5 Reasons Your Aquarium Looks Cloudy (And How to Fix It!)

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Жыл бұрын

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‎ Not sure why your fish tank has cloudy water? Zenzo walks us through several common reasons why your aquarium looks murky and how to easily fix the problem.
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At Aquarium Co-Op, we focus on your aquariums. We specialize in freshwater tropical fish, aquatic plants, and the overall betterment of the freshwater fish keeping hobby. Our goal is to help you with your first pet fish and graduate you to an advanced aquarium hobbyist. If you'd like to take it to the next level, subscribe to Aquarium Co-Op and check out our weekly videos.
Cory McElroy is employed by Aquarium Co-Op LLC. He also owns Aquarium Co-Op LLC. Therefore, all content is sponsored by Aquarium Co-Op.
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Пікірлер: 120

@AquariumCoop Жыл бұрын

*How have you solved cloudy water issues in the past?* If you're not sure how often you should clean your aquarium, check out this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y9qCZNihnKjXYpc.html

@DEXTER-TV-series Жыл бұрын

By background musics and sounds you make your videos *CLOUDY.*

@cellardoor2197 Жыл бұрын

Great to see these video's get updated every so often. New people to the hobby, and people who don't see things often can keep refreshing our knowledge

@noahpetrencsik4168 Жыл бұрын

Currently experiencing a bacteria bloom so this was perfect timing in my world! Thanks!

@pateratutokarua305 2 ай бұрын

Me too! I was so scared if something happened.

@kasperaquatics Жыл бұрын

Excellent info Zenzo, always a huge help to the hobby.

@cookiemonster2299 Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much, my week old cold water aquarium has been cloudy, I did a water change and it became cloudy again 24hrs later, due to your vid I now see it was good bacteria and I will leave the water to clear itself, thank you 👍🇬🇧

@kiknchiknstudios8901 9 ай бұрын

I wish there was more consistent information regarding established tanks suddenly becoming cloudy. Every youtuber has a different opinion. Makes it very difficult choosing what to do.

@mikelewistejedor7173 Жыл бұрын

All i can say is all of the videos that i watch is full of learnings about fish keeping i love it

@allonekingdom Жыл бұрын

You must have read my cloudy mind. Timely video

@StanLeesReviews Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the information much appreciated

@johnjwedrall4290 Жыл бұрын

Very helpful, thanks 👍

@gamergoldfish4143 Жыл бұрын

Awesome video!

@quki3 11 ай бұрын

Wow! I’m going to have to watch this awesome video a few times because it’s full of important information ! There is so much to learn ! Thank you for this concise and interesting video on cloudy water. I always freak out and do water changes When my water gets cloudy - I realize now I should check the ammonia,NO2- & NO3- then if reading are dangerous to inhabitants- only then change water- I might be resetting my cycle and that’s why I’m still trying to cycle my tanks. My tanks were started Jan, feb March May 2023. I’ve never had fish tanks prior . I can’t imagine everyone has such a hard time stabilizing water?

@gigi3242 Жыл бұрын

thanks Zenzo

@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951 Жыл бұрын

Very good information.

@LogacysAquaticLove Жыл бұрын

Another awesome vid!

@francispenaranda718 Жыл бұрын

You can count to your fingers on how many times of getting cloudy tanks, bacterial bloom, algae bloom for since I started 2013...Having a Efficient filtration system...Very Informative...

@naegwut Жыл бұрын

Great topic!!!!

@izzygawd Жыл бұрын

Thank you !!!🤟

@MrJohnblaine 9 ай бұрын

Question answered... thank you 🎉🎉🎉

@lphiepen 3 ай бұрын

Thank you

@GENNY649 Жыл бұрын

Thank goodness I watched this my water was milky gray water and I thought the water was getting dirty but all I had to do was let it be, thanks for the advice

@johnjwedrall4290 Жыл бұрын

Helpful video

@jeremycaraway6432 Жыл бұрын

Hey Cory. I didnt get a chance to make it to Aquashella but my dad did. He brought me back one of your shirts. Thank you. All your knowledge has helped both me and my dad.

