Cloudy Water

[BangBangShrimp]

Background: My friend recently set up a 20 gallon freshwater tank with a few fish and ghost shrimp. When he initially set up the tank he noticed the water became very cloudy, I assumed it was from the new gravel. A couple weeks later the water still is pretty cloudy. The fish are all fine, no deaths but he's wants the cloudy water to go away. He hasn't done a water change yet because he thought it would settle down within a few days.

Question: Do you guys have any beginner suggestions to get rid of this cloudy water? Attached is a photo. Thank you!

 

[MattW]

Do you know if this tank was cycled before adding fish? I would suggest a dechlorinated WC as a quick fix and if the problem occurs again, a game of eliminating the potential cause will start Other members will have a better idea than me.

Another option could be to use fine filter floss in the HOB filter and see if that can reduce the cloudiness

 

[MaloK]

If it's dust from gravel, some are so fine they go trough filtration and never settles.

A big water change will fix that. Make sure you use temperature matching dechlorinated water.

Watch not to overfeed them, You're doing a cycle with fish, have you a test kit ?