A few new tank issues

[Colin_1122]

The clownfish that was laying on the sand is doing better, he’s been swimming around all day and seems okay but the past two nights he was on the sand like that at night. I guess I’ll see if it’s the same tonight. I tried feeding flakes and neither wanted them. I picked up some frozen brine and one of them ate it but the one who was on the sand did not. Any ideas?

 

[Infidel]

Just milky water, no particles

Then it's most likely a bacterial bloom, but stay vigilant! ;Joyful

 

[Colin_1122]

Resting on the sand could just be 'new to the environment' stress. Keep a close eye on it and report back if it doesn't perk up later today or by tomorrow.
If it were low O2 or high NH3 I feel it would most likely be at the surface gasping for air.

I vote a bacterial bloom on the cloudy water. Keep the surface agitated for gas exchange as a bacterial bloom will consume much of the oxygen your fish require.

For the next week or 2, raise that Maxijet up close to the surface and point the deflector up so it disturbs the surface very well.
If the bloom doesn't clear in a week's time, run some high-quality carbon to remove it.
Make sure you rinse the carbon (GAC) well to remove the dust as you don't want that in the tank.

I added some activated carbon a few days ago and it doesn’t seem to have changed the water. I swapped the maxi jet with a jebao sow4 for better control and I pointed the return pumps more towards the surface for better agitation. Here’s how it looks now

 

[Colin_1122]

The odd thing with the clown is that he only does that at night. I feel like if the water quality was bad then it would be constant, and my other fish might be suffering as well. When I first put him in on Saturday he was like that all night then fine the next day, then Sunday night he was laying on the sand again, and today he is swimming fine but I still haven’t gotten him to eat yet.

 

[Greg P]

If your circulation isn't changing overnight then there's a good possibility the clown hasn't found a place to sleep yet and is not distressed other than lacking a bed.

For the food not being eaten, try soaking some in a garlic additive from your LFS.
Once they start eating it, wean them off the garlic.
And try using fortified brine shrimp as the basic stuff is lacking in nutrition.

Koodos on the pump/flow changes, but for now I'd really like to see your return nozzles making distinct patterns on the surface. Until you clear out the excess bacteria the water will be lacking O2.
Even just until the water clears, be aggressive with that surface agitation.

And I think you're right about your water quality being fairly good to just fine as the rest of your fish are acting normal.

How are you utilizing the Carbon? Bag, reactor ... ?

My last tank re-start I put it in a bag and then directly into my sock.
My bacterial bloom went away in maybe 24 hours. Then I removed the GAC (Rox 0.8) and all was good

 

[Colin_1122]

If your circulation isn't changing overnight then there's a good possibility the clown hasn't found a place to sleep yet and is not distressed other than lacking a bed.

For the food not being eaten, try soaking some in a garlic additive from your LFS.
Once they start eating it, wean them off the garlic.
And try using fortified brine shrimp as the basic stuff is lacking in nutrition.

Koodos on the pump/flow changes, but for now I'd really like to see your return nozzles making distinct patterns on the surface. Until you clear out the excess bacteria the water will be lacking O2.
Even just until the water clears, be aggressive with that surface agitation.

And I think you're right about your water quality being fairly good to just fine as the rest of your fish are acting normal.

How are you utilizing the Carbon? Bag, reactor ... ?

My last tank re-start I put it in a bag and then directly into my sock.
My bacterial bloom went away in maybe 24 hours. Then I removed the GAC (Rox 0.8) and all was good

Do you mean something like this for the return pumps?

 

[Colin_1122]

If your circulation isn't changing overnight then there's a good possibility the clown hasn't found a place to sleep yet and is not distressed other than lacking a bed.

For the food not being eaten, try soaking some in a garlic additive from your LFS.
Once they start eating it, wean them off the garlic.
And try using fortified brine shrimp as the basic stuff is lacking in nutrition.

Koodos on the pump/flow changes, but for now I'd really like to see your return nozzles making distinct patterns on the surface. Until you clear out the excess bacteria the water will be lacking O2.
Even just until the water clears, be aggressive with that surface agitation.

And I think you're right about your water quality being fairly good to just fine as the rest of your fish are acting normal.

How are you utilizing the Carbon? Bag, reactor ... ?

My last tank re-start I put it in a bag and then directly into my sock.
My bacterial bloom went away in maybe 24 hours. Then I removed the GAC (Rox 0.8) and all was good

I just put some in the filter sock, I didn’t put it in a bag though, I just dumped it in the bottom

 

[Colin_1122]

I did notice the clown likes to swim with his head up a lot while the other swims pretty normal. Not sure if this is important but it seemed kind of weird to me

 

[Colin_1122]

He just ate 2 or 3 pieces of brine which isn’t much but better than nothing I guess. One more quick question, I was an idiot and put a whole cube of brine in a cup of water to thaw and now have a ton of extra shrimp. Can I use this tmrw morning or does it need to be tossed after a few hours?

 

[K7BMG]

Well how are things going?
Been a couple of weeks since you last posted anything on your situation.

 

[Colin_1122]

Well how are things going?
Been a couple of weeks since you last posted anything on your situation.

The tank is doing well. The water cleared up and looks great. Unfortunately the firefish died, not sure why but the clowns are doing great and my corals are doing good as well. I added a bubble tip that my clowns haven’t discovered yet and I’ve got a yellow watchman goby in qt. The algae bloom has slowed down and I’m starting to see some coralline and a ton of pods all over the glass