quick question on cloudiness and carbon

[Nimitz87]

hi all, my tank suddenly got quite cloudy overnight my water parameters are the following, all done with salifert kits.

• temp 80
• sg 1.025
• ph 8.1
• alk 8.45
• cal 460
• mag 1400
• nitrate 5ppm
• p04 0

I went ahead and changed my carbon. first time running a reactor and it's been about 3 weeks so I think it's due up, does it normally cloud up suddenly when it needs to be changed?

my cal seems slightly high but I don't think it's a concern is it?

my corals and anemones are open and happy, my clown actually just started hosting in my two RTBA's tonight!

here you can see how cloudy it is looking down the tank.





I do 10% water changes weekly, I use reef crystals mix and tomorrow is my normal day but I was thinking of just knocking it out tonight, I"m sure it wouldn't hurt.

[NO3]

Possibly a bacteria bloom!!!!

....which wouldn't show up on any of your tests

Bacteria Bloom majorly deplete Oxygen and your fish could all suffocate

If I were you I would immediately get an airstone pumping micro bubbles thru a Powerhead so micro bubbles spread thruout the tank

2nd option is to turn your skimmer full blast and let the FOAM overflow right back into the tank to oxygenate the watee

[Nimitz87]

Originally Posted by The ghost of 25

Been 3 hrs....no advice for this guy?

appreciate it lol.

Originally Posted by NO3

Possibly a bacteria bloom!!!!

....which wouldn't show up on any of your tests

Bacteria Bloom majorly deplete Oxygen and your fish could all suffocate

If I were you I would immediately get an airstone pumping micro bubbles thru a Powerhead so micro bubbles spread thruout the tank

2nd option is to turn your skimmer full blast and let the FOAM overflow right back into the tank to oxygenate the watee

ok I did the 2nd option, I cleaned out the skimmer and sump and am letting it run with the cup off and turned up.

so it's absolutely not just needing new carbon right?

what could of caused this, and should it go away on it's own? I did a 15 gal water change tonight, 110 gallon system volume.

[mcgyvr]

Sometimes the water gets cloudy and we never know why..
Best to just try not to overreact and just give it time and let it run its course..
Most of the time its not a problem at all and goes away in hours to a few days...

[tthouston]

It happens to my tank couple days ago. Your anemone spawned that make the water cloudy.
I saw in my eyes my 10 anemones spawn at the same time straight 30 minutes an hour before the light shutdown last night, all my 2 tanks are very cloud and I can't see anything in the tanks. yes, it very cloudy and dark. (40 gallons use for anemones and clownfishes and 220g tank for other fishes those using one sump)
My actions is doing the wet skim-mate and replace fresh saltwater at that night (It collect around 8 gallons out of my skimmer) and I replace new 3 cups of carbon in the reactor. The next day, the water was clear and everything back to normal.

[tthouston]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrq7LEVeDdQ

[Nimitz87]

well, it cleared up dramatically so I guess I'm ok...

[tthouston]

Originally Posted by Nimitz87

well, it cleared up dramatically so I guess I'm ok...

Good, at least you know what happened to your tank so you are not panicking next time.

[WVfishguy]

I've been in this hobby nearly 50 years, but I still learn something new at least once every couple of weeks. I think if you were a aquarist vampire and a thousand years old, you'd still pick up new knowledge constantly.

[tthouston]

Originally Posted by WVfishguy

I've been in this hobby nearly 50 years, but I still learn something new at least once every couple of weeks. I think if you were a aquarist vampire and a thousand years old, you'd still pick up new knowledge constantly.

Exactly, That is why we are here to help to learn from each other.