Im not sure how this happened, but one day my water gpt really cloudy :?: i didnt really do anything to it that i recall. its a 50 gallon reef, but its still fairly new. it has two powerheads, usually only with one on. it has a remora hang on protien skimmer and I recently added a top skim box. i only have 4 damsels, 3 or 4 green chromis, a fire shrimp, cleaner crew (bunch of snails and little hermits) along with a brain and plate coral. im a little worried about my fish and coral now. i also noticed about the same time i started getting really course individual dot greenish type algae on the glass that is real tough. really gotta go over it 4 or 5 times to loosen it up. wonder if that is somehow related to my cloudy water? i have my skimmer running all the time, so what could have caused this?
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Cloudy Water
- Thread starter Rv5
- Start date
i would think you would know.
caulerpa is a type of algae that is usually plant like in appearance.
let's move along...
where is your alkalinty/calcium at?
when was the last time you changed some water?
have you tried running any carbon?
is there any type of mechanical filter on the tank?
more questions may come later :wink:
caulerpa is a type of algae that is usually plant like in appearance.
let's move along...
where is your alkalinty/calcium at?
when was the last time you changed some water?
have you tried running any carbon?
is there any type of mechanical filter on the tank?
more questions may come later :wink:
havent checked my alkalinity in a while. i shall do that in the morning. havent done a water change at all since the beginning. i was told i wouldnt/shouldnt in a reef tank. was i misinformed? i dont run carbon, though i would like too. dont know how i would though given my setup. and no mechanical filtration, just protein skim.
Rv5":1r0r4fr2 said:Im not sure how this happened, but one day my water gpt really cloudy :?: i didnt really do anything to it that i recall. its a 50 gallon reef, but its still fairly new. it has two powerheads, usually only with one on. it has a remora hang on protien skimmer and I recently added a top skim box. i only have 4 damsels, 3 or 4 green chromis, a fire shrimp, cleaner crew (bunch of snails and little hermits) along with a brain and plate coral. im a little worried about my fish and coral now. i also noticed about the same time i started getting really course individual dot greenish type algae on the glass that is real tough. really gotta go over it 4 or 5 times to loosen it up. wonder if that is somehow related to my cloudy water? i have my skimmer running all the time, so what could have caused this?
Are you missing a chromis? A dead fish will cloud your water.
Rv5":qoatwa8n said:havent checked my alkalinity in a while. i shall do that in the morning. havent done a water change at all since the beginning. i was told i wouldnt/shouldnt in a reef tank. was i misinformed? i dont run carbon, though i would like too. dont know how i would though given my setup. and no mechanical filtration, just protein skim.
you were misinformed.
sooner or later you have to change some water.
i would start by throwing some carbon in. use some high quality stuff like Two Little Fishies Hydrocarbon. get a clean (new is best) nylon stocking and put three or four tablespoons of carbon in the stocking, tie it off and submerse it in a medium flow area (a sump is not necessary). within 24hrs your tank water should clear. i would do a series of water changes too.. the larger the better but you are limited as to how much you can change without shocking your tank.
about 20% is the largest i would suggest (if you are sumpless i doubt you can change this much out without exposing your corals). and i would spread them out from one another by at least a day preferably more. how many you do is your call but i would make a somewhat regular schedule of changing some water out.
lots of folks do it monthly at 10 to 20%.
the need for water changes cannot be relieved with any supplements on the market. when i started my first reef i was told, much as you were, that water changes were harmful to the delicate inhabitants of my tank.
i went a year without changing water in a 46g and if i wasn't paying attention i may have lost the whole tank due to exhausted water. my magnesium level was zilch and my alkalinity and calcium levels were all over the place.
this was only evident because i had tests to measure these parameters, i can't imagine where the levels were for any of the other essential trace elements that i don't have kits for.
i can say that snail shells and acroporas were growing in abnormal shapes. funny, i just saw an old shell from this era a couple days ago.
so i would hop to it, i believe you will see an immediate improvement.
When you say "new", how new is it?
Water changes, especially too frequent, on a new setup can actually do more harm than good. Typically, when we see cloudy water (as though someone poured some milk in it) in a new system, there is a very good chance that the balance between benthic nitrifying bacteria and free-floating bacteria has been upset. This means that there are currently more nutrients available than there are bacteria to "eat" them. Carbon can only partially alleviate the issue, and can rapidly become saturated.
