Hello, I have a 30 gallon fresh water tank with just a gold fish and a Coi. Im going through filters almost once a day and lately the water has been cloudy. I took put all the ornaments, did several water changes and cleaned gravel with siphon vogerously. I bought an algea filter with an internal bulb but I don't think it's algea. Somek8nf of bacteria maybe? I've had the tank going for about four years now. Thanks
Cloudy water and clogging filters
- Thread starter Mike223
- Start date
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Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi and welcome to the forum 
The milky cloudy water is caused by bacteria feeding off uneaten fish food and waste, and no established biological filter. The goldfish also has ammonia burns all over its body.
Reduce feeding to 2-3 times a week. Don't worry, the fish won't starve. Unlike mammals that use most of the food they eat to keep warm, most fish take their body temperature from the surrounding water. This means any food they eat is used for moving and growth. Less food in the tank also means less ammonia.
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for the next 2 weeks. Then do a 75% water change 4-8 hours after feeding, or any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0ppm.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the aquarium.
Do not change the filter media/ materials. The filter media becomes home to beneficial bacteria that keep ammonia and nitrite at 0pmm and stop this cloudy water from occurring. If you change the filter media, you get rid of the good bacteria and ammonia levels rise.
If the filter media gets dirty, you can squeeze it out in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn/ garden outside.
If the filter media starts to break down, you can replace it with sponge for a different brand of filter. Buy a slightly bigger sponge than you need and use a pair of scissors to cut it to size. Sponge gets cleaned in a bucket of tank water too. Sponges will last for years.
The milky cloudy water is caused by bacteria feeding off uneaten fish food and waste, and no established biological filter. The goldfish also has ammonia burns all over its body.
Reduce feeding to 2-3 times a week. Don't worry, the fish won't starve. Unlike mammals that use most of the food they eat to keep warm, most fish take their body temperature from the surrounding water. This means any food they eat is used for moving and growth. Less food in the tank also means less ammonia.
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for the next 2 weeks. Then do a 75% water change 4-8 hours after feeding, or any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0ppm.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the aquarium.
Do not change the filter media/ materials. The filter media becomes home to beneficial bacteria that keep ammonia and nitrite at 0pmm and stop this cloudy water from occurring. If you change the filter media, you get rid of the good bacteria and ammonia levels rise.
If the filter media gets dirty, you can squeeze it out in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn/ garden outside.
If the filter media starts to break down, you can replace it with sponge for a different brand of filter. Buy a slightly bigger sponge than you need and use a pair of scissors to cut it to size. Sponge gets cleaned in a bucket of tank water too. Sponges will last for years.
30 G is small for a goldfish & koi. They can get to well over a foot long. I have 10 in a 125 G tank and will probably have to move some to another tank in the future or fix up an outdoor pond that hasn’t been used for years. A previous owner kept koi there. They can get huge. In warmer climates I’ve seen people use inexpensive kiddie pools instead of in ground ponds. If you’re ever in the market for a big tank, keep an eye on local Facebook groups & Craig’s.
m.j.gomez
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hello, what type of filter do you have? What is gph? Asking cause if not enough filtration (tank volume turnover) it will not process your ammonia & nitrite properly.
When doing maintenance on my tanks I will break up the cleaning procedure. I'll skim top of substrate & deep vac about 1/3 - 1/2. The filter is cleaned enough to allow good flow & as stated by others in tank water. Your filter floss cartridges should work till falling apart & biosponge squeezed out lightly. Be sure to remove the carbon from cartridges after a month. depending on type of cartridge you can open top or cut a hole on one side in corner of floss to empty out. I personally don't use cause not needed if tank maintenance proper.
Basically you don't want to over clean & lose a majority of your good bacteria. This will cause a mini cycle or an ammonia spike.
Every tank is different. Thru trial and error you will find a happy medium that will work for you. Hopefully this helps!!!!!
Joe_D
Aquarium Advice Freak
FWIW....
Cloudy water can also be caused by tiny particles of whatever in your water that are even to small for the fitter to filter out but. are in abundance.
Products like "API Accu-Clear" work by going on a bit of a clumping spree making the particles big enough to be filtered out
So initially they will make the water temporarily appear a bit more cloudy. However, a day later the water should be about crystal clear.
Cloudy water can also be caused by tiny particles of whatever in your water that are even to small for the fitter to filter out but. are in abundance.
Products like "API Accu-Clear" work by going on a bit of a clumping spree making the particles big enough to be filtered out
So initially they will make the water temporarily appear a bit more cloudy. However, a day later the water should be about crystal clear.
