If your fish tank is currently experiencing a bacterial bloom that is making your water look cloudy, dirty and/or milky, then you can use Seachem Clarity to fix this issue. To find out how to do so, you can take a look at this tutorial from Aquarium Blueprints.
Why bacterial blooms occur in your aquarium
Bacterial bloom will happen in your fish tank when there is an abundance of food for the beneficial bacteria in your biological filtration to consume and rapidly increase in population.
Bacteria bloom often occur when you are cycling a new fish tank as you need to kickstart the cycling process by adding ammonia. It may also occur if you leave a dead fish or dead plant in your tank. Last but not least, overfeeding your fish and then not removing any of the uneaten food particles could lead to a population explosion of beneficial bacteria as well.
Are bacterial blooms harmful to fish and other aquatic pets?
Bacterial blooms should not directly cause any health issues for your pets and other aquatic pets. With that said, an abundance of bacteria will deplete the oxygen level in your tank water.
If you see that your fish are having a hard time breathing and/or grasping for air at the water surface, then we recommend trying to get rid of the bacterial bloom.
How to use Seachem Clarity to fix bacterial bloom
In order to use Seachem Clarity in order to get rid of the bacterial bloom in your fish tank, we recommend that you try taking the following steps:
1. If your fish seems to be having a hard time breathing, then we recommend increasing the aeration in your tank.
If you are using a canister or power filter, then you can try increasing the water flow rate. If possible, you can also remove the output nozzle to above the water surface.
Moreover, you can add an air stone to your aquarium. If you already have an air stone, then you can try increasing the air flow rate.
2. Next, we recommend doing a water change.
When it comes to changing water, we recommend doing no more than 20% at a time in order to reduce stress for your fish and other aquatic pets.
During the water change, you should remove any dead fish, dead plant and/or uneaten food from the tank. If you don’t, then the bacterial bloom will persist.
3. After doing a water change, you should then be able to dose Seachem Clarity.
Follow the directions on the container, which should be to add 5 mL, or a capful, for every 20 gallons (or 80 liters) of tank water.
4. We recommend doing small water changes and then adding Clarity daily until your tank water starts to clear up.
5. After your aquarium look clearer, you can lower the air and/or water flow rates to the normal levels.
If you accidentally overdosed your tank with Seachem Clarity, then we recommend that you take a look at this troubleshooter to see what steps you can take.