Why Is My Fish Tank Cloudy? Like I Poured A Glass Of Milk In It?

[FishByMyBed]

Why Is My Fish Tank Cloudy? Like I Poured A Glass Of Milk In It?

 

[nurglespuss]

How long has the tank been set up for, and thats the substrate?...

 

[FishByMyBed]

months and months. substrate?

 

[the biffster]

substrate the gravel that's on the bottom of your
tank
what filter do you have
and what are your stats on your tank

temp PH ammonia nitrite nitrate

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

substrate, and it pebbles/sand on base of tank.

Did you wash the pebbles thoroughly before adding them?

Purely from a visual perspective, they look "calcium carbonate-esque." Has your pH lowered over time and did you ever do a "vinegar test" to check your pebbles did not fizz?

Alteernatively, the bits could be something like excess food that has broken down into fragments (some days my Garras in QT have not bothered with algae wafer and the water looked like an interesting broth!).

 

[Gilli]

Could b a mini cycle for any number of reasons - have you tested your water stats?

 

[FishByMyBed]

mini cylce. i don't know my stats are pretty normal i guess. usually my nitrate is higher that i'd like, but nothing horrible. the gravel has been in there for a few months. I vacum it regularly like every 2 weeks or so. could it be the lightbulbs are just covered in salt, haha. idk. i feed them tropical crisps, the always eat it all.

 

[FishByMyBed]

mini cylce?? i don't know my stats are pretty normal i guess. usually my nitrate is higher that i'd like, but nothing horrible. the gravel has been in there for a few months. I vacum it regularly like every 2 weeks or so. could it be the lightbulbs are just covered in salt, haha. idk. i feed them tropical crisps, the always eat it all.

 

[Gilli]

If you test with paper strips forget it! You should use a liquid test kit for accuracy. You should always be aware of your water stats and test on a regular basis. This way you can nip potential problems in the bud before they esscalate.

Often cloudy water doesn't appear the instant an aquarium is set up. Instead it appears days, weeks, or even months later. In these cases the cause is usually due to bacterial bloom. As the new aquarium goes through the initial break in cycle, it is not unusual for the water to become cloudy, or at least a little hazy. It will take several weeks to several months to establish bacterial colonies that are able to clear wastes from the water. Over time that cloudiness will resolve itself.

Decaying plants or excess food that remains uneaten can also cause the milky water seen in bacterial bloom. Regardless of the cause, don't panic over bacterial blooms and dont be tempted to use chemicals to try and solve it. Keeping the aquarium very clean by removing debris such as decaying plants and uneaten food, vacuuming the gravel regularly, and performing partial water changes, will quickly resolve most cases of bacterial bloom. Cut back feeding to every second or third day, which will cut down on excess food decay.

 

[nurglespuss]

LOL to be honest, theres no real reason to constantly test, provided you are following a good regime, with regular water changes etc. its really uneccessary.

 

[Gilli]

I disagree - even if you follow a good regime things can happen to affect your water stats. If you test on a regular basis you can curb problems before they get out of hand. Usually people don't realise their water stats are bad until it starts to affect the fish! Im not talking about testing every day, but if you follow a good routine of a weekly water change and gravel vac and test once a week problems should be minimum.