.
Gravel and sand substrates carry tiny species, which can cause white water. That’s because when you add water there, the substrate starts to float and make the haze. So, you must wash them before putting them inside.
However, if you have white cloudy water in your fish tank, the best way to deal with it would be to wait. The water is going to clean itself after a while. If you want to speed up the process, you can always use a good quality water purifier.
Bacterial bloom
This is another common case, where the water looks like a thick white fog. This is mainly because there’s a lot of bacteria buildup, and they are swirling inside the aquarium. That’s why it’s called bacterial bloom, and you can’t just wait for it to clean up all by itself.
If you cycle the tank, however, the bacterial bloom will be gone, and that’s the best solution. But if you don’t want to do that, you must get yourself an aquarium test kit, and check the ammonia and nitrite level of your aquarium water. That way you can know what you’re dealing with, and that’s going to help you in the process.
The most apparent issue in most cases is overfeeding the fish. You see, the bacterial is a result of excess waste material in the water tank. The rotting leftover food can mess up the whole situation and make it worse. In that case, you’d have to clean the entire aquarium and start feeding the fishes more reasonably so that there’s no leftover food.
Green Cloudy Water
This is another issue that ruins the appearance of your fish tank. It can get super dense, blocking the fishes out of sight, and that’s very annoying.
Typically, excessive phytoplankton in the water is the main reason for this phenomenon. To get rid of it, you can use a UV sterilizer, and that’s going to give you amazing results. You can also use a fine filter media as well, and it’ll do wonders for the water.
Brown or Yellow Cloudy Water
Water turning brown or yellow is another common issue that you might face with your aquarium. Driftwood is the main problem that causes this in most cases. If you know how to lower pH in freshwater aquarium, you can tell that the driftwood does a wonderful job lowering the pH. But it also messes up the water and turns it yellow and cloudy.
The best way to cure the water, in that case, would be to use a carbon filter. That’ll make the water transparent, and you don’t have to deal with any kind of hassle as well.
5 Tips to Avoid Cloudy Water
Now that you know how to treat some of the most common issues, let’s discuss the top 5 tips that’ll prevent cloudy water in your aquarium.
(1) Wait for a While
Apparently, the best way to deal with cloudy water in a water tank is to wait for it to naturally treat itself. In most cases, the water will clean up itself, and you won’t have to deal with anything. However, if you wait and don’t see any improvements, then you can take action.
(2) Seed Good Bacteria
Purchase some good bacteria from the market and use it in the aquarium. That’s going to balance out the water and help it stay clean and natural-looking.
(3) Filter Maintenance
One of the critical things to maintain when you own an aquarium is its filter. You must clean it up often, and do replacements if it needs that. The filter plays a vital role in keeping the water clean.
(4) Change the Water
Changing the water in your aquarium is one of the most important things to do regularly. That keeps the aquarium healthy for the fishes. Also, you need to do it properly and know how to save dying fish after water changes as well.
(5) Don’t Overfeed
Overfeeding is the #1 thing that causes cloudy water in most cases. So, be sure to feed the fish lightly and not go overboard with the fish food.
To Wrap Up
These were some tips on how to stop cloudy water in fish tank that you can use if you see your aquarium water getting cloudy. But you must follow the instructions properly, and be super careful about everything you do. A slight shift can potentially kill the fishes inside the water tank.
So, don’t use any harsh chemicals on the water, and try to stick with the natural methods. And hopefully, you’ll get the freshwater aquarium that you crave in no time.
Writer: Shyran Khan Joy