Dear hobby:
Okay, since this is a new aquarium that you just filled with saltwater, very likely it simply needs a little longer for the salt mix to dissolve thoroughly and the precipitation to settle out.
First things first — it may well be that the aquarium is not actually as cloudy as it appears. You may have fine sediment or calcium precipitates that have settled on the viewing surfaces of the aquarium, and this filmy coating may be causing the apparent cloudiness. The actual aquarium water itself could be quite clear. To determine if this is the case, try cleaning the aquarium glass or acrylic on the inside of the tank. If it’s an acrylic aquarium, be sure your cleaning magnets or cleaning pad are designed for use with acrylic so they they will not cause any scratches, and be very careful when you’re cleaning near the substrate so that no sand grains or bits of gravel get trapped between me cleaning surface and the front or side of the tank, which could leave scratches.
If the glass/acrylic viewing surfaces are clean on the inside and out, yet the aquarium still appears cloudy, then I would recommend inserting a mechanical filtration pad on top of the drip tray in the wet/dry filter or external filter, as the case may be, in order to filter out fine sediment and suspended particulates from the aquarium water. Just go to your LFS and ask for a micron filter pad to provide mechanical filtration. It will come in a large sheet that you can cut to fit the drip tray or filter box on your external filter. The filter pad should begin clearing the aquarium rapidly if the problem is due to suspended sediments or fine particulates, and the aquarium should be noticeably clearer within a few hours. By this time tomorrow, it should be crystal clear if any kind of suspended particles or sediments were causing the cloudiness. Filter pads that are fine enough to provide micron filtration and "polish" the water become clogged quickly, so remove the filter pad after a few days so that the dirty/clogged pad does not restrict the water flow through your filter or cause an overflow that bypasses the wet/dry trickle compartment.
If cleaning the viewing surfaces of the aquarium, inside and out, and the micron mechanical filtration pad do not clear up your aquarium within 24 hours, report back again at that time, and there are other measures we can pursue. If those measures do clear up the cloudy water problem, then just prepare the saltwater properly for your subsequent water changes and you should have no further problems along those lines.
Best of luck getting the water in your tank crystal clear again and preparing your new aquarium for seahorses!
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna
Ocean Rider, Inc. is an Organic Hawaiian-Based Seahorse Aqua-Farm & Aquarium that Follows Strict Good Farming Practices in Raising Seahorses and Other Aquatic Life.
