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[Frankie Marble]

Last night my wife had a high school reunion at our house. Most of the guests left their kids home but few of them brought the kids along. As always kids love fish tanks & what's inside them. That being said, the reunion went on through the night & I wound up passing out thanks to Mezcal. Upon waking my water is cloudy as hell..... Wtf? It looks like someone poured milk into the tank. I asked my wife & she is unsure what happened. What could this kid possibly have done to make the water cloudy. I checked the DT & sump to see if he threw anything in there, didn't find anything. The only thing out of place was Kent's Phyoplex & a small bottle of purple up that I never use. Could he have added this stuff to the sump? If so will the water clear up after a while? I'm buggin out right now. Anyone with a similar experience please put my mind at ease.......

 

[marrone]

The best thing to do right now is a water change and run some carbon, this will help clear up the tank and remove anything that may have been thrown into the tank. How are the fish and corals, are they acting OK, not hiding, and did anything die?

 

[rideit6578]

Probably should test your tank and do a water change if thing are out of wack. Hue much of the phyto was left in the bottle? I think the tank will be fine

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Reefs

 

[Frankie Marble]

I'm at work right now, but when I get home I will def test the water & make some water for a water change. I don't have any ready cause I wasn't expecting this. The lights were off so I have no idea what's what with corals. Luckily the fish are in my QT for the last few week. (2 true Percula clowns & a yellow coris wrasse) does anyone think it could be coral spawning? My Pagoda cup has been acting weird the last couple of days.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

This is why I hate kids in my house lol my kids don't touch anything but one never knows what others kids would do!

 

[albano]

This is why I hate kids in my house

+1... When I got my tank , I got rid of the kids!

 

[Frankie Marble]

You ain't kidding..... I normally don't mind kids, but this pushed me over the edge. I'm gonna lock the cabinet door. Should have had it locked to begin with.

 

[Frankie Marble]

Can't wait to get home & start testing the water. I have no idea what I'm gonna come up with. If I have to make a quick batch of salt water, is it ok to make it today? I usually make & let it sit over night with a heater & power head.

 

[cmantis]

My money is on the mezcal! Maybe you were dosing too heavy...

 

[Frankie Marble]

Ha!! Prob was the Mezcal..... I actually haven't been dosing at all. I just tested the water.... Ph 8.0, ammonia 0-.25 (hard to tell), nitrite 0, nitrate 5.

Is it possible I'm having a mini cycle?

I've been thinking about it all day, yesterday I noticed one of my koralia 1400 wasn't spinning. So I took it apart & cleaned out. When I turned it back on it worked perfectly.
Note: when I was cleaning a lot of stuff came out into the water, I believe it was the remains of the shrimp I used to cycle the tank the first time.

I also added some foam blocks I bought, I put in a beige block 2", black block 1", green block 1" & a polishing pad. All bought from fosters & smith.

Maybe all that is building a new biological filter? I have no idea, but my Nitrates have never been this low...... Even though I'm seeing a slight bit of Ammonia.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lol

 

[duke62]

So you put a shrimp in to cycle the tank then started adding corals and fish? Seems like you are rushing alot. If that raw shrimp was still in the tank it either mean you just started the tank up and started adding livestock way to soon or you had the tank running for awhile and added shrimp in to late? No wonder your coral is closed up and wont open probably dying from the ammonia spike. Any sign of ammonia is bad even at a low concentration. You need to take a step back and let your tank fully cycle. Plus you dont add corals and fish before you add some type of clean up crew which you havent other wise you wouldnt have seen that shrimp you just found

 

[Tonyscoots84]

+1 to duke...

 

[tomjof]

Something like this actually happened to me too except it was my fault. A cup of ice yea fell into my tank and the next day it looked like milk. It's actually an algae bloom, causes by excess sugars or food in the water. It cleared up in about three days. Did a water change but nothing was killed or damaged

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

Patience is the true key to this hobby! Never let frustration get the best of you or be overly eager to get movement in a new tank.........it will only cost you and confuse you further.

