Cloudy water????

[pjr]

My daughter's tank has just developed ultra cloudy water. I mean, on the tank (36x18x18 , a breeder 50) you can barely see the back glass. The tank has been up For almost six months, and this has suddenly become a problem. There is a hang on skimmer and a hang on filter. I’ve added some polyfilter material to the hang-on, but to no avail.

Any suggestion on cause or solution is appreciated. This one has me confused.

[RedfordReefer]

Could it be an algae bloom?

[pjr]

Maybe! I've never seen one.... other than the hair algae on the rock type of bloom. She did have some hair algae, but a sea hare devoured it all last month.

[RedfordReefer]

What color is it? I've heard of some tanks being so Nutrient-rich that the actually grow (phyto)plankton faster than the natural predators can remove it.

[pjr]

When we did a water change, the water had a yellow tint....

[RedfordReefer]

when was the last change and what percent volume? It seems to me that there was a spike in nutrients and that caused some unusual chemistry. Yellow water is usually a tell-tale sign that perhaps religious water changes weren't done.

You might want to get some active carbon in there and run it for a couple weeks, along with regular water changes over the next week.

couple more things PJR;

Check the skimmer. Make sure it's bringing out thick brown disgustingness. Sometimes, yellow is a sign of too much waste in the water.
Check the Lights. When is the last time the bulbs were changed? Are they due? When the spectrum shifts, it causes undesired changes in the water's chemistry.
Feeding. How much is the tank being fed? Are there enough in the Clean up Crew to keep the uneaten food off the sand?

[SaltCreeps]

"Yellow cloudy water in a saltwater aquarium is caused by Dissolved Organic Compounds (DOC’s) or proteins. To reduce the amount of protein in your tank, protein skimmers work exceptionally well. Reducing the amount of food that is fed to fish and other creatures in the tank, as well as vacuuming uneaten food, detritus, and substrate on a regular basis can help to maintain a clear aquarium. Increasing the tank’s biological filtration is also recommended as it serves as a breeding ground for bacteria." From what i have been reading you need a better skimmer and maybe a filter system but photos will help on my call

[cephalotus]

I agree with Redford do a decent size water change and run alot of carbon actively.

[fawkes]

I would add an external canister filter with carbon - if you have one. Test for ammonia - especially if there are fish. If the pH is 8.4 there is little room for any significant ammonia spike.

[greenstarfish03]

Take it for what its worth but if it is an algae issue in the water column algae needs light just like everything else. Your corals and stuff will make it a few days w/o light so I would turn off the lights and wrap the tank in a blanket or soemthing so absolutely no light gets in for 2-3 days. When you unwrap the tank the algae should be gone. If its not an algae issue I wouldn't go that route:) Along time ago I had a bad algae issue in the water column but the water was more green then yellow.

As mentioned above a pic would help.

[Sir Patrick]

Any updates?

[pjr]

I adjusted the skimmer over the weekend.... it seemed to help a bit. I think the DOCs may have got out of control as a result. We're going to do another water change and do a water sample at the LFS.... just to do some greater analysis. Details and pic coming soon!

[cg5071]

I have heard of a white algae bloom from dosing to much of a carbon source at once. like vodka dosing ect.

[pjr]

It's not easy being green.


http://tapa.tk/mu/450eedeb-a3af-0287.jpg

[pjr]

Phosphates are 0 as are nitrates; Ph is 8.3 and alk is 10.2 (high)!

[Skyhigh]

hook up a UV for a few days and it will be gone..

[pjr]

thx Brian.... would not have considered it; never used one before. I see one of these hang-on "Green Killing Machines" out there. Anyone know much about these?

[fishtal]

If it is as green as it looks I'd say it's an algae bloom. If it was more white I'd think bacterial. Have you thought of tossing in some rotifers to feed on it? Just a thought. :)

[pjr]

hmmm.... good idea. I better find a LOT of them!

[Sir Patrick]

Wow!!! That is some green water!!! I have no idea what could cause this!

Anyone?

[fishtal]

hmmm.... good idea. I better find a LOT of them!