@jeremycaraway6432 Жыл бұрын

Its got from bottom to topa coy i think then freshwater seaturtle a puffer(my favortite) and i think a swordtail molly?

@RenegadeLK Жыл бұрын

After shifting some of the gravel in my 10 by accident it's starting to look very cloudy with a bit of green color. A few weeks now passed and it looks like I'm gonna have to try some of these methods.

@SelfDescribed Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video. Can you guys do a video on aquarium micro-fauna? I've got some brown algae in my planted tank and it looks like I got some copepods munching on the algae. Do I just let them do their thing?

@karenmccleary7616 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info! Would like info on your goldfish tank… size and how many fish are in there? Thanks

@Pezzer81 2 ай бұрын

Set up a fish tank yesterday woke up this morning to cloudy water not experienced it before as I had tanks as a kid so wondered if I did something wrong as it was my first time to use bacto start I now know I just have to leave it to do it's thing thank you.

@CapoKabar 2 ай бұрын

Might be dirty gravel

@amazingaquaticsandexotics3030 Жыл бұрын

awesome vid

@ridesnvibes Жыл бұрын

I recently had algae issues (brown diatom and green hair algae) and despite me cleaning the algae off during weekly water changes it would come right back. I did two things after making sure it wasn’t my water parameters. I got two mystery snails and I bought the TopFin Pro 30 Power Filter Media Pack for $6 to replace the standard carbon filled cartridges that come with most HOBs. It’s two days till water change time and the algae has not come back and my water looks clear as ever. I think it’s the media pack doing most the work while the snails stay polishing up the existing algae. Hoping I finally figured it out!

@putakvariumista Жыл бұрын

Привет 🖐️ всем с разводни аквариумных рыбок из Ташкента 🖐️. Хорошее видео, дружеский лайк в поддержку канала 👍

@TheTimtam112 Жыл бұрын

You guys should talk about Phosphate/phosphorus more. A lot of the literature I have been reading personally, points to phosphorus being the contributing factor for a lot of the algae issues my tank and (my theory) a lot of other people have. It's also what I hypothesise causes "old tank syndrome". Simply because it (and potassium) is the one limiting nutrient that we never test in freshwater. The one reason why I'm not including potassium is because I'm yet to see it implicated in algae issues in the limnology studies I've read. It may cause blood pressure issues in fish/plants (not blood per sa for plants, but turgor pressure), but I'm yet to read that specifically.

@himlolo Жыл бұрын

I think phosphate does come in a lot of fertilizers. And yeah it’s definitely a reason for algae, most things are good for plants also cause algae.

@Angel818MEX 3 ай бұрын

I just set up my tank for my axolotl yesterday looked super clean its about the same time the next day and it logs foggy and cloudy. Hope its good thanks for the vid

@reptilianbrotherhood1669 29 күн бұрын

Hey I have a basic corydora tank (gravel,heater, one step filter, and simple hiding spots) should I invest in anything to keep my tank clean or should I just accept them as messy fish? The tank really isn’t to bad but it isn’t appealing either I’m pretty new so a pros advice would be nice thank you

@michaeltooke9164 Жыл бұрын

I was having a problem with my 30-gallon aquarium. It would get cloudy and I could not figure out why. I would do water changes, test the water...I added filter floss to my HOB and that helped but then it hit me- 80+ Cories were in that tank stirring up the substrate. I moved half of them to other tanks and that resolved the issue. That was 6-8 months ago. It's happening again. I think it's the same issue returning because they are getting close to adult size. I need to rehome some of them. :)

@ICM9 5 ай бұрын

80+ Cories is a lot in a 30 gallon LOL. Might not just be them kicking particles into the water but their general bioload as well.

@mbastos1000 2 күн бұрын

Thanks. I believe I have bacterial overgrow in my fish tank. It looks like a blue cloud color very thin in water column. O have as substrate organic soil capped with playing sand that I washed before using it to cap the organic soil. I realized that it gets worst when I clean the hang on filter. Probably, I am killing the bacteria in the sponge and media of the filter despite I don't use tap water neither spot clean the sponges. It is not green water. It is more like cloudy light blue.

