Cloudy mess

[Carl C]

Hello, I have had this tank up for several months, it has three clown fish too tiny Zoas and a lobo, I have a hang on back filter and a submersible canister inside the tank, the LED is ocean revive, it is a 40 gallon tank, no gravel, several snails a shrimp and some hermits, the tank has never been cloudy, then one day boom I have read as much as I can on the forums, seems like most opinion says bacterial bloom, and the advice seems to be to wait and that it will magically clean up, also UV has been mentioned although I don’t have a UV, and don’t really feel like spending the money on one There is no ammonia, nitrite is at 16ppb
Certainly not zero, but under the 20ppb
I do frequent water changes, and several lately, the fish seem OK I assume the curls are but I really can’t see them, so stay the course? Or something else? Thanks for your help

 

[Crabs McJones]

Green makes me think algae bloom. When you say you do frequent water changes, how often are we talking? Are you using RO/DI water for water changes?

 

[Bryson.bobby]

You definitely should look into getting a uv

 

[RobW]

Wow! That's crazy. I've never had that issue in a tank. Not sure if I can give any proper advice. I just always did my water changes with RO/DI water and I also had media reactors for carbon, phosphate, and nitrate control. My tanks have always stayed crystal clear. Would it be safe to do a full water change? Considering all the good bacteria would stay on the surface areas of rock and filtration equipment, etc? Maybe put some carbon in a bag in an area of water flow along to help clear thing s up if you dont have media reactors or anything plumbed into the system.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

+1 algea bloom.

Only thing I would add is to make sure you have good surface agitation or that the hob is giving you good O2 exchange. The bloom can reduce dissolved O2. Check PH, if it is down from normal that may indicate lower O2 levels.

 

[SandJ]

You said you have Nitrites...is that really nitrites or nitrates? Nitrites would raise a red flag that the tank is going through a cycle.
Do you have live rock in the tank?

 

[MnFish1]

What are the white things on the left side? I agree that it looks like algae not bacteria. Do you know your phosphate levels? To me it seems like there is not a lot of surface area in your tank on which other algae, etc can grow - so what happens is that the algae that would normally grow on the surface of rock, etc just grows in the water column (but its hard to see whats in the tank). If its algae - you could try dialing back the lights some. Adding live rock, etc (if there is not much in the tank) may also help.

You didn't say what kind of HOB filter you have - but - you may not have adequate filtration. IME the submersible filters clog easily - and quickly stop working.

Lastly - there are several youtube videos on how to make a water polisher using a powerhead, a soda bottle and filter floss - that will quickly remove the algae while you figure out whats causing it in the first place:

 

[Carl C]

Green makes me think algae bloom. When you say you do frequent water changes, how often are we talking? Are you using RO/DI water for water changes?

Hi, yes I do use rodi I have been doing changes almost weekly for the past month or so 20%. I hadn’t seen the green until today because mostly I have the blue light on. But I happened to check on it with The white light on, that’s when I saw the green

 

[Carl C]

You definitely should look into getting a uv

Yes, I have read that that is a quick fix, however I have also read that it will go away on its own, so I guess I was hoping for that

 

[Carl C]

Wow! That's crazy. I've never had that issue in a tank. Not sure if I can give any proper advice. I just always did my water changes with RO/DI water and I also had media reactors for carbon, phosphate, and nitrate control. My tanks have always stayed crystal clear. Would it be safe to do a full water change? Considering all the good bacteria would stay on the surface areas of rock and filtration equipment, etc? Maybe put some carbon in a bag in an area of water flow along to help clear thing s up if you dont have media reactors or anything plumbed into the system.

Yes, originally I was thinking carbon would fix the problem, so I loaded up a media reactor with carbon, but that didn’t help

 

[Carl C]

+1 algea bloom.

Only thing I would add is to make sure you have good surface agitation or that the hob is giving you good O2 exchange. The bloom can reduce dissolved O2. Check PH, if it is down from normal that may indicate lower O2 levels.

OK, I will check PH, thanks

 

[Carl C]

You said you have Nitrites...is that really nitrites or nitrates? Nitrites would raise a red flag that the tank is going through a cycle.
Do you have live rock in the tank?

Yes nitrites unfortunately

I failed to mention that this is a QT aquarium, but I have had it set up and occupied for many months, because the display tank has been a painfully slow set up, no there are no live rocks in the tank, so perhaps it is going through a cycle? The occupants are pretty minimal for a 40 gallon tank, and I do do the frequent water changes.

 

[Carl C]

What are the white things on the left side? I agree that it looks like algae not bacteria. Do you know your phosphate levels? To me it seems like there is not a lot of surface area in your tank on which other algae, etc can grow - so what happens is that the algae that would normally grow on the surface of rock, etc just grows in the water column (but its hard to see whats in the tank). If its algae - you could try dialing back the lights some. Adding live rock, etc (if there is not much in the tank) may also help.

You didn't say what kind of HOB filter you have - but - you may not have adequate filtration. IME the submersible filters clog easily - and quickly stop working.

Lastly - there are several youtube videos on how to make a water polisher using a powerhead, a soda bottle and filter floss - that will quickly remove the algae while you figure out whats causing it in the first place:

I did add a media reactor with carbon, that did not help, the submersible is a canister and it is not clogged, the hanger on the back is a penguin, it’s a qt Tank with no live rock
I have not checked phosphate, but now I will and will let you know

 

[Carl C]

OK, I will check PH, thanks

Ph is good just checked

 

[Carl C]

I did add a media reactor with carbon, that did not help, the submersible is a canister and it is not clogged, the hanger on the back is a penguin, it’s a qt Tank with no live rock
I have not checked phosphate, but now I will and will let you know

Phosphate just checked IS high just did 50% water change

 

[Carl C]

I did add a media reactor with carbon, that did not help, the submersible is a canister and it is not clogged, the hanger on the back is a penguin, it’s a qt Tank with no live rock
I have not checked phosphate, but now I will and will let you know

Also just added some rock I have cooking for many months

 

[MnFish1]

Also just added some rock I have cooking for many months

use the cheap water polisher - your tank will be clear in 24 hours. enjoy the soda