1. I bought a 58 gallon freshwater aquarium in February of 2003 and have been having a cloudy water problem ever since. 2. I bought the aquarium for appearance and relaxation purposes. I never intended to get any fish as they are difficult to keep up with and maintain. 3. I have scoured google.com and all the websites say the same thing. They are all saying that this problem stems from fish related problems. 4. I found some "crystal clear" tablets at PetsMart the other day. I cleaned out 1/3 of the water and replenished it. The water was cloudy in no time at all. I dropped 6 tablets in the tank as directed and I let it sit for about 6-10 hours while I was away at work and it worked perfectly. The water hadn't been this clear since the first day I set the aquarium up. I was overjoyed. 5. Four days later, the water was beginning to get cloudy again. My frustration began to set in. I again took out and replenished 1/3 of the aquarium water. The water showed no change. There was still a cloudish tint to it. I again dropped 6 tablets into the water and while it cleared it up some, there is still a faint cloudiness to it. 6. Help me! I am about to chunk this thing out the window!
1) Change the filter inserts. 2) Clear out your tank. Take out the drift wood, giant skull, sucken ship, cave, rocks and every pebble. That should clear it up. Then gradully put each back one at time and then you'll know the culprit.
You need to change the filler inserts every 2-3 weeks, and did you wash off the aquarium rocks before added them in?
Oh! That reminds me I need to go buy some turtle food. I got a new turtle um, the day before yesterday and named him chocolate cake.
Also, if the tank is sitting in direct sunlight, this could alter the temperature of the water during the day and at night, creating bacteria/fungus that would make the water cloudy. Your best bet (if there are a lot of temp. fluctuatiuons) would be to get a heater (about $15) that will keep the tank at an optimal temperature at all times. Also, make sure you have constant filtration and a chlorinator for the water. If you want a fish that doesn't require much maintenance, get the bottom-feeders... and they might even clean up your tank so its not cloudy anymore.
Use a carbon filter. Place it in the area where the water circulates so it can pass directly through it. Use it for a couple of days then remove the carbon. If you don't, the impurities will leach back out. Should clear up your water.
If you have nothing in it that is living, go ahead and put a chlorine tablet in it, or shock it with some pool shock. that should get rid of the bacteria.
You have a 58 gallon aquarium with no fish? That's interesting. What do you have in it? If you have living plants, then when the plants or parts of them die, they begin the nitrogen cycle. When decaying matter is in the tank, the cycle begins to generate ammonia. Bacteria take in the ammonia and convert that to nitrites. Other bacteria convert the nitrites to nitrates. Usually cloudy water is an indication of this cycle kicking in (it's possibly an ammonia spike), which is a good thing. You really shouldn't put fish in the tank until this cycle is in full gear because the fish could get stressed otherwise. At the end of this "cycling" the water should clear up. If the cycling is done correctly with no interruptions the cycle is complete anywhere from 2 or 3 weeks up to 1-2 monhts. If the cycle is broken (for example if the bacteria colonies in the tank die off), it will get cloudy again. However, if you have no living things in your tank, there's no telling what the deal is. Maybe if you tell us about the rocks, decorations, etc. in the tank it would help us more? And geez man... get some fish.
lots of filtration helps aeration helps there are plenty of liquid products that help clean the tank btw installed my new 5ft by 2ft by 2.5 ft tank last weekend, aside from some problems with the new mercury vapour lights and some ammonia issues it has gone fairly smoothly will add some new fish tomorrow. will post some pics later
When I set my tanks up they tend to go a bit cloudy. Filtration is a must, but I also find it takes a while for your tank to settle down and for the water to clear up. Even in tanks I have had without filtration this has been the case.
You are correct... Unless you seed your new aquarium with aged water from an established tank, you will have cloudiness. That is a fact of fish-keeping. Be patient, keep a few goldfish/feeder fish in the tank to get the biological cycle going, and it should clear up after a few weeks. Smeg, What kind of fish do you have in that one? It looked good from the pics...arent you worried about excessive evaporation from that open top? I like the lighting tho, gives me a great idea for my new salt-tank.