@emjay5147 Жыл бұрын

Barely 10secs into the video and i already liked it since i know i would like it anyway🥴😌

@lindadouglas5972 Жыл бұрын

Can I ask if plant aquarium soil make the water cloudy, I have a hillstream loach tank which includes 3 catfish, it's a fairly new set up, I have 2 other tanks which are crystal clear and they get fed more than in the cloudy tank, I would appreciate any advice

@H3774ND 10 ай бұрын

I know that having a light on too long can affect algae blooms, but do blue only lights cause the same thing? I have a light that has the option of full spectrum or blue only and just not sure if using the blue only is going to be the same as having the full spectrum on.

@aquagino88 Жыл бұрын

One of the most overlooked reasons for having cloudy water: insufficient biofiltration. Biofiltration isn't just about the nitrogen cycle; after cycling, over the course of months a complete ecosystem will develop containing nitrifying bacteria, but crucially also heterotrophic bacteria and a lot of other microorganisms feeding on waste, on pathogens, on each other, etc.... The thing is, your filter media needs to offer a lot of surface area, and the media should be cleaned as little as possible. Many people either overclean their filters, use inefficient filter media or both. An aquarium that is "overfiltered" will have very clear water, and the fish will be much less susceptible to disease. This is because the bacteria on the filter media outcompete those in the water column, leaving much less bacteria for the fish's immune systems to fight off.

@Jobot590 Жыл бұрын

I have what I think is Zoothamnium Arbuscula in my tank. Possible affecting the gills and breathing of one of my angels. I can’t find any information on it or what to do. Have you guys ever experienced this?

@marzenamariamallory731 4 ай бұрын

Is this something to do with gravel too? Do you prefer bigger stones or tiny. I bet bigger gravel this is not happening often.

@Myndi78 Жыл бұрын

I know exactly why my tank is cloudy. Its a newly setup tank with rather deep sand and gravel substrate, and it was crystal clear just a day ago. But then I added a bristlenose and it is tunneling under every root and rock in the tank, kicking up dust as it goes 😂 I love plecos they are little bulldozers😍

@susanthompson1506 Жыл бұрын

Our bottom feeder disappeared (another story for another day) but several days later it was Chrystal clear. Miss that little guy.

@Myndi78 Жыл бұрын

@@susanthompson1506 aaaw 😔

@christophermarvin85 Жыл бұрын

I have my light on a timer for six hours. Once in a while my tank will cloud up. Then I will use Accu-Clear. It will clear up in hours. The tank has been up for 12 + years.

@rach2797 Жыл бұрын

Show us a video to get rid of blue green algae and how to keep it from coming back. I know about the med trio but it returns.

@TazawaTanks Жыл бұрын

Try Slime Out from Fritz.

@khall763 3 ай бұрын

Can bacterial blooms be green also or just milky?

@zoemorn Ай бұрын

reduce the lighting if the 'floating algae' is turning water a murky green. it's not pretty but can block half the light with aluminum foil or something, give it a week and see if it doesnt impact the clarity

@pokescape98 Жыл бұрын

I’m 90% sure I’m currently in a bacterial bloom. But the nitrates despite water changes is constantly at 40 ppm it’s a planted tank and we also recently added a new plant to help manage. Should I keep doing water charges (25%) to keep my nitrates safe or leave the tank alone the the bacteria bloom dies out? Please help!

@JohnWood-tk1ge Жыл бұрын

Question we are in a very bad drought and the well went dry. I am hauling water from a different source,tank is milky looking water testing ok 0-0-20 tank has been running fine for over five years and fish are doing fine. Any advice?

@Matthew_Does_To_Many_Things Жыл бұрын

Maybe RO a water? And use buffers and sorts to raise ph?

@buttface3875 Жыл бұрын

Changing the source water can throw off your bacteria. If you’re hauling water anyway, try RO

@darrelcole6185 Жыл бұрын

G'day Zenzo, you forgot another possible reason for cloudy water is unwashed substrate in the tank.

