Why is my tank cloudy?

jk1nole · 01/16/2010, 01:00 PM

3-4 days ago my 65 gal tank was crystal clear. Now it has a slight cloudiness to it. I replaced my skimmer and sump on Monday.

My parameters are
Nitrate 2-5
PH 7.8
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - 0
Salinity 1.0245

I have 2 small clowns, 1 small yellow tang, 1 hiding yellow watchman.
10-12 snails, 10-12 hermits, Small Acan Coral, Frogspawn, Candy Cane Coral.

The snails seem to be acting a little sluggish. I lost one yesterday, but I think it was because he fell down and the hermits found him before I did. The fish seem fine, but the frogspawn seems a little more closed up than usual.

tahoe61 · 01/16/2010, 01:15 PM

Sounds like an algae or bacterial bloom. How old is your tank and are you dosing anything? Are you over feeding because your nitrate seems elevated for that bioload in a 65 gal tank.

210reefer · 01/16/2010, 01:16 PM

Has the skimmer broken in enough yet to pull gunk from the tank? Are you running any macro in the sump?

PRDubois · 01/16/2010, 01:24 PM

Could be too much calcium

210reefer · 01/16/2010, 01:28 PM

Just thought of this, are you using RO/DI water or treated tap/ell water?

jk1nole · 01/16/2010, 01:38 PM

To answer the questions...

- Tank is 8-10 weeks old.
- My nitrates have been around 5 for quite awhile.
- The skimmer is foaming well, I dumped a little skimmate out last night, but it is not a real dark color yet. I wasn't running a skimmer for about 3 weeks while I was waiting to get my new sump. My tank was clear as ever then.
- Not dosing with anything.... Not sure how to.
- Not running any Macro in the sump
- I buy very good RO/DI water from my LFS
- I feed one time a day with some mysis and I hang some veggies in for the tang.

I attached a picture of my sump set up. I cleaned the filter sock Monday also. Is it possible it needs cleaned again?

bertoni · 01/16/2010, 02:57 PM

I suspect the skimmer will clean up the mess once it's broken in. It's mildly possible that the alkalinity and calcium levels got high enough to cause some fine particles to precipitate, but I'd guess that you're seeing some bacteria or some debris. You might stop feeding for a couple of days, in case it's a bacterial bloom.

jk1nole · 01/16/2010, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertoni

I suspect the skimmer will clean up the mess once it's broken in. It's mildly possible that the alkalinity and calcium levels got high enough to cause some fine particles to precipitate, but I'd guess that you're seeing some bacteria or some debris. You might stop feeding for a couple of days, in case it's a bacterial bloom.

Thx. I'll hold of on feeding then. Should decrease the time that the lights are on?

bertoni · 01/16/2010, 04:51 PM

The lights should be fine as is. I wouldn't worry about them.

smalls383 · 01/16/2010, 06:43 PM

Try a 20% water change...

KillerReef · 01/16/2010, 06:47 PM

Quote:

I buy very good RO/DI water from my LFS

Have you tested the TDS?

Shane Hoffman · 01/16/2010, 06:56 PM

Are you running carbon. I have only had my tank get cloudy once. When it happened to me I realized my carbon hadnt been changed in 9 weeks. I changed the carbon and it was crystal clear the next morning.

jk1nole · 01/17/2010, 02:59 PM

Update... It seems I lost a snail and a hermit at some point in the last 24 hours. I have a bag of carbon in the sump, but not hooked up to a reactor yet. I do run a phosphate reactor.

The water does seem a little clearer today and the frogspawn is opening up full again.

I have noticed a bunch of white things popping up on my overflow box and on some of the rocks. Most of them look like little white rings. A picture is below. Crappy photo though. Wasn't sure if that would be related at all.

The water I use tested good at the store I buy from.

I thought about doing a water change... But, probably can't get water until tomorrow. And I just did a 25% when I replaced the sump on Monday.

jk1nole · 01/17/2010, 05:31 PM

One more thing... Would a few pellets of GFO in the display tank cause this?

dudley moray · 01/17/2010, 05:35 PM

looks like coralline algae starting to grow on your glass

bertoni · 01/17/2010, 07:00 PM

A few grains of GFO are perfectly fine in the tank, and won't hurt anything.

The white dots might be spirorbid worms, and they're harmless.

01/16/2010, 01:00 PM	#1
jk1nole Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 211	Why is my tank cloudy? 3-4 days ago my 65 gal tank was crystal clear. Now it has a slight cloudiness to it. I replaced my skimmer and sump on Monday. My parameters are Nitrate 2-5 PH 7.8 Nitrite - 0 Ammonia - 0 Salinity 1.0245 I have 2 small clowns, 1 small yellow tang, 1 hiding yellow watchman. 10-12 snails, 10-12 hermits, Small Acan Coral, Frogspawn, Candy Cane Coral. The snails seem to be acting a little sluggish. I lost one yesterday, but I think it was because he fell down and the hermits found him before I did. The fish seem fine, but the frogspawn seems a little more closed up than usual.

