Why did the water become cloudy when starting the aquarium and what to do about it?

Cloudy water in an aquarium is detrimental to its inhabitants. In order to prevent this from happening, one must know the reasons that lead to this. From the material in this article, you will learn why this is happening and what to do in this situation.

The water in the aquarium can become cloudy when you start it up for a variety of reasons. These can be problems of a biological nature or resulting from the action of mechanical factors. If the owner launched the fish into a new aquarium, but something went wrong, it is worthwhile to understand what caused the turbidity.

The most common of these is a bacterial outbreak, which usually occurs at startup. The water begins to cloud on the second day. At the same time, bacteria multiply very quickly, occupying the entire reservoir. The outbreak usually stops after a few days when bacterial growth slows down.

This is a natural and inevitable phenomenon, and therefore, immediately after starting the aquarium, fish cannot be populated into it.... They can do housewarming no earlier than the reservoir is cleaned up on its own.

Often the reason that the liquid becomes cloudy when starting is unprepared soil. This happens when an unwashed substrate with fine particles and dust is placed on the bottom of the aquarium. Turbidity is associated with light soil particles, which rise upward when changing water. Sometimes water is poured directly onto the substrate, as a result of which the water remains cloudy for a long time.

One of the reasons for the appearance of turbidity after launch is the wrong approach to feeding the inhabitants of the aquarium. There is too much food in the water, its uneaten particles continue to float in the middle layer, others settle on the bottom, mixing with the substrate. This leads to the multiplication of putrefactive bacteria that release toxic substances.

It is not uncommon for inexperienced aquarists to use chemicals to purify the water. Before being added to the tank, they must be diluted in separate containers until completely dissolved. If this does not happen, it will lead to the formation of white precipitation on the decorations of the aquarium landscape.

Overcrowding the aquarium after start-up very quickly leads to clouding of the water. It is impossible to settle a large number of inhabitants in the aquarium. In this case, the filter will no longer cope with water purification, cleaning will become mediocre, and the water will turn green.

In addition to the main reasons for cloudy water after launch, aspects such as:

• improper and untimely care;
• insufficient oxygen saturation;
• incorrect selection of vegetation;
• wooden decor not soaked in advance;
• reproduction of unicellular algae;
• ignoring tank cleaning.

If the water becomes cloudy after starting, first find out the cause, after which it is eliminated. For example, in one case, the type of food is changed, in the other, the decor is washed, in the third, the liquid is purified by means of non-pharmacy activated carbon.

How you deal with cloudiness in your aquarium depends on the underlying cause. Sometimes you don't need to do anything, like in the case of a bacterial outbreak. In such a situation, a water change should not be done, as the fresh water will also begin to cloud. At the same time, neither complete nor partial replacement is allowed.

However, in order to speed up the process of restoring the water balance, it is necessary to add water from the old one to the new tank, if any.

If the cause of cloudy water lies in the use of untreated soil, you must pay attention to the accuracy of pouring water into the aquarium. Usually, after the particles have settled, the water is clear. However, do not assume that fish are sources of turbidity. They are shy, and the first time they stay in a new place, they hide for a long time in existing shelters.

The soil can be cleaned with a siphon, which will rid the tank of dirt particles. They clean it section by section, making sure that the water at the end of the device becomes transparent. This is done once a month, but in case of severe turbidity, a water change is performed. The soil is taken out and washed under running water, and then returned to the reservoir.

When the reason for the cloudy fluid in the tank is due to overfeeding of the fish, it is necessary to reconsider the approach to their feeding. If the water starts to give off an unpleasant smell, it will poison the inhabitants of the aquarium. It is better to limit the amount of food your fish feeds than overfeeding them. The water balance will quickly be restored if you arrange a fasting diet for the fish for 2-3 days.

During this time, the bacteria will die out, and therefore the water will be purified. Excess feed must be removed from the tank immediately.

If you bought mobile fish (for example, gold, veil-tails and cyclides) that love to dig into the ground and mix it, you will have to purchase a good filter. Otherwise, getting rid of the dregs will be problematic. In this case, it is useless to change the water, since its replacement can lead to an imbalance in the water balance and disease of the fish.

The mud in the aquarium can be filmy. The film, which is intimidating for beginners in the aquarium business, appears as a result of the use of too fatty food, as well as the accumulation of microscopic algae. This also happens when low-quality decorations are used in the landscape.

The dregs after launch can differ in color and are white, green and yellow.

• White usually appears on the second day after launch and goes away on its own within 1-2 weeks. This is a normal process, which should not be feared, during this time the reservoir should not be touched. However, if the water has not cleared after 2 weeks, they resort to the help of specialists.
• Yellow mud appears when the fish are fed with bad food or the decorations are made of cheap plastic, and the driftwood is made of low-quality material. It also appears when there is no good filtration or it is completely absent. All these problems are solvable and do not need the involvement of specialists: the decorations are changed, they get good and high-quality food, they replace the filtration system, and they clean the aquarium after feeding.
• Green the dregs indicate that plants are growing too vigorously in the aquarium. This usually happens when the tank is too illuminated, sunlight hits the water, as well as rotting food, coupled with dead foliage of aquarium vegetation. In such cases, the solution to the problem is to clean the aquarium. To do this, daphnia and planktonic crustaceans are launched into it.

The settling of fish into a new aquarium is not nearly as fast as the aquarist wants. First, water is poured into it, leaving it without light for 5-7 days. After this time, the plants are planted and the lights are turned on for several hours a day. After about 2 days, they try to populate the tank with unpretentious fish.

However, if turbidity appears after starting, you must wait until the water balance stabilizes. It is better to settle the inhabitants first in a quarantine aquarium, in which they can spend 2 weeks. After that, they can be placed in a permanent place of residence. If the liquid has not settled in the container, the fish may die in it.

When the cause of the turbidity is associated with the presence of ammonia in the water, it is possible to launch the inhabitants into such a reservoir no earlier than after 3 weeks. Some fish are waiting for relocation at all up to 4 weeks, since they can die from nitrite or ammonia poisoning. To prevent this, you first need to remove toxins from the water and cleanse the liquid from the turbidity.

Clouding of the water in the aquarium must be dealt with in a timely manner. However, it is better to take preventive measures so that similar problems do not arise in the future. For example, the water in a new aquarium does not need to be renewed within 2-3 weeks: this is exactly how much is required to stabilize the microflora. This extract is useful not only for fish, but also for aquarium plants.

To avoid problems, you need to know a few nuances.

• It is possible to carry out a complete water change only when the fish are sick.
• Water can be partially renewed no more than 2 times a week, making no more than 20-30% of the total volume.
• The water for the aquarium should be settled for 4-5 days. This is what gets rid of her chlorine and harmful toxins.
• The prevention of the formation of turbidity will be the cleaning of filters from feed residues and plaque.
• Make sure that the inside walls of the tank are clean.
• Aquarium vegetation needs timely care. Dead algae should not be allowed to remain inside the tank.
• It is impossible to indiscriminately use drugs to treat fish, they often contribute to the formation of unfavorable microflora.
• Care for the walls of a glass aquarium should be timely, as dirt will very quickly lead to a cloudy liquid.
• It is necessary to do a chemical analysis of water from time to time.

You will learn about the reasons for the cloudy water in the aquarium and how to solve this problem from the video below.