Also, there are times when a large (75%-100%) w/c are simply necessary. As long as it's mixed well, matched for parameters, and well-aged, it is not harmful. Especially in the instances of needing to reduce readings on substances such as nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, phosphorous, rapidly, this is really the best way to go. If you have sponges growing in the system, you may need to remove any that have been exposed to air - simply cut them back.
It's my guess that, because you've mentioned what sounds like a type of hair algae, you have gotten to the point where you're experiencing a build-up of excess nutrients. We can only really guess here, because we know nothing of you water parameters - ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, all count as available nutrients - as well as what brand kits were used to test. In any event, even without knowing what your parameters are, I would suggest a decent water change as well. It's important to know and be absolutely assured of the quality of your source water (if you're mixing), if you have access to natural sea water (filtered and sterilized, of course) then it's pretty hard to go wrong with that. I would perform a minimum 30% w/c to start, then observe.
DO NOT VACUUM the substrate at all when you're doing this w/c.
Water changes, especially too frequent, on a new setup can actually do more harm than good. Typically, when we see cloudy water (as though someone poured some milk in it) in a new system, there is a very good chance that the balance between benthic nitrifying bacteria and free-floating bacteria has been upset. This means that there are currently more nutrients available than there are bacteria to "eat" them. Carbon can only partially alleviate the issue, and can rapidly become saturated.
Also, there are times when a large (75%-100%) w/c are simply necessary. As long as it's mixed well, matched for parameters, and well-aged, it is not harmful. Especially in the instances of needing to reduce readings on substances such as nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, phosphorous, rapidly, this is really the best way to go. If you have sponges growing in the system, you may need to remove any that have been exposed to air - simply cut them back.
It's my guess that, because you've mentioned what sounds like a type of hair algae, you have gotten to the point where you're experiencing a build-up of excess nutrients. We can only really guess here, because we know nothing of you water parameters - ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, all count as available nutrients - as well as what brand kits were used to test. In any event, even without knowing what your parameters are, I would suggest a decent water change as well. It's important to know and be absolutely assured of the quality of your source water (if you're mixing), if you have access to natural sea water (filtered and sterilized, of course) then it's pretty hard to go wrong with that. I would perform a minimum 30% w/c to start, then observe.
DO NOT VACUUM the substrate at all when you're doing this w/c.
i have some carbon and some filter socks that i can drop in. i also have access to very good water from two different sources. first, i have a reverse osmosis fit on a faucet that i use to fill when i get low. however, i do have my fathers 180 gallon tank that has the works, (big sump, drip filtration, protein skimmer, and even uv sterilization). i can get water from either, which would you guys say?
I honestly don't know how an RO unit that fits on the faucet would work. Unless you mean that it's fitted with a faucet. If that's the case, then definitely use RO (RO/DI is better) to mix the saltwater. What's important is this - starting out with low/zero nutrients. The UV isn't going to make a difference as to whether or not there are nutrients available to microorganisms, but it can kill some microorganisms.
I would prefer to use freshly made up water rather than that which has been being used in another system, there is too great a potential to create worse problems. Also, unless he's got a dentrification method in place, you'll be putting the very nutrients back into the system that you need to remove. That doesn't make much sense, does it? Test your source water for the substances mentioned above - alkalinity and calcium are the least of your concerns right now, phosphate, nitrate/nitrogenous compounds are among the substances you would need to pay attention to.
Also, know this: there are some forms of carbon that will actually leach phosphate into the water, so if you're going to use carbon, I suggest going with a high quality product, such as that Pod suggested, to be safe. You don't need to exacerbate the problem.
I would prefer to use freshly made up water rather than that which has been being used in another system, there is too great a potential to create worse problems. Also, unless he's got a dentrification method in place, you'll be putting the very nutrients back into the system that you need to remove. That doesn't make much sense, does it? Test your source water for the substances mentioned above - alkalinity and calcium are the least of your concerns right now, phosphate, nitrate/nitrogenous compounds are among the substances you would need to pay attention to.
Also, know this: there are some forms of carbon that will actually leach phosphate into the water, so if you're going to use carbon, I suggest going with a high quality product, such as that Pod suggested, to be safe. You don't need to exacerbate the problem.
Rv5":19kuv8vd said:not hair algae, but like i said originally i due have quyite a bit of very course small dot type algae.
if it is bright green then it's an indication to me that your alkalinity is low. just a hunch.
so, like SM asked, how old is this tank?
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