Q&A for How to Keep Aquarium Water Clear

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  • Question
    How do I make my fish tank water crystal clear?
    Craig Morton
    Aquarium Specialist, Aquarium Doctor Inc.
    Craig Morton is the CEO of Aquarium Doctor Inc. based in Huntington Beach California and servicing Orange County, Los Angeles County, and the Inland Empire. With over 30 years of aquarium experience, Craig specializes in creating custom aquarium designs along with aquarium installation, service, and maintenance.
    Aquarium Specialist, Aquarium Doctor Inc.
    Expert Answer
    Your best bet is to avoid overfeeding your fish and do partial water changes at least once a week.
  • Question
    How can I make my aquarium decorations safe?
    Craig Morton
    Aquarium Specialist, Aquarium Doctor Inc.
    Craig Morton is the CEO of Aquarium Doctor Inc. based in Huntington Beach California and servicing Orange County, Los Angeles County, and the Inland Empire. With over 30 years of aquarium experience, Craig specializes in creating custom aquarium designs along with aquarium installation, service, and maintenance.
    Aquarium Specialist, Aquarium Doctor Inc.
    Expert Answer
    Choose decorations that are made for fish tanks. It's best to get them from a quality pet store. Be sure to wash the decorations before you put them into your tank because they can dirty the water if they're not clean.
  • Question
    How do I know if I overfeed my fish?
    Craig Morton
    Aquarium Specialist, Aquarium Doctor Inc.
    Craig Morton is the CEO of Aquarium Doctor Inc. based in Huntington Beach California and servicing Orange County, Los Angeles County, and the Inland Empire. With over 30 years of aquarium experience, Craig specializes in creating custom aquarium designs along with aquarium installation, service, and maintenance.
    Aquarium Specialist, Aquarium Doctor Inc.
    Expert Answer
    Your fish tank water may get cloudy. If you overfeed fish, the excess food will disintegrate in the water.
  • Question
    My tank water is green. How can I keep it clear?
    Community Answer
    Try to replace your activated carbon or add some in the layers of your filter.
  • Question
    I set up a 75-gallon tank with water and decorations. Now the water has been cloudy for 2 days. Is that normal?
    Landon Koski
    Community Answer
    This is normal, especially if you added driftwood or other decorations like it. Do regular water changes, focusing on about 1/3 every two days. If you do too much, it will be problematic.
  • Question
    How much is 15% of a 50 gallon tank?
    Caeiia
    Top Answerer
    0.15(50) = 7.5 gallons. But be aware that gravel and other decorations take up space too.
  • Question
    Does aquarium filter actually help to keep the water clean?
    Pillowpig
    Community Answer
    Yes, aquarium filters most definitely keep the water clean. It will keep it clean always, but every two weeks, clean and change the filter, and take out 15-20% of the water and replace it with room temperature tap water.
  • Question
    Two weeks ago I put six various types of fish in my aquarium, but all of them died. The water was not cloudy. What was it?
    Community Answer
    Were the fish actually compatible? Unfortunately, stores will sell you fish without proper guidance and it may be that you housed a range of territorial fish together that inevitably killed each other off. Definitely do some research if you plan to get more fish.
  • Question
    I would like to do small water change (20% water change) for my fish tank with tap water, can I add water conditioner and then tap water to the tank while the fish are still in the tank?
    Community Answer
    It is better to mix the conditioner with the tap water and then add it to the tank, but keeping the fish in the tank is okay.
  • Question
    My water has tons of bubbles just resting on top of it, but the fish seem to be doing fine. I don't know what the bubbles are for.
    Community Answer
    Most bubbles are from the extra air coming up from the fish's food. Don't worry.
  • Question
    Is my tank cloudy because my heater went out?
    Caeiia
    Top Answerer
    That's not really a cause; cloudy water is from bacteria. But if the temperature drop is significant, the good bacteria might have been negatively affected, giving the cloudy-water bacteria a chance to grow. Check your nitrate/nitrite/ammonia levels.
  • Question
    Would black mollies cause cloudy water?
    Ajay Sawant
    Community Answer
    Tropical fishes such as molly and guppy create much waste that cloud water. Instead of having different fish, add live aquatic plants that prevent cloudy water and keep fish stress free. Tropical fishes such as molly platy and guppy won't harm plants and do very well.
  • Question
    I have a second-hand tank with a Pleco in it. What is the stocking with charcoal in it for?
    Julian Michalak-Wotton
    Community Answer
    It filters the water because good bacteria lives on it and conditions the water.
  • Question
    How many times per day should I feed my fish?
    Community Answer
    You should feed them once or twice per day so that you can ensure that you are not over-feeding them.
  • Question
    Is 17 fish in a 47 liter tank overpopulated?
