Cloudy water

Grandreef 2 · 11/08/2009, 06:48 AM

Hello,
When my water is cloudy can I still run my filtration with it.
Alsoshould I use activated carbon, sock, or protien skimmer while putting in a bacterial additive?
Thanks

Dustin1300 · 11/08/2009, 07:35 PM

This all depends on your setup. As far as the question of filtration I would make sure that a protein skimmer is the first thing in place! You can run these during the water's cloudiness also. As far as carbon, I would not do so as it is not effective for a long period and no so widely used in saltwater systems. With a sock it all depends on what media you are talking about? I have a phosban reactor I run all the time with Phosban to keep phosphates low. Lastly, I would not recommend adding bacterial additive but rather ensure you have live rock and let the tank cycle before placing inhabitants in!

Conrad25 · 11/08/2009, 08:05 PM

If you are using a bacterial additive. I DEF. would NOT use a skimmer as its built to pull all your negative stuff out of a tank. I wouldn't run the skimmer until the tank has gone through its cycle as it will just cause it to take longer. You should run the powerheads and carbon. I wouldn't run light on it either as it just will cause worse algae problems until its established.

Conrad

sedor · 11/08/2009, 08:55 PM

The ? is what made your water cloudy in the first place? Is this a new tank that is cycling, or a mature tank? You mention a bacterial additive. Have you used this before? From the sounds of it, you are experiencing a bacterial bloom which was probably caused by whatever additive you mentioned. All you need to do is stop dosing it for a day or two and it will clear up on its own. Watch your ph because bacterial blooms can lower it drastically.

11/08/2009, 06:48 AM	#1
Grandreef 2 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: burlington, vermont Posts: 376	Cloudy water Hello, When my water is cloudy can I still run my filtration with it. Alsoshould I use activated carbon, sock, or protien skimmer while putting in a bacterial additive? Thanks

11/08/2009, 08:55 PM	#4
sedor Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 4,689	The ? is what made your water cloudy in the first place? Is this a new tank that is cycling, or a mature tank? You mention a bacterial additive. Have you used this before? From the sounds of it, you are experiencing a bacterial bloom which was probably caused by whatever additive you mentioned. All you need to do is stop dosing it for a day or two and it will clear up on its own. Watch your ph because bacterial blooms can lower it drastically. __________________ Ryan

11/08/2009, 07:35 PM	#2
Dustin1300 Reefaholic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Carmel, IN Posts: 5,135	This all depends on your setup. As far as the question of filtration I would make sure that a protein skimmer is the first thing in place! You can run these during the water's cloudiness also. As far as carbon, I would not do so as it is not effective for a long period and no so widely used in saltwater systems. With a sock it all depends on what media you are talking about? I have a phosban reactor I run all the time with Phosban to keep phosphates low. Lastly, I would not recommend adding bacterial additive but rather ensure you have live rock and let the tank cycle before placing inhabitants in!

11/08/2009, 08:05 PM	#3
Conrad25 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 556	If you are using a bacterial additive. I DEF. would NOT use a skimmer as its built to pull all your negative stuff out of a tank. I wouldn't run the skimmer until the tank has gone through its cycle as it will just cause it to take longer. You should run the powerheads and carbon. I wouldn't run light on it either as it just will cause worse algae problems until its established. Conrad