I recently set up a 90 Gallon Salt water tank with live sand, live rock, protein skimmer and a Wet & Dry filter. I added 10 Damsels to cycle the tank and they all died after two days. The Nitrate and Nitite levels are both very high (toxic). The pH and specific gravity are both perfect. What should I do now to lower both the Nitrite and Nitrate levels?

Do nothing. Your water parameters are off simply because you added far too many damsels to start your tank, and overloaded your biological filtration capacity. When using live sand and live rock to start a tank, it is usually best to let that cycle your tank for you, and then add fish slowly (one or two at a time). Let your rock and sand finish off the cycle for you, and then start a regular routine of monthly water changes. Also, make sure your protein skimmer is up and running.

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I recently bought a betta tank and a male betta. At first the water got a bit cloudy and cleared up, now it has gotten very cloudy, what could be the problem? The tank is a 1/2 gallon with no filtration.

With no filtration, you must feed only once every other day, and do a near complete water change every three or four days. Be sure to use a dechlorinator to treat the new water.

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i just started my tank but they water always looks cloudy so i change the water all the time. the cloudiness looks like a smoke screen.

This sounds like a classic problem with new aquariums, or any tank that is experiencing a bacterial bloom (occurs equally in fresh and marine installations). By doing water changes, you may actually be exacerbating the problem. The free floating bacteria that are likely causing your cloudiness will either experience a population crash if you let them (i.e. wait for your tank to "cycle"), or you can kill all the free floating flotsam and jetsam with the installation of an appropriate-sized Ultraviolet Sterilizer, with a small independent pump. That should clear up any cloudiness within 24 to 48 hours.

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After treating my 50 gallon tank with Super Ick Cure medication, I have noticed a sharp increase in ammonia levels. Could the medication be killing my beneficial bacteria? I've tried Ammo-chips, partial water changes and many bottles of Cycle.

Super Ick Cure shouldn't disrupt biological filtration if used properly. I would look for some other source of ammonia, such as uneaten food, a missed dead fish, or recent use of Windex or other glass cleaners on or around the aquarium. Also, if you have used ammonia "removal" products, like Ammo-Lock or Amquel, you will receive false readings when testing for ammonia. Cycle won't help you much in this situation. It is a bacterial supplement meant to help establish new aquariums. Dumping it in whenever you see a spike in ammonia rarely has an impact, and may sometimes compound the problem.

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I just added a gallon of bottled drinking water to my fresh water aquarium yesterday morning and now this evening my aquaruim water is cloudy or milky looking. What happened?

Sounds like your tank water had a significantly different alkalinity and/or calcium content than the drinking water you added. This may cause a chemical reaction in the water that causes calcium carbonate to fall out of solution, turning your tank a milky color, as described. If this is the case, your tank sould return to normal after a few hours, with no adverse effects on your livestock. In some cases, you may want to use a commercially available water clarifier (such as Kent Pro-Clear) or run some type of micron filter on your tank for a short while if it doesn't seem to be clearing on its own.

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My three month-old 10 gallon setup is doing well, but I can't get rid of what appear to be tiny bubbles or particles that are clouding up my tank. The fish seem healthy, and my water paramaters test as normal.

If these truly are bubbles in your tank, they should dissipate when the system is left off for awhile. If this is the case, then make certain no air is beong drawn into the filtration from anywhere (such as an airstone or powerhead), and do what you can to eliminate any splashing caused by the return from your filter. Heavy use of slime-coat replacing water conditioners (Stress Coat, etc.) will coat the bubbles and cause them to remain in the tank for far longer than normal. Refrain from using these products unless you add tap water to the aquarium, or switch to a water conditioner that does not have such additives. If it turns out these are not bubbles, try using a water clarifing treatment, such as Brite-N-Clear or Kent Pro-Clear. These products cause tiny particles to clump together and allow your filters to remove them.

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The colour of water in my fish tank is getting yellow. Could it be beacause of flake food or something else?

When water turns yellow, it is usually due to excess pollution and/or not enough filtration or not enough water being changed. You should be changing 25% of the tank every three weeks, vacuuming the gravel when rtemoving old water. Overfeeding is a major cause of pollution. Read our FAQ and article on how to feed your fish. You should also be using adequate filtration. See our articles on the subject.

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We have a 50 gallon tank that is cloudy and smells, with a high pH level. I read in some places that you can add salt to the water to help that. Is it true? If it is, how do you go about doing that? Is it something you can just add into a cup with a lid and a few holes, or a filtering system that you need to buy?

Cloudy, smelly tanks are usually a sign of serious water pollution. This is often due to overfeeding, overcrowding, unnoticed dead fish, or clogged and malfunctioning filters. Adding salt, or any other form of "quick-fix" additive is not likely to help much, and will not solve the problem. Start with a large water change and clean out any external filters (leave your undergravel or Bio-Wheel alone, but change any carbon cartridges associated with these). After this, you will need to determine the cause for this problem and correct it, oterwise it will return.

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I have a 10 gal.My water is cloudy and I have sand as a substrate. My filter works fine (AquaClear 150) but it has been cloudy the whole time i have had the tank (4 mos.) How can I make the water uncloudy?

If this is a freshwater tank, and the Aqua Clear is your only filtration, it is not enough. You need a biological filter, such as an undergravel filter and pump. Cloudy water could also come from poor quality tap water, as it is generally an accumulation of bacteria in the water column. Some coryadoras cats would also help stir the sand--however, sand is unsuiatble substrate for an undergravel filter. If this is a saltwater aquarium, this is not enough information for an intelligent answer. Sorry.

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I recently set up a new freshwater tank, and added way too many fish to start it. After a week, the fish started to die, and my ammonia level reached 8 ppm. I added some Bio-Chem Zorb to my filter and did a thirty percent water change. The level is now at 4 ppm and the water is very cloudy. What should I do next?

Continue to perform frequent water changes (about twenty percent every day) until your ammonia level stabilizes. It may be necessary to remove some of the fish to accomplish this. Bio-chem Zorb, and similiar filter media, are not very effective means of controlling ammonia in a severly overstocked tank. Ammonia-nutralizing additives, like Ammo-Lock and AmQuel, may help keep your fish safe initially, but these are not a substitute for water changes, or for correcting the source of the ammonia. Also keep in mind that such products may cause your test kit to give you a false reading when you test for ammonia (typically, it will appear to be off the chart), making it tougher to tell when the crisis is over.

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Frequent Aquarium Questions