    Community Answer
    It depends on the size of the fish. Also, if be aware that most fish that you buy from the shop or supplier will be young and may grow much bigger. Do lots of research before you put fish in a tank, as you don't want an overcrowded tank, or even worse, a tank full of dead fish and one survivor.
  • Question
    When should I use a biological filter?
    Community Answer
    Before you even get fish, you should get a biological filter and cycle it to build up beneficial bacteria.
  • Question
    Should I have real or fake plants for a goldfish aquarium?
    Community Answer
    If you have the money, real plants are better as they absorb nitrates and release oxygen into the water.
  • Question
    How do you set up a filter for your tank?
    Zeta Whitmer
    Community Answer
    It varies with the filter. Check the instructions that came with the filter you bought, and if you still can't figure it out, try calling the company or going online.
  • Question
    I have a tank and don't know how to clean it. I put fish food in and it went the bottom and had white stuff around it, then 2 fish died. How do I clean the tank?
    Community Answer
    Purchase a gravel-cleaning siphon tube at a pet store or online; use this to remove waste from the tank. You should only feed your fish as much as they'll eat in a minute or two, as any remaining food just becomes waste matter. Once a week, use the vacuum to clean the gravel and remove about 1/4 of the water and replace with conditioned water. Once a month, you should replace about half the water. You might also consider a fish who would help consume the detritus at the tank's bottom, such as a pleco or small species of catfish.
  • Question
    Every time I add water to my tank to replenish it due to evaporation, a bacterial bloom will occur. Should I add something to the water I am introducing to the tank?
    Community Answer
    You should add something like AquaSafe™. Follow the instructions on the bottle for how much you should add.
  • Question
    Can you help tell me if one of my guppies is make or female?
    Community Answer
    Males will have slimmer bodies and big, rippling vibrant tails. The females on the other hand will have fuller bodies and a smaller tail. You can compare them in images online.
  • Question
    Why are my fish staying up on top of tank surface?
    Community Answer
    Some fish are simply top dwelling. If they are swimming fine, then they could just prefer to dwell up there. Or, several other things could be the cause, like wanting food, avoiding aggressive companions at the bottom of tank and staying away from/near heat or water movement. You can adjust these things accordingly.
  • Question
    I put my water, rocks, gravel etc. in my freshwater tank. Now what?
    Community Answer
    Make sure you have an adequate filter and heater in as well, then add ammonia through the form of fish food, or liquid ammonia such as Dr. Tim's. Purchase a test kit for testing the water and let the cycle happen (this can take a while). Once you have some nitrates, you can add fish.
  • Question
    What can I do to keep my fish happy in their small tank?
    Community Answer
    Give them appropriate water quality (meaning cycled, appropriate temperature and hardness, with filter, water changes, etc.) and docile companions, places to hide like plants, and the proper amount of food.
  • Question
    What kind of filter do I use in a 10 gallon aquarium when I an treating molly and platy fish for ich? I know I can't use carbon but my tank is getting cloudy.
    Community Answer
    You can use Aquaclear HOB filters. These use carbon as one of their filter medias but it can simply not be purchased/added. If this is a new tank being set up, run the filter in an already set up tank for a few weeks, then transfer to the new 10g and leave in for at least a week and it will instant cycle in less time. If these fish are already in your display tank without a filter, try getting one as soon as possible. This bad water quality likely caused the disease and means that your tank isn't cycled yet.
  • Question
    Would it kill guppies and neon tetra if I kept taking them out to clean the tank?
    Community Answer
    It would be stressful and could lead to death, unless you mean simply transferring to a new container of tank water temporarily (this is a fine idea and sometimes needs to be done). Try using the latter method instead of taking them out of the water again and again.
  • Question
    We've had a 5.5 gallon tank for about a week, at first the filter made barely any noise and now it has a significant humming sound, is it defective or is this normal?
    Em Davis
    Community Answer
    Your filter tends to make noise when the water level drops. If your water level is low, the filter has a harder time sucking it up, thus it tends to become louder. Add more water to your tank and this should fix the problem.
  • Question
    There are dust particles that rest on my fish accessories. How to get rid of them?
    Community Answer
    Siphon/vacuum it off. Turn off the filter when you do this and if it seems too stressful to fish, temporarily put them in a separate container of tank water during the process.
  • Question
    I just did a big water change 3 days ago, my levels are good, except my nitrates, a little high. Will the cloudiness go away? Do I need to do another water change?
    Community Answer
    Yes, water changes will often help a lot, as long as they are spaced out enough. To help with this, you could get some live plants to eat the nitrates up.
  • Question
    What type of food will not make water cloudy?
    Community Answer
    Avoid flakes since they tend to make the water cloudy. Vacation feeder blocks that you get in the pet store will make the water white, cloudy, and murky. I tend to like pellets more, just make sure you don't overfeed, as the excess will rot at the bottom of the tank and cause more cloudiness.
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