Why Is The Water In My Fish Tank Cloudy
Why does the water in my fresh water fish tank keep turning green after one week?
I have a fresh water 10gal. fish take with 3 gold fish, a tetra and 4 other fish that I cannot remember what species they are. The water will turn cloudy first and then after about 2 days in turns green. There is no algy on the sides of the tank…just the water turns green. I even have a new filter that work in 20gal. tanks! It’s frusterating..any thoughts?
You have to figure out what is causing the growth in your tank. Changing light bulbs is NOT going to stop growth of algae in your tank. Algae Thrive on bright light and nitrates. Changing the light will make it worse.
Ok, is your tank situated near a heat source? i.e. a heat register baseboard heating?
Does it get any sunlight from windows? How about the temperature of your tank? You need a regular floating themometer not one of those stick on the side of the tank ones. (they do not register accurately the water temps) Ok, if everything here is fine you need to test your nitrates. a really good reading is around 20-40 ppm. If you don’t have a test kit, get one If not, take a sample to a reputable store and have them test it. Some will do this for free.
Your phosphorus could also be out of whack. You can buy phosphorus pads at your pet store, usually a large sheet for around $2.00. This pad can be cut to the size of your filter and added to it. These are always a good idea for any tank anyway.
Now, while you are waiting to either move your tank, or the pads to work you are going to have to Clean your tank. Scrape all the sides of your tank. Use your syphone and do a 10% water change.
You will have to do a 10% water change every day for atleast a week. Honestly though, the pads will help remove most of the phosphorus algae. Never do a 50% water change in a saltwater tank. No more than 25% at any one time. Also, don’t remove your fish unless you absolutely have to. This places undue stress on the fish
Be sure to change your filters and clean any decorations you have.
My New 20 Gallon Freshwater Aquarium