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For starters feeding can be a problem. Some foods are actually so bad for the tanks water only one feeding can cause the tank yto cloud even with a small ammount of food. Some cheaper fish foods will cloud the tank. You should never feed your fish more than they can consume in a five minute interval. Too large an ammount of food will decay at the botto, of the tank unless eaten or filtered correctly. The best thing to do is get some plants. The plants will convert nitrates (subtance found in fish faesces and decaying matter) into nitrite which is easily removed by regular water changes. Ideally a good size tank i.e 2 foot plus with a reasonable population of fish in it should have a 1/3 water change every 2 weeks. This will remove the algaes which cause the water tio go a funny colour. Pleco and certain types of loach eat algae and keep it to a minimum. Apple snails are also good for this but can be eaten by the pleco.

Get a good filter which can handle the ammount of water in the tank. You are looking for a circulation rate of the ammount of litres of water your tank will hold to go through the filter every one to two hours. Most canister filters have this on their packaging. A good cheap alternative is an undergravel filter. It's a cheap but effective method of keeping your tank clean. It uses the entire gravel bed as a filter medium.
Another reason for water discolouration is if the gravel itself has gone pourous. This means it will hold harmful algaes which no matter how much you clean it the algae will always grow out and discolour the tank. The only option for this is to change the gravel.

Learn more about this author, Hailey Underwood.
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