01/16/2010, 01:15 PM	#2
tahoe61 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: On the state line Posts: 730	Cloudy Sounds like an algae or bacterial bloom. How old is your tank and are you dosing anything? Are you over feeding because your nitrate seems elevated for that bioload in a 65 gal tank.

01/16/2010, 01:16 PM	#3
210reefer Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 75	Has the skimmer broken in enough yet to pull gunk from the tank? Are you running any macro in the sump? __________________ 210 RR, 30 gal sump, Aqua Euro 250 skimmer, 2 x K4's, 2xK3's, turbo twist UV, 2 x 300 watt heaters, shop light w/6500k bulb for fuge, 300 lbs LR, 300 lb LS, powder blue tag, kole tang, regal tang, humu humu trigger, coral beauty angel, 2 x perc. clowns. ITS NOT THE DAYS IN OUR LIFE BUT, THE LIFE IN OUR DAYS THAT MATTER.

01/16/2010, 01:24 PM	#4
PRDubois Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chester, VA Posts: 3,626	Could be too much calcium __________________ http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2534403 Current Tank Info: 225 gal Reef, 60 gal reef & 40b frag tank

01/16/2010, 01:28 PM	#5
210reefer Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 75	Just thought of this, are you using RO/DI water or treated tap/ell water? __________________ 210 RR, 30 gal sump, Aqua Euro 250 skimmer, 2 x K4's, 2xK3's, turbo twist UV, 2 x 300 watt heaters, shop light w/6500k bulb for fuge, 300 lbs LR, 300 lb LS, powder blue tag, kole tang, regal tang, humu humu trigger, coral beauty angel, 2 x perc. clowns. ITS NOT THE DAYS IN OUR LIFE BUT, THE LIFE IN OUR DAYS THAT MATTER.

01/16/2010, 01:38 PM	#6
jk1nole Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 211	To answer the questions... - Tank is 8-10 weeks old. - My nitrates have been around 5 for quite awhile. - The skimmer is foaming well, I dumped a little skimmate out last night, but it is not a real dark color yet. I wasn't running a skimmer for about 3 weeks while I was waiting to get my new sump. My tank was clear as ever then. - Not dosing with anything.... Not sure how to. - Not running any Macro in the sump - I buy very good RO/DI water from my LFS - I feed one time a day with some mysis and I hang some veggies in for the tang. I attached a picture of my sump set up. I cleaned the filter sock Monday also. Is it possible it needs cleaned again? Last edited by jk1nole; 01/16/2010 at 01:46 PM.

01/16/2010, 02:57 PM	#7
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I suspect the skimmer will clean up the mess once it's broken in. It's mildly possible that the alkalinity and calcium levels got high enough to cause some fine particles to precipitate, but I'd guess that you're seeing some bacteria or some debris. You might stop feeding for a couple of days, in case it's a bacterial bloom. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/16/2010, 04:51 PM	#9
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	The lights should be fine as is. I wouldn't worry about them. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/16/2010, 06:43 PM	#10
smalls383 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Saratoga, CA Posts: 483	Try a 20% water change...

01/16/2010, 06:56 PM	#12
Shane Hoffman Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 45 mins from Chicago Posts: 2,009	Are you running carbon. I have only had my tank get cloudy once. When it happened to me I realized my carbon hadnt been changed in 9 weeks. I changed the carbon and it was crystal clear the next morning. __________________ A wise man once said "Never play leap frog with a unicorn" Current Tank Info: 150 gallon glass with 20 gallon sump, 175lbs of coraline covered live rock, EuroReef skimmer rated for 250gal, 25watt Aqua UV sterilizer, Fluval FX5, Hamilton 3x250watt MH, 160 watt Blue actinic....Mixed reef

01/17/2010, 05:31 PM	#14
jk1nole Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 211	One more thing... Would a few pellets of GFO in the display tank cause this?

01/17/2010, 05:35 PM	#15
dudley moray sisternofuselessknowledge Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: orillia ontario Posts: 795	looks like coralline algae starting to grow on your glass __________________ We urge hobbyists to develop a good 'BS' detector that will allow you to question information presented to you without any experimental evidence to support it. chris Current Tank Info: 90 gal south pacific biotope 40 gal sump/fuge ,65 gal rebuilding

01/17/2010, 07:00 PM	#16
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	A few grains of GFO are perfectly fine in the tank, and won't hurt anything. The white dots might be spirorbid worms, and they're harmless. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni