Cloudy Tank Please Help

[jsilveira]

Hi, I am new to the hobby and I am currently having trouble with my 37 gallon tank. Within a couple days of filling up my tank the water has become extremely cloudy and has gotten worse with the past 3-4 weeks and I don't have any fish in the tank currently. I read that I should just not touch it but i'm not completely sure if that is the way to go. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to clear up the water or any explanation as to why the water is cloudy?
Thanks in advance

 

[Aspen35]

Hi, I am new to the hobby and I am currently having trouble with my 37 gallon tank. Within a couple days of filling up my tank the water has become extremely cloudy and has gotten worse with the past 3-4 weeks and I don't have any fish in the tank currently. I read that I should just not touch it but i'm not completely sure if that is the way to go. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to clear up the water or any explanation as to why the water is cloudy?
Thanks in advance

If you are cycling the tank, it is a bacteria bloom. I don't know how to treat it, as I haven't had it happen in a while, but I do know it normally goes away on it's own.

 

[BoomerXIV]

1. Check if your filter is big enough for your tank, if it big enough then move to step 2
2. Let it be, if it's bacteria bloom then it's better to leave it like that, eventually your water will be clear

 

[jsilveira]

Thanks for the responses it is very much appreciated! I'll gladly use your input, lets hope my tank clears soon

 

[Essjay]

Bacterial blooms are common in new tanks but these are not the bacteria we want to grow. The bloom bacteria feed on organic matter, multiply very quickly and live floating in the water where we see them as the cloudiness. Water changes don't help because they multiply so fast and they go right through filter media. The good news is that once they've eaten all their food they die, but as every tank is different it is impossible to say how long that will take.


Are you cycling the tank? During a fishless cycle, the bacterial bloom will not interfere with the growth of the filter bacteria
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/ As a fishless cycle takes a few weeks to complete, it will have cleared before you get fish.
The other method of cycling uses live plants. The tank is heavily planted then fish are added once the plants show signs of active growth. Again this takes a couple of weeks, by which time the bloom should have gone.

The bloom bacteria don't harm the fish, just make it harder to see them.