cloudy water

All of a sudden since last night when my water was clear, I have cloudy water. I did a water check and my Ammo is 0, nitrite is 0 and nitrate is 5, I am only feeding once a day and I just noticed that I have one live plant in the tank that is all brown(I just took out). I have never experienced cloudy water like this, have I done anything wrong and what do I do to fix this? Will this affect the fish in the tank?

are the fish showing any sign of being affected? also what color would you say the cloudiness is? a yellow? white?or greenish?

When was the last time you changed your water?

Here is a John response, do partial water changes everyday for a week. About 25 percent water changes should do the trick. The reason that your plant is brown is becuase it isnt getting enough of some benefical substance such as iron, or carbon, or light, or maybe too much light. With planted tanks you just have to do some reasearch, and just because you have one plant dont believe that it has all the nutrients in the water to survive. So start with water changes.

What do you mean, a John response?

the fish seem to be ok, and the color of the water is a weak milky color. I just did a water change last thursday, the 12th of Jan. I do a water change once a week and do do a 25% water change.

okay. Well in order to really honestly get rid of the cloudy water you will have to do a water change everyday, or use chemicals. But i really do not recommend that.

As for the weekly water change, 25 percent may not be enough. How big or small is the tank. I have a 30 gallon and I do a 50 percent water change once a week.

That was a John response!

LOL!

We love you John!!!!

Take it easy, Im learning from the best, it takes time here. LOL, but it really was a John response, I have seen so many that I knew I should beat him to the saying he uses. Sorry John, what can I say, all the questions can really be focused on water changes, it is true.

It's usually the number one answer... No kidding...

Water Changes, Water Changes, Water Changes!!!

I think you guys have it pretty well covered. An algae bloom usually means too much light and/or too many nutrients. Did you open a curtain during the day so the aquarium is getting too much sun? Did too much food get dumped into the aquarium, possibly by a "little helper?" I believe we have a blog about cloudy water, so you may want to check it out.

I just recently set up a 10 gal tank for my grand children. I do not use a under ground filter. I have two bubblers and a aquafilter. I ran the tank for a few days and then added 8 little fish. It seems like the tank has always been cloudy (greenish-brown). I do have Well Water and was wondering if this is going to be a problem. I did check the ph level and it seems to be ok. Why the cloudyness and what do I do to fix it.

this is due to algae...i think you keep your aquarium near the direct sunlight...so move your tank where it can't get direct sunbeam...and use a dechlorinated and do 40% water change now...

Have you checked for ammonia and nitrite? They should both be at zero, meaning the nitrogen cycle has been completed. What kind of substrate is in the aquarium? Sometimes if the water flow is very turbulent, a fine substrate will not settle for quite a while. In addition to sunlight as mentioned above, algae of different types can develop if the fish are being over fed or if the aquarium is over crowded. I mention these things, because they are the most common problems experienced by aquarists who are new to the hobby. if you have questions about any of that, just ask.