How do I clear up cloudy water in a fresh water fish tank?

This is not an uncommon problem in a new aquarium. Your aquarium water parameters are very delicate at this time. It is best to have an ammonia test kit at the very least, and better to have a nitrite, nitrate, pH, & kH too.

Your ammonia is probably above 0 ppm (which is where it should be), your need to get your bio filtration started (aerobic bacteria that remove and eventually convert the ammonia to less toxic nitrates. The cloudy water is usually a symptom of poor water conditions and lack of good bio filtration.

Proper filtration is also important here, bio filtration takes 14-28 days or more to reach an efficient level, and some filters are better than others. If you have a hang on the back filter, every time you throw away your cartridge (best to rinse filter media in used aquarium water-not tap water which will kill aerobic bacteria), you throw away much of your bio filtration. A sponge pre filter can help prevent this.

Make sure to vacuum your water, using a gravel vacuum I best for removal of organic mulm which adds to your water quality problems. DO NOT add water clarifiers to a new aquarium, they only exasperate your problem.

Feed sparingly if a quality food that is high in USABLE aquatic proteins (not cheap foods like TetraMin that can add even more to your water quality problems).

Be patient, with good filters your bio filtration will improve, you can add gravel or media from an established healthy aquarium to help stimulate this. There are also products such as Cycle and StressZyme that help stimulate your bio cycle, but in my studies this products a not very useful, as the aerobic bacteria that are truly beneficial in an aquarium will not survive well in a sealed container kept at room temperature.

There is a lot more information about the aquarium nitrogen cycle here:

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_C...

And a lot of professional aquarium information links here, including proper filtration and proper fish food:

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_I...

Cloudy water is a bacterial bloom in your tank that is the result of overfeeding, usually. How much do you feed your fish? Just a pinch should be enough - no more than what they can eat in about 2 minutes - once or twice a day. Any more, and it falls to the bottom, rots, and the bacteria blooms and makes your tank water cloudy.

Do NOT get a plecostomous or an aglae eater. Plecos don't just clean everything - they eat algae (but not all types), fish food and spirulina pellets. Anyway, most plecos get over 12-18" long. If you have a tank bigger than 20 gallons, you could get a rubberlip or a bushy-nosed pleco. Both of those only reach 5". Be sure to buy some spirulina pellets to feed them, and they can also eat zucchini and cucumbers.

Do NOT get an algae eater. Chinese and Siamese Algae Eaters both get very big and very aggressive. And, as they get bigger, they eat less and less algae and more meaty foods. If they get big enough, they will eat your fish.

Do you have a filter on your tank? It may not be a bad idea to get a better one, anyway. Filters usually have ratings on them (ie filters up to 20gallons). In my experience, you have to get a filter that is MORE than what your tank is. 20 gallons more. So, if you have a 20 gallon tank, get a filter rated for 40 gallons. Get a filter with a bio-wheel if you can.

Did you properly cycle your tank? Petstores don't usually give the right advice when it comes to cycling. If they say anything at all, they just say to let the tank run for a couple days. There's a lot more to it than that... in the wild, and in established tanks, there are colonies of nitrifying bacteria. When fish poop, or when leftover food rots, it produces ammonia, which is toxic. These bacteria break down the ammonia in nitrites (also toxic) and then into nitrates, which are fine (up to 30-40ppm).

The only way to get these bacteria is to buy Bio-Spira:

http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

This is the LIVE bacteria (petstores sell products like Cycle which is dead bacteria - completely useless, waste of money).

You can also get some gravel or a filter sponge from an established tank.

Or you can put some fish food in every day (with no fish in the tank), or some other source of ammonia (like a piece of shrimp) and the bacteria will eventually develop (it takes 2-4 weeks though)

If you just put your fish straight into the water without these bacteria, the ammonia is coming from your fish. However, until enough bacteria develops, your fish will suffer from ammonia burn. And cloudy water.

So, even though your fish look perfectly happy, they aren't. But you can help, and that is by doing frequent water changes. Once your tank is established, you can change about 20-30% of the water every week. But for now, to get rid of the ammonia and the cloudy water, too, change 10-20% of the water every 2 or 3 days. Eventually the cloudiness will go away.