@sometimesbad 10 ай бұрын

It's been 3 weeks my water is cloudy. In last coiple days it's not as bad but it's still cloudy. It's a new tank so could it be bacteria bloom but then it's been 3 weeks now. I am not doing the cleaning yet hoping becteria bloom will end and then I should do it. Any comments ?

@markcummings3146 Жыл бұрын

My water in my tanks tends to have a yellow like colour, where as you can find tanks which are crystal clear. Any suggestions how to fix this? I usually do a water change fairly regularly (10% on my community and 20% in my micro tank).

@deucemcallister99 Жыл бұрын

Just tannins in the water which are good and the water just being a little dirty. Happens in every one of my tanks too i dont worry about it. If u are just up water changes

@samanthaheizer-metcalf9703 25 күн бұрын

I have tried everything just about to resolve cloudy green water and it is frustrating. I have a fluval flex tank and fluval customer service was a waste :( I tried water change weekly, water changes every 72 hours, clarifying/algae chemicals (only last 12 to 24 hours), leaving the tank alone for months, getting rid of decor leaving just rocks, water test strips, adding filter media, decrease food/lights, etc. Honestly, I think the issue is with the filter that fluval refused to resolve during warranty.

@madcircle1970 5 ай бұрын

Still struggling with milky cloudy water after 3 weeks. I have moved fish out from the tank and do weekly 30-50% water changes. I can see the cloudiness moving in the tank. 10 gal, with black pebble substrate, several live plants (Sword, Java fern) and a HOB filter (I have changed the filter pad twice in past 4 - 6 weeks.) Any tips welcomed!

@AquariumCoop 5 ай бұрын

My tip would be, check to see if it's green water by putting it in a white cup. If it's not, then just let the water settle over the next 4 weeks or so without doing changes.

@madcircle1970 5 ай бұрын

@@AquariumCoop Ok. It definitely not GREEN, more cloudy with just a very very slight green tint. I can see clearly through the water in the cup.Wish I could send you photos.

@davidsmith-tb2yy 10 ай бұрын

I do a partial water change every couple of Weeks of 20 % everytime the tank goes cloudy is that normal

@gevorkpetrossian1323 11 ай бұрын

is it okay to use luffa as sponge ?

@KrazyRaisin 8 ай бұрын

I just set up a new tank, I was letting the water run for about week before I put any fish in it, on the second week I noticed the water turned cloudy, what do I do?

@bunbunthebunny5907 Жыл бұрын

Hi, Can you guys make a silver dollar care video?🐟

@boydy1598 6 күн бұрын

appreciate the insight. i think bacteria bloom is my sitch. it does seem to be slowly clearing up so yeah, cheers.

@therustbucket8095 Жыл бұрын

What's that little shrimp looking thing at 1:09

@leviice8578 Жыл бұрын

I’ve done everything even four diffrent water changes in two weeks and even tried API acu clear and it just made it worse so idk what to do

@susyclau7433 Жыл бұрын

An ammonia spike is cause of cloudiness right? I'm that scenario is a lot more important to act right away

@michaeltooke9164 Жыл бұрын

One of my aquariums gets cloudy within 15 minutes of each feeding. It clears up after a few hours, but then it happens the next day when I feed the tank again. This is an established tank (3 years old). The fish look healthy and act normal. It's been going on for about 4 weeks. I did not perform a drastic overhaul 4 weeks ago. Maybe it is the 30 cory's? Damn.

@NIGEL-MORGZZ1100 2 ай бұрын

2:52 too much cycling fluid can do this too

@Exquailibur Жыл бұрын

For me i dont worry about making my aquarium look clean, for me as long as the plants and animals are doing well i wont change anything. I have a lot of detritus and my 29 has a log that probably makes it functionally a 25.

@technomad9071 Жыл бұрын

300 for the win!

@shannonrhoads7099 7 ай бұрын

Heh, sometimes it can be my fault. Even if it's someone else's tank. Just kidding. I used API Root Tabs in my new 10 gallon tank and my dwarf gourami unburied them. She swam by each spot a couple of times afterwards, kicking the finer particles up into the water and investigating the clouds she kicked up. It's the first time I have seen her do this. It's taking a while to settle back out. I am seeing some clearing though. I only have an undergravel filter, and coincidentally, the cloudiness gradually starts mid-tank and gets more noticable towards the surface. I did also recently add a small school of glowlight tetras, so it could be a combination of a bacterial bloom and the remnants of those root tabs.

