Many hobbyist at some point will encounter aquarium water that is cloudy, hazy and just plain annoying. You can't see your fish or enjoy your aquarium, when the water is cloudy! Here are the three reasons why you may have cloudy aquarium water:
1. Small Suspended Particles: The water is usually a hazy, brown color that makes it hard to the aquarium inhabitants and decorations. Dust, plant debris and organic wastes are the main causes for suspended particles in the water column. Moving the gravel, decorations or redecorating will stir up any loose particles that can easily cloud your aquarium water. Fixing this is very easy for any hobbyist and just requires normal maintenance (vacuuming gravel, cleaning the glass, water changes) to prevent cloudy water. A flocculation additive like Seachem's Clarity will help these particles stick together, making their removal easier via mechanical filtration.
2. Bacterial Bloom: Bacteria blooms occur when nitrifying bacteria in a aquarium is not established (or there is not enough) allowing bad bacteria to flourish and create a foggy haze in your aquarium. The best fix for bacteria blooms is adding beneficial bacteria to the aquarium water. You can find beneficial bacteria in aquarium additives such as Seachem's Stability, which can help your aquarium. Ensure that there is enough biological filtration for the bio-load in your aquarium, as another cause of bacterial blooms are excessive dissolved organic wastes.
3. Algae Bloom: When the aquarium water is green and hard to see through, you have an algae bloom or 'green water'. The causes for green water is excess nutrients (overfeeding is usually the cause), and lots of phosphates. You can easily get your water clear by cleaning aquarium gravel, decreasing the amount of light the aquarium is getting (if applicable), increasing the amount of water changes you conduct, and using chemical nitrate and phosphate absorbing media.
In summary, if you have constantly cloudy aquarium water you should:
- Ensure there is enough biological filtration / that you have enough filtration
- Avoid overstocking
- Avoid overfeeding
Hi there! First and foremost I just would like to say that this article is spot on! I've just recently bought a tank and the tank was oh so cloudy. I thought that I was doing something wrong whilst I followed every instruction there was. Then I came across this article and bought a flocculation additive. So, I added it and after less than 24 hours of mechanical filtration, voila! No more cloudy and foggy looking aquarium. I was so happy with the results, thanks to this article.
Another things as well, during my research I found out that plants can also help eliminate nitrate and ammonia which causes bacterial bloom in aquariums.
More power to all aquarium hobbyist!
Posted by: Ma Izabelle Ansis Sy | 11/26/2009 at 03:15 PM