 

[Frankie Marble]

Let me clarify for Duke & others.

My system has been running & fully cycled since January. I have built this system from the ground up, & have had plenty of patience when it comes to moving slow & steady. I added a clean up crew about 10 weeks ago & just started adding coral 3 weeks ago. The only fish I have aren't even in the DT as of now, they are in a quarintine tank being monitored.

I keep a very detailed log of this system: I track the water parameters, water change schedule, date I added live stock & where it was purchased. Just to list a few...... I also keep a log on equipment.

So if anyone has any questions about the system in order to help me out, please Ask. I have every answer you need to get a good idea of what I am dealing with. Instead of just making things up in your head based off of other people's negligence..... Or better yet actually read my post & not just skim through it & pick out whatever u want.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful by any means, because I have had more then a few people here come through big. It's just very upsetting when people think they know what your doing & really have no idea. I have been warned by a couple of very experienced & credible people, to be careful of what advice I take from this forum. To quote one of them " It's a good place to buy equipment from people who fail & sell it all "

Like I said before, I am thankful for anyone who offers good advice & personal experience to help me in my journey through this amazing hobby of reef keeping. I will give my word to always give the best advice I have to offer in return for the good advice given to me.

Thanks again, Frankie

 

[duke62]

Ok thanks keep up the good work then. Ammonia in your tank since January and a rotting shrimp in your tank since January? What are we making up in out heads? Keep up the good work and keep being rude to people on this forum and see how far it takes you. I read your other thread on the pogoda and the reason why no one responded to you is your second post being so rude within 20 min of making your thread. Good luck and happy reefing

 

[duke62]

Oh and here is your tank from January cycling> Funny the date is from July. Again happy reefing http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/general-discussion/149519-waiting-spike.html

 

[masterswimmer]

Frankie, based on your above response to the advice offered by others it appears you haven't had any fish in your tank since cycling, and the only coral you've added was 3 weeks ago. With this information it sure looks like you might have killed your bacteria colonies after your tank cycled in January. Adding the livestock recently could have caused a new cycle. The bacteria colonies, when generated during your cycle, need to be fed on a regular basis in order to sustain their levels.

As for the kid possibly dosing your tank with Purple Up or Phytoplex........

Purple Up is a calcium supplement. You mentioned the parameters you tested but didn't note your calcium. Either way, excessive Ca shouldn't effect your water adversely the way you stated.

Kent Phytoplex is a phytoplankton that needs to be fresh. A stale supply of Phytoplex is not beneficial to your livestock. Fresh Phytoplex in excessive doses can certainly cause a bacterial bloom, something you might be witnessing.

Russ

 

[Frankie Marble]

Ok. I was a bit misleading when saying fully cycled since January. What I meant by what I said was the tank was built in January & was ready around the end of July. I apologize for giving mixed info & or not expressing myself correctly. As far as the ammonia goes I haven't had any ammonia in quite some time & I believe that whatever gunk actually came out of that power head could be the cause of my troubles.
( I should have completely removed the pump from the DT before cleaning)

Duke I never meant to offend you.... What I was trying to get across was if you have a question that could help you to help me, ask me.... I don't want to be the guy upsetting anyone as this is a great hobby with lots of great people. So I offer my apologies & wish you the same..... Happy Reefing!

 

[Frankie Marble]

Hi Russ,

I don't actually have a test kit for Calcium as of right now. ( I'm working on that) so I would t know what the actual levels are.

What u are saying makes sense about the bacteria dying off. I guess I should have had some fish I'm there doing their thing eatting & pooping. My only concern was not quarintining the fish before adding them to the main DT.

I corrected myself in a post right before this one. The cycle wasn't complete in January, I starte the build in January & the cycle was complete just about the end of July. It still has been way too much time without any sort of bio load. What do you suggest I do?