| When you first bring that nice new aquarium at | | | | sign of algae. If you notice this problem, your first |
| home, you probably imagine beautiful bright fish | | | | step is to determine what caused the overgrowth |
| swimming around in a nice looking, clear tank. The | | | | of algae. It will probably be attributed to an |
| unfortunate reality, is that the tank will | | | | excess of 1 of 4 different things: |
| occasionally have the problem of cloudy water, as | | | | Phosphates - this is caused by the type of water |
| any aquarium owner can attest to. Here we'll take | | | | you have in your tank. The way you determine if |
| a look at the usual reasons why the water gets | | | | this is the problem is by testing the water for |
| so cloudy, and the things you can do to resolve | | | | phosphates, and if it is indeed the cause, you will |
| this problem. | | | | need to treat the water with a phosphate |
| Sometimes an aquarium will get cloudy the first | | | | remover. |
| time you fill it up with water, even before you | | | | Nitrates - this results from the waste that your |
| put in any fish. Why would this happen? Most likely | | | | fish produce. If this is the problem then it might |
| it's because of the new gravel you put in the | | | | be that you simply have too many fish in your |
| aquarium. Oftentimes new gravel will have dust, | | | | tank. |
| so if you notice cloudiness in a new tank, dump it | | | | Light - this one is easy, simply move the tank |
| out and rinse off the gravel thoroughly. In fact, it's | | | | somewhere away from direct sunlight. |
| a good idea to rinse off any new gravel you buy | | | | Nutrients - most likely the result of too much |
| before putting it in your tank since it will usually | | | | food in the water. |
| have some dust in it. If the water is still cloudy, | | | | A cloudy aquarium doesn't have to be stressful |
| then your problem is most likely the pH level in | | | | when you have the right information. In general, |
| the water, in which case you can treat the water | | | | partially changing the water every few weeks, |
| with conditioners found at your local aquarium | | | | not overfeeding the fish, and rinsing out anything |
| supplier. | | | | new that goes into the tank will usually keep the |
| Cloudy green water in your aquarium is a sure | | | | cloudy water away. |