@aquariumview Жыл бұрын

sooooooooo just wait a few weeks!

@Boja23 Жыл бұрын

Zenzo, I love you and your content…but as far as leaving things go, like a bacterial bloom, I can’t disagree more - I’ve heard that multiple times from multiple sources. I left a bacterial bloom go for a week - it absolutely did not clear itself up. The cause was a 70% water change, addition of beneficial bacteria, and fertilizers, and I I did learn a great deal from this. After the loss of multiple fish, I ran UV sterilizers that DID fix the problem. The bloom even spread to other tanks, which was crazy.

@Boja23 Жыл бұрын

In my Opinion, nothing should remain in the water column. Bacteria or algae, which deprived fish of oxygen. The only thing that kills those off is a UV sterilizer.

@remhk6672 Жыл бұрын

I've had a bacteria bloom recently on one of my newly set up tanks and did several water changes in an attempt to get rid of the cloudiness. It actually made things way worse. Caused a huge ammonia spike. When I finally allowed things to settle in without disrupting the water parameters by doing any more water changes, the tank gradually cleared and parameters became more stable after about a week of no water changes. I was confident enough to add fish in there and they are doing just fine now.

@Boja23 Жыл бұрын

@@remhk6672 That's great waiting fixed your issue. What you're waiting on is the bacteria to colonize the surfaces/filter/media etc., but in my case, I did nothing and fish died. I now have a UV sterilizer for every tank, and will never wait for a bloom to subside. It sucks because you want the hobby to be cheap for everyone to enjoy, but sometimes you need to splurge to save your fish, and take the right action over doing nothing.

@deshondetoro1638 2 ай бұрын

Doing "nothing" works if you keep an eye on ammonia and nitrates. Waiting just 1 week for a big bacteria bloom (especially in an already established tank) is not enough time. It can take up to 3 weeks, but keeping an eye on nitrates is important. I recently had my established tank crash after adding a discus with his heavy bio load. The bacteria bloom lasted foe 3 weeks, and just now cleared out. I hope this helps

@StunzAquatics Ай бұрын

Guys its not just always about the nitrifying bacteria its most of the time about the bacteria that breakdown the organic matter to ammonia.if your tanks have a sudden increase in organic matter like in a new tank or due to any other causes the water gets cloudy the cloudiness is not harmful but the reasons leading to it are as more organic waste = more ammonia or ammonium depending on our ph . so instead of making heavy water changes do minimal water changes normally while eliminating the excess organics hope this will help❤

@joshuahuson1409 11 ай бұрын

Did they really clean the filter under tap water. All that bacteria gone 😢

@andrewrutherford4284 Жыл бұрын

New fish tank

@ortegaomar71 Жыл бұрын

It would be helpful to have some time segments labeled.

@arjanobatangenyo Жыл бұрын

first bro from philippines 👌😁

@TazawaTanks Жыл бұрын

Except I’m not Filipino and not from the Philippines. 😁

@samyoung6119 Жыл бұрын

My bacteria bloom was caused by a crash, and I'm not sure if I have to add chemicals like add beneficial bacteria, but I'm just going to leave it alone as it is because I don't want to make it worse

@Jack-gh3vs Жыл бұрын

My aquarium seems to get a greenish milky cloud to it no matter what I do. I’ve tried everything mentioned in this video besides the UV sterilizer. The water tests fine and I only have the light on for 7 hours or less every day. Anyone have any thoughts as to what might be able to fix it? I have a hang on back filter with a pre filter sponge on it.

