Cloudy tank

[bigyankfan]

I upgraded from a 90 to a 120 about a month ago. Everything from my old tank (sand, rock, livestock, all plumbing other than sump and overflow/return pipes) was transferred to the new tank and now my water has been cloudy for the past week. It was cloudy for the first week until the sand settled, then it was crystal clear for two weeks then cloudy for the last week. It is not microbubbles because it does not go away when I shut off the skimmer and return pump. I don't dose two-part so it is not particulate. Any ideas? I am desperate and don't want to lose corals. Thx.

 

[KathyC]

It could be an algae bloom. Do you have a UV light you can use?

If you take about a gallon of water out and put it in a crystal clear container - what color is it?

A pic would be helpful also.

 

[bigyankfan]

Kathy,

I don't have a sterilizer but the water isn't brown or green, just clear but cloudy. Richie is stopping by to make a house call. I will post a pic when he goes and thx.

 

[duke62]

haha im back for a couple of days and the 1 question that kathy hates me to ask "what type of macro algae do you have"

 

[bigyankfan]

None, I only have mangroves in my fuge. It is the exact setup I had in my 90 which was always crystal clear. I also used most of the water from my 90 (except for the 20 gallons or so at the bottom that was murky from the move) and supplemented that with fresh RODI salt water.

 

[fishman1069]

Try running some carbon? I had a similar issue a couple of weeks ago and all I did was run some new carbon in a bag and changed out my GFO in my reactor and the tank is crystal clear again.

 

[bigyankfan]

I use the two chamber reactor from BRS and I just changed the carbon and GFO four weeks ago when I set up my new tank.

 

[NL146]

Anything that could have caused a bacteria bloom?

 

[bigyankfan]

What would cause that and what are the symptoms? And most importantly, the cure?

 

[bethzb]

What are the H20 parameters? Frequently, if you disturb the substrate, you can end up with a mini cycle. The milkiness clears up on its own in a week or 2 but it should show up with a general water test as nitrite or nitrate increase.

 

[bigyankfan]

I will test and let you know - thx.

 

[prattreef]

It appears to be a bacterial bloom. Have you recently started carbon source dosing or any new supplements etc? Sometimes it just happens and is rarely harmful and will clear up on its own. I would def. change the carbon as suggested--- a month is long enough to exhaust a carbon charge.

It is NOT a mini-cycle-- which would indicate an ammonia and or nitrite spike both of which are non- visiuall events and would be marked by dead or dying animals--- particularly fish. Your major concern with a baterial bloom is reduced O2 in the system, so if your fish are breathing normally, I wouldn't be too concerned.

Nice looking tank BTW.

 

[bigyankfan]

Randy,

My fish and inverts are fine so I will hope that it clears on its own and thx for the kind words on the tank. What about the reduced light from the cloudiness? Will my colors of my corals come back once the water is clear again?

 

[prattreef]

Assuming it is a simple bacterial bloom things should return to normal. I would change the carbon though.

 

[bigyankfan]

Will do. Richie (rkaragozler) offer me a diatom filter to use to clean the water. Will this help to clear the water? Also, I was going to do a 20G water change today.

 

[bethzb]

Diatom filters are also known as water polishing units so yes; it will help clear the water. Put the diatomaceous earth into the canister though. The particles can irritate the corals and damage the gills on your fish. It seems a bit excessive since the bacteria will re-settle the substrate and filter anyway (or die off as the bacterial food source is consumed). Do your water change and exercise some patience. If fish and corals are happy, than time will polish the water just fine.