It can be frustrating when your fish tank water become a strange color. In today’s article, I will explain how to get rid of milky water in your fish tank.

Why is my fish tank milky looking?

The water in a fish tank can be milky looking for a couple reasons. If your fish tank is brand new, the cloudiness is most likely caused by the free roaming bacteria and nitrates that are getting used to the new environment.

Luckily, these bacteria will likely slow down and stop multiplying which should return the water in your fish tank to a normal clear color. Some of the other main causes of milky water in a fish tank including: gravel dust, high ph level, bacterial boom, overgrowth of algae, or overheating/light exposure.

Below we will share advice on how to fix these problems and get rid of the cloudy water in your fish tank.

How to get rid of milky water in fish tank

In order to get rid of milky water in fish tank, you have to properly diagnose what is causing the milky water in the first place. If the water in a new fish tank becomes milky, we suggest waiting a few days. As we mentioned earlier, this is actually quite common and the water will usually return to its normal clear color after the bacteria get more acclimated. 

If gravel is the problem, you should take out the water from the fish tank and wash the gravel in your fish tank. You should scrape the gravel with a brush until no more dust comes off. Then you can return the water to the fish tank.

If a high ph level is causing the milky water, you can add certain types of moss or driftwood to naturally lower the ph down to a healthy level. 

While bacterial boom will typically go away after 7 to 10 days, there are still some things you can do to get rid of it faster. We recommend clearing your fish tank of all uneaten food and dying plants. You could also perform water changes more often. Following these steps should help clear up your cloudy tank.
 
If there is an overgrowth of algae, simply remove some of the algae from the tank.

Lastly, your fish tank may have milky water because you are leaving the light on for too long or the light itself is too powerful. This can cause the water in your fish tank to rise to unhealthy levels for your fish. The over exposure of a fish tank light can also cause overgrowth of algae. If you think this might be the cause of your milky fish tank water, you should reduce the amount of time that you keep your fish tank light on.