How to Clean Your Aquarium When the Water Is Cloudy

Introduction

If you have an aquarium, you will eventually have cloudy water. This will usually occur when you first develop your aquarium but can occur later in the life of your aquarium.

By cleaning your tank you may also improve the visibility in your tank, but you will also need to get to the cause.

Causes Of Cloudy Water

Cloudy water can cause your fish to become stressed and eventually develop disease and die. So it is important that you first understand what is causing your water to be cloudy and clear it up.

I have a 75-gallon aquarium that has been cloudy once when I first started it up. My cloudiness was caused by bacteria growth which is normal for a new aquarium.

Some causes of cloudy water in an aquarium tank are:

Not Rinsing - Anything you stick in your aquarium needs to be rinsed. I even rinse the live plants I put in my tank.

When I rinsed my gravel substrate, I was surprised at the amount of dirt I washed off.

So if this is a new aquarium, the cloudiness could be caused by not rinsing what you have placed in your aquarium. If this is the case, clean your tank by completely draining the tank and washing everything in it.

Bacteria - As I stated earlier if this is a new aquarium,guppy, the cloudiness in your tank could be caused by the establishment of your bacteria colonies, called bacteria bloom. If this is the case then eventually this will go away by itself.

Debris - If you over-feed your fish and do not clean all the fish waste out then you could develop cloudy water. Reducing the amount you feed your fish and performing a vacuum of the substrate every time you replace some of the water will help clear up the water.

How To Clean

I found the best way to clean your tank when your water is cloudy, is to do it when you perform a water replacement. With my 75-gallon aquarium, I use a manual vacuum that picks up the waste in the substrate and at the same time removes the water. I clean half the tank weekly and replace ten gallons of water each week.

If your water was cloudy, other than because of bacteria, I would recommend cleaning the whole tank and replacing 25% of the water. Do this weekly or more often till the water clarity is where you want it.