Cloudy tank

[CABIX_81]

Aloha R2R,

So my tank just started to get cloudy since late late night,,
This morning i did a water
Change at 50% and changed my filter with a little build activated carbon in it.. at this moment im just letting it sit for a few days till it gets clear on its own.. we dont have a local fish shop where i live, its pretty much a remote island.. any advice would be appreciated.. thankx

 

[BairCorals]

How old is the tank and are you dosing anything?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

how old is the tank? Might want to add another powerhead on the other side of the tank and point it at the water surface, the tank looks a little stagnant, need more flow and surface agitation to get more oyxgen into the water.

 

[tzabor10]

I have heard of bacteria causing cloudy water, but mine is always when too much Kalkwasser, Calcium, or Alkalinity is dosed at once. This causes cloudy precipitation.
I like the trees in the background

 

[Reef By Steele Verified Sponsor]

I would agree with needing more agitation. I have experienced cloudy water as a sign of a bacterial bloom, which will generally resolve itself, but it depletes oxygen so would recommend an air pump and airstone since you have any fish in the tank.

 

[CABIX_81]

how old is the tank? Might want to add another powerhead on the other side of the tank and point it at the water surface, the tank looks a little stagnant, need more flow and surface agitation to get more oyxgen into the water.

Tank is about 9-10weeks.
Tank is already clearing it self

 

[CABIX_81]

How old is the tank and are you dosing anything?

Tank is 9-10weeks
Im just dosing NO3-PO4x due to my nitrates and phos is high and PH increase 7.8

 

[CABIX_81]

I have heard of bacteria causing cloudy water, but mine is always when too much Kalkwasser, Calcium, or Alkalinity is dosed at once. This causes cloudy precipitation.
I like the trees in the background

Oh thats the glare from outside

 

[CABIX_81]

how old is the tank? Might want to add another powerhead on the other side of the tank and point it at the water surface, the tank looks a little stagnant, need more flow and surface agitation to get more oyxgen into the water.

Update:
Added another powerhead

 

[Reef By Steele Verified Sponsor]

Update:
Added another powerhead

That looks better. If you don’t have a good air pump and diffuser since you said you live on an island and access is difficult. Get one as a back up. Really want one if you have a bacterial bloom as your fish need the extra oxygen as the bacteria greatly reduces it I. The aquarium.

 

[CABIX_81]

That looks better. If you don’t have a good air pump and diffuser since you said you live on an island and access is difficult. Get one as a back up. Really want one if you have a bacterial bloom as your fish need the extra oxygen as the bacteria greatly reduces it I. The aquarium.

Thankx.. but this powerhead is a 30gal and up.. pretty strong that it moves the substrate under the dry coral. First powerhead is only 20gal below

 

[CABIX_81]

That looks better. If you don’t have a good air pump and diffuser since you said you live on an island and access is difficult. Get one as a back up. Really want one if you have a bacterial bloom as your fish need the extra oxygen as the bacteria greatly reduces it I. The aquarium.

And with the second powerhead, it gives alot of micro bubbles

 

[Reef By Steele Verified Sponsor]

And with the second powerhead, it gives alot of micro bubbles

It is probably enough, I had a bloom in a 210 with gyres on each end. I added air immediately as I had larger predators. IMO it is something to have on hand for emergencies. I don’t like to run them in a tank except when I feel there is a need for more oxygen.

 

[CABIX_81]

It is probably enough, I had a bloom in a 210 with gyres on each end. I added air immediately as I had larger predators. IMO it is something to have on hand for emergencies. I don’t like to run them in a tank except when I feel there is a need for more oxygen.

Gotcha,, so is this a temporary fix? Or should i run it 24/7?

 

[Reef By Steele Verified Sponsor]

Gotcha,, so is this a temporary fix? Or should i run it 24/7?

Once your water has cleared, you may not need so much current, but I would always have something disrupting the surface water to promote gas exchange. It is no fun to run so much current that your sand moves around, so if that happens, maybe get and use a smaller powerhead like your original.

Bacteria blooms come for various reasons. I over cleaned my tank when one of mine happened. I stirred up too much of the sand. Once the tank water had cleared for a day or two I removed the extra air.

 

[BairCorals]

Tank is 9-10weeks
Im just dosing NO3-PO4x due to my nitrates and phos is high and PH increase 7.8

Seems pretty early to be dosing imo. I'd do a bucket water change for a while to get nitrates down. But looks like it's clearing up nice so that's good! I'd be testing nitrates every other day to see how your dosing is keeping up but yeah I'd run that power head for a little bit longer until it's crystal clear then put the smaller one on for normal flow. Glad your tank is back on track!

 

[CABIX_81]

Seems pretty early to be dosing imo. I'd do a bucket water change for a while to get nitrates down. But looks like it's clearing up nice so that's good! I'd be testing nitrates every other day to see how your dosing is keeping up but yeah I'd run that power head for a little bit longer until it's crystal clear then put the smaller one on for normal flow. Glad your tank is back on track!

So is recommended to do WC often like once aweek till nitrates goes down, and how many %? I got a 20gal FO. And also canni transfer my existing water to a new tank of a smaller tank 13.5gal fluval evo?

 

[Reef By Steele Verified Sponsor]

Generally a 10-20% water change weekly is the recommendation so you don’t make drastic changes. Moving the water to a different tank is not recommended as one reason to do the water change is to replenish trace elements so won’t be as beneficial to the 13.5. Also there is a risk of bringing in ich or other pathogens that may be present in one tank and not the other. Even if there is no evidence of the pathogen in one tank, it can still be present. I have always been advised against it.

 

[BairCorals]

So is recommended to do WC often like once aweek till nitrates goes down, and how many %? I got a 20gal FO. And also canni transfer my existing water to a new tank of a smaller tank 13.5gal fluval evo?

10% weekly is the staple, and with a 20gal that's only 2 gallons. That why I said a bucket because 5 gallons for me is easier to do than just 2.

As for trying to start a new tank with used tank water, I haven't seen anything that would really benefit from that. Bacteria lives on rocks, filter media, and substrate. If you want to Kickstart a tank, id recommend putting a bag of bio balls in the tank water somewhere and let bacteria grow on it for at least a week or 2. Then transfer that into the new tank.