Also, try to monitor how much you feed, and feed less if you need to.

Good luck! :)

It is starting a cycle. This is what happens when you set up a fish tank. Get a product called Cycle or Prime. Either of these will clear up you water and help the fish also.

DO NOT GET AN ALGEA EATER! If you get an algea eater in a new tank it will die because it has no food. When you see green or red algea on the sides or rocks then it's time to buy an algea eater.

Every month you need to do a 25% water change. Get a fish tank siphon (its a water vaccum type thing that cleans the bottom of your tank.) and a 5 gallon bucket. This way you can take 25% of the water out, and when you do this, you clean the waist and extra food from the bottom of the tank. This will keep the water looking clean, and when you do this, the water will be foggy for about 5 hours until everything has settled back down.

You also need to get an algea scaper to keep the glass clean.

The amber color is tannins, which leach out from the "driftwood". Normal driftwood shouldn't do this, actually, likely you've picked up bogwood or African Mopani Wood. Not all wood for aquariums are the same. The tannins can be wonderful for fish. I purposely got African Mopani wood for the tannins it releases. Those tannins will reduce the risk of fungi and bacterial infections attacking your fish by quite a bit. It also grows some things on it that are pretty essential to the diets of some catfish, like Cories. However, it will also change some parameters in your water, most notably pH and hardness. This can be great for Tetras, Rasboras, Cories, etc. but it may make the levels less than ideal for more hard water or neutral water fish. You need to measure the water with the tannins present and see if the water is now not at a desirable level for your goldfish. If it has become too soft or too acidic, you'll have to take the bogwood out. After you've removed it, adding some fresh activated carbon will remove the tannins from the water. If you don't want the tannins, you're best bet is to just take out the wood. It takes months to soak out all of the tannins. You could seal the wood, or boil it to prevent the tannins leaching out, but both are very messy processes, and sealing it with a varnish could kill the fish if they start nibbling on the wood, which most catfish and some other fish will. Like I said earlier, once it is out some activated carbon will remove the tannins from the water. Technically you could take out the tannins with activated carbon in the filter even when the wood is in there, but you'd have to replace the carbon every 3-4 days or the tannins would come back, which would get really expensive.

Your tank is probably going through the natural process of building good bacteria in the filter. This can take a few weeks and you should be checking the levels of ammonia and nitrites to ensure they don't get too out of control. If the levels start getting high do small daily water changes until the cycle is complete.

Theres a really good explanation of the cycle a new tanks goes through here

http://www.fishprofiles.net/faq/begin-cycling.asp

Go to your local pet store and ask for a cleaner that clears up the cloudiness in the water. Also ask for a filter that clears all the bad stuff out of the water. That will be a great help in maintaining your water as clean as possible. Also be sure not to have your fish tank close to the window. Sunshine tends to make the water turn green. Do not over feed your fish, that tends to make the water in the tank dirty quickly.

Try Accu-clear found at Pet Smart or any pet store. What I used to do is take half of the water out and put fresh water in with stress coat. Then put in the recommended dose of Accu-Clear and it should clear up in a few hours. Sometimes new aquariums will be cloudy and for what reason, I don't know. I don't know what kind of filtration system you have but I recommend the kind of pump that is on the back of the tank with the carbon filters. But get some cory catfish and pleco's or algae eaters and you should have a crystal clear tank.

There are things at the pet store that will help, but my advise is get a placostamus, its a fish that eats algae, and cleans the sides of the tank. Did you make sure everything was washed before putting in the water? You do know that if you clean the tank, you can NOT just add fresh water, or it will kill your fish, you must use a de-chlorinater.

two things would work, get a filter or wash the tank

and next time u put new water in it make sure its not direct from the tap, let it sit out in a jug for a while becuase the chemicals in pure tap water will kill fishies and "cloud" up the water, your local pet supplies place should carry a certain thing that distilles water.

First check your filter. Replace it if its dirty. Get an aquarium water test kit so you can find out the quality of the water. Hope this helps.