Tips for Clear Fish Tank Water

Regular Maintenance to Keep Water Clear

• Regular tank maintenance can do away with a lot of the contributing factors of cloudy or murky tank water. One of the best things that you can do to help maintain clear water in your tank is to change 20% of the water in the tank once a week. This not only creates clear water, but also helps contribute to the overall good health of your fish.

  Change the filter often. Every time you do a water change check the filter to be sure that the water is still running easily through and that it is coming out clean. You'll want to rinse the filter out weekly and you may need to replace it every once and again. If you are having problems with clear water, you may also want to clean out the tubes and canisters for the filter. Check the manual that came with your filter or aquarium for specifics on the best cleaning methods for your tank.

  Vacuum your gravel once a month. When you vacuum your gravel once a month you'll remove a lot of the debris from the feeding and from the waste products of the fish. This helps to keep your tank water clean and clear, especially when combined with other maintenance.

What Not to Do

• One of the worst things that you can do to cause or contribute to cloudy water is to overfeed your fish. It is really easy to overfeed, and when you feed too much the food simply floats to the bottom of the tank and causes the water to become murky over time. Feed your fish a very small amount of food twice a day and give them three to five minutes to finish the food. If there is food left over, you are feeding too much and contributing to the cloudiness of the water.

  You may be tempted to do large water changes, but this generally isn't a good idea. You never want to change out more than 20% of your water at a time. When you do this you may cause large temperature fluctuations that could harm the fish. Regular small water changes help you maintain clear water in your tank at all times and are much more beneficial for the fish as well.

Retail Fixes

• Products to put in the tank to clear the water are sold and they can help, but you need to be sure that you are doing everything you can from the maintenance point of view before turning to retail products. One of the most effective products on the market to help with the desire for clear water is Accuclear. This is a product that helps to clump the items in the water so they can be filtered. Usually if you are maintaining your tank well you won't need this type of product.

  To keep the overall appearance of your tank top-notch you may also want to add fish varietals that are known to eat algae. Depending on your tank, you may also want to consider getting snails. These won't keep the water clean, but can help with algae and debris levels in the tank.

  If you are doing everything that you need to do to keep your tank water clean and you still aren't having success, you may need to contact a specialist in your area or even consult with someone via the Internet. There may be an element to tank health that you are missing out on that could be easily remedied.