Why does my tank get cloudy every time I do a 15-20% water change? I have been very careful to first treat and adjust water temp of the water I am putting in the tank yet this seems to happen all too often. What am I doing wrong?
Water changes
- Thread starter DanG13
- Start date
what are the test results of your:
-tank before a water change
-tank after a water change
-tap water
-tank before a water change
-tank after a water change
-tap water
If you have phosphates in your tap water it could be 'feeding' algae thus resulting in a temporary algae bloom... There are charcoal like phosphate absorbing materials that can be added to your filter (avoid liquid/chemical additives)...
If you are using gravel as substrate and are not thoroughly cleaning it, when replenishing water you could be stirring waste from the gravel into the water column resulting in a cloudy look... thoroughly cleaning the gravel with a gravel vac is the solution to this...
If you are using gravel as substrate and are not thoroughly cleaning it, when replenishing water you could be stirring waste from the gravel into the water column resulting in a cloudy look... thoroughly cleaning the gravel with a gravel vac is the solution to this...
DanG13;3945122; said:
I find 50% water changes weekly helps keep the water clear. It is none of my business, but your w/c schedule does not seem that bad as to be causing major cloudiness in your water.
A few reasons that WILL cause this problem in your tank:
1. Overstocked tank: The waste produced from the bioload of the fish in the tank exceeds the rate at which the benneficial bacterias in your tank are able to break them down.
2. Overfeeding: I have had this problem. It is fun to "watch your fish eat" and often we feel the desire to meet their "wants" rather then focus on meating their "needs".
3. Failure to promptly remove uneaten food!!!!!!!: This is more then likely at least a symptom of if not the primary reason for your cloudy water. It is often spoken of to feed only that which your fish can eat in "x" minutes. Often, we decide that it would be nice to allow our fish all that they want to eat "now" and to have some left over for their midnight munchies snack! BAD MOVE! I have heard bad things about decomposing "meats" in a tank, but I have NEVER imagined how bad cloudiness could really be when I experience coudiness from vegitable decomposition.
I have heard so many people feed their fish (cucumber, zuchini etc...). I have had LESS THEN ZERO success in getting ANY of my hundreds of fish to quickly enough to eat veggies as to NOT cause water clouding.
