Cloudy Quarantine System

[nickkohrn]

I set up a quarantine system over the recent weekend so that I can let it cycle until my wife and I return from our upcoming vacation. We leave on August 22nd, and we return on August 29th. I wanted to get the quarantine system set up so that it's ready for a fish by the time we return. Unfortunately, within a single day of containing saltwater, it became increasingly cloudy. At that point, all that was in the system was a heater, return pump, and some salt (Instant Ocean Reef Crystals) to start mixing.

Equipment:

• heater
• return pump
• ATO system

Filtration

• twelve 1-1/2" MarinePure spheres
  • added a couple of weeks in advance to my main system for bacteria to colonize
  • added after water became cloudy

Since I will not be adding fish for a minimum of one month, should I let the bloom, which I assume is bacterial, resolve itself, or do I need to take action?

Below, you can see the progression of the bloom. The first photo is from yesterday at 2:35 PM (14:35), and the final being from yesterday at 7:00 PM (19:00).

 

[nden]

That window could be contributing to it. I had the same happen to mine when I didn't have a background and had sunlight shine through it. Went away after a few water changes and putting up a background to block the sunlight.

 

[nickkohrn]

That window could be contributing to it. I had the same happen to mine when I didn't have a background and had sunlight shine through it. Went away after a few water changes and putting up a background to block the sunlight.

I typically keep the blinds in that room closed, but I had opened them yesterday to get a better look into the tank since it seemed a bit cloudy. I have since closed the blinds to minimize the quarantine tank's exposure to sunlight. I think I will add something to block the sunlight on that side of the tank, though, because I do enjoy opening the windows when the weather consists of a comfortable temperature.

 

[nickkohrn]

I use a 25w Pentair Aquatics UV sterilizer on my main system, and I am wondering if I should remove it from that system and use it on my quarantine system instead. One reason for that thought is that I am space-limited in my main system's stand. Therefore, I have a single pump in my sump that feeds my UV sterilizer, which then feeds my GFO reactor; I don't have room in my sump for multiple pumps. I control the flow via a gate valve on the output of my UV sterilizer, but the flow rate to keep the GFO from violently tumbling is ~40 GPH, which is MUCH lower than the lowest recommended flow rate for protozoa for the UV sterilizer. I could use a smaller pump in my sump to feed GFO and carbon reactors, and then use the UV sterilizer on my quarantine system when I need to set it up.

Thoughts on this?