@seattlekid25 Жыл бұрын

the pre filter sponge is not letting the greenish milky cloud causers to go inside the hang on back filter sponges where you can clean those every so often, greenish milky by the way sounds like a algae bloom with some extra phosphates is there any encasement as far as the pre sponge filter goes? it sounds like you might have tiny crustaceans like daphnia because everytime i put a pre sponge, all the mulm/pond scum attach to it, and then the actual sponges in the main filter encasement don't have as much by the way that dirty stuff that needs to get cleaned out of your filters is very good for plants, it's basically nitrogen and better to rinse those off over some plants instead of into a sink

@Jack-gh3vs Жыл бұрын

@@seattlekid25 To better describe the water is that it is mostly grayish except when the light is turned off, then it appears green. The pre filter sponge fully encases the intake portion of the hob. So you think that if I remove the pre filter sponge that the water may clear up? The only fish I have right now is my half moon king betta for the 29 gallons, so there shouldn’t be too much waste or nutrients.

@Nomadistar Жыл бұрын

I took everything out of my HOB besides the piece of blue plastic & crammed it full of filter floss & did a 20-30% water change like 2-3 days a row & along with adding a fine air stone in the other corner of my 29g where there was almost no movement (I also put a bunch of terrestial plants roots into the front of my HOB into the water)... green water is gone & hair algae all over my plants is dying off now. I rinse my filter floss almost daily. The tank still looks like crap, but it is also looking better than ever. My 2 cents, so take it with a grain of salt...but I am pleased with the results I am getting so far.

@heidi.loves.jesus3167 Жыл бұрын

I added accuclear and the water got really foggy HELP I have plants and ecosystem tank

@CapoKabar 2 ай бұрын

Cheap food will always cloud your tank up

@sststr Жыл бұрын

Aquarium water for house plants, that needs a big giant yellow caution flag on it. If you are the type to add chemicals to your water, some of them might make the water unsuited for house plants. That could/should be an entire video all its own, what's safe and what isn't when it comes to watering house plants with discarded tank water.

@amymandeville8342 Жыл бұрын

Has anyone successfully kept clams alive in a freshwater tank, as a filter feeder? Any information I can find about it is not very helpful.

@FusionDeveloper 8 ай бұрын

6:06 "I probably just need to use a little net" (joking)

@courtneybonnick3-qw3zk 6 ай бұрын

My aquarium is cloudy after I vac the water or disturb the water whilst cleaning the aquarium is that normal?

@blackfishbones 6 ай бұрын

Yeh

@nabokovfan87 Жыл бұрын

#6. It's not cloudy.... But the glass is!

@agentktulu Жыл бұрын

Yes!

@yousifal-obaidi2106 7 сағат бұрын

My water got cloudy after i put the wood decoration

@Kevin-ci4ky Жыл бұрын

hazzay!!!

@buttface3875 Жыл бұрын

HOW DID YOU KNOW

@daisy_fryer Жыл бұрын

Can you get a bacteria and algae bloom at the same time?

@angelnicdao1959 2 ай бұрын

Just tell how the cloudy water go awayyy

@laurag1076 Жыл бұрын

Just can't warm to zenzo or the other girl.... dont know what it is. But I can listen to cory and deal for hrs and hrs.

@KGcichlids Жыл бұрын

-test your water people.

@ibslegendfan101 Жыл бұрын

It's cruel having all them gold fish in their

@thanatosor Жыл бұрын

So there is really no fix at all, beside water changes and use certain chemicals

@cynthiaponce2133 Жыл бұрын

When my tank got too cloudy. I left it ALONE. BUT, I lessen the food I gave to my fish, lessen the amount of time my lights are on. And lessen the fish in that tank. ALSO, I took out the CORYDORAs that kept on playing the gravel and sand, disturbing it to the point that some of my plants died. So, though CORIES are cute. I hate them in my planted tank. After doing all that, and doing a 10-20% ONLY water change. Everything is fine and dandy now.

@high_fructose_corn_syrup 11 ай бұрын

Diatoms!!! Weeks of DIATOMS!!! when will it stop! Ugh!! water tests perfect but it is still less then 3 months running.. (slams head into the wall lol)

@debizaida8193 5 ай бұрын

Try Seachem Purigen in your filter.

@NIGEL-MORGZZ1100 2 ай бұрын

Carbon fiber