LMK if you want to try that. I have plenty. :)

[greenstarfish03]

Definitely an algae bloom!!!! I had one of these about 6 years ago. It was horrible. I couldn't even see my yellow tang 3 inches behind the glass. I will try to dig up an old pic if I can find one. Mine was caused by stupidity that took place when I got my first tank. I had a cyano issue so I treated the tank w/ that antibiotic stuff slimeaway or something like that. It knocked out the bacteria causing the cyano but it also knocked out allot of good bacteria allowing this alage to take over. In my case it was even greener. I could do a 50% water change one day and things looked better only to find it totally green a day or so later. You won't want to know what fixed it fianlly.:blackeye: In my case this was my first tank and I made allot of mistakes no sump etc. So I moved all of the fish into a hospital tank took everything out and bleached the entire tank. Rinsed the sand in bleach, scrubed every piece of live rock w/ a tooth brush and drilled the tank added a sump a plentium, and set it back up. Moved everything back in and all was fine after that. While I was battling this I did find that doing a water change and then keeping the tank in 100% darness for a few days would help. In my case the algae was just too bad though.

I never have tried a UV though so I would give that a whirl b/c that would be a lot easier then what I did:)

[greenstarfish03]

Here is a pic

[greenstarfish03]

anything new? Curious how the UV went.

[Sir Patrick]

I am curious too!

I sure hope the grow out contest zoas loved this!!! I am guessing they will. Looking forward to an update as soon as you can see them! Or an update to whats going on! Hoping for the best!

[pjr]

Added the UV about 2 hours ago. Stay tuned!!

[cephalotus]

Tagging along.

[pjr]

UV has been running for about 30 hours.... quite a differece.
http://tapa.tk/mu/450eedeb-fdce-5e75.jpg

[pjr]

UV at 70 hours. This tank is crystal clear.... WOW!
http://184.72.239.143/mu/450eedeb-c425-97b3.jpg

[greenstarfish03]

Damn! If I would ahve only known that 7 years ago when mine turned green:blackeye:

[Sir Patrick]

Sweet!!!!!

[pjr]

The results blew me away. This was not some high end ultra nuclear UV unit. Just a $95 all-in-one (pump and UV) drop in canister model.

[stunreefer]

U/V can do wonders in certain situations!

When I used to install and maintain water features and ponds I wouldn't run one without a U/V!

[cephalotus]

Not a fan of uv but nice to know it works.

[pjr]

@cephalotus: I have to ask, since I am a UV newbie: Why don't you like UV?

[cephalotus]

To keep it simple UV basicly sterilizes your entire water column, killing all good and bad organisms.

[pjr]

But it seems like there's a lot of people who use it.... is it more on the "fish only" side than for a reef?

[cephalotus]

Its just a matter of oppinion, I was expecting some backlash. Yes they do seem to be more popular on fowlr tanks. But I have seen nice reefs with UV.

[gablett]

I've used a uv sterilizer on my reef tank since day 1

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[cephalotus]

I've used a uv sterilizer on my reef tank since day 1

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Lots of people do and they can be great apperantly. I just do not like to kill all my reef food.

[gablett]

I have an undersized unit with a mj1200 running at half power on a 250 gallon system. Id be surprised if it processed half my volume a day. Plus they are a far cry from 100% efficient. Not powerful enough.

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[cephalotus]

Once again I agree completely.


I have an undersized unit with a mj1200 running at half power on a 250 gallon system. Id be surprised if it processed half my volume a day. Plus they are a far cry from 100% efficient. Not powerful enough.

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[jimsflies]

I've always heard that most of the good micro fauna in a reef tank stays on the rocks and substrate...i.e., not in the water column. I ran one on my old 50 until it leaked internally and caused the bulb to explode. :(

[cephalotus]

I agree Jim but your corals feed out of the water column and I starve my tank.


I've always heard that most of the good micro fauna in a reef tank stays on the rocks and substrate...i.e., not in the water column. I ran one on my old 50 until it leaked internally and caused the bulb to explode. :(