Cloudy Water Cause?

[Ryde]

It started 6 weeks ago, my water turned cloudy and I have tried to find the cause but can't. Obviously I can't fix it till I find out what is causing it. It is a white/grey cloudy and hasn't been to severe. It has (assuming) killed a my pide and glory torch. My other torches and hammers haven't been out all the way since this started. So they are stressed to a extent, the cloudy water casued stress killing my coral. I have noticed cyno? or dinos? In small amounts around the sand, maybe a contributing factor? I test once a week and testing in the morning, parameters been fairly stable. Lastly I want to AVOID buying a uv, see I'm still in school with out a job, and I've are way out of my price range and it also couldn't be plumed in (AIO tank). But if I absolutely need to I will.

Thanks in advance, I just want happy corals again.

 

[shadow_k]

It started 6 weeks ago, my water turned cloudy and I have tried to find the cause but can't. Obviously I can't fix it till I find out what is causing it. It is a white/grey cloudy and hasn't been to severe. It has (assuming) killed a my pide and glory torch. My other torches and hammers haven't been out all the way since this started. So they are stressed to a extent, the cloudy water casued stress killing my coral. I have noticed cyno? or dinos? In small amounts around the sand, maybe a contributing factor? I test once a week and testing in the morning, parameters been fairly stable. Lastly I want to AVOID buying a uv, see I'm still in school with out a job, and I've are way out of my price range and it also couldn't be plumed in (AIO tank). But if I absolutely need to I will.

Thanks in advance, I just want happy corals again.

Do you have any full tank shots ? Have you changed anything ? Or added anything

 

[vtecintegra]

It's usually bacteria, but I've never experienced it.

Anytime there is something wrong that can't be identified, I go for massive water changes.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Aqua UV I believe has a 15w hang on version. It could be just right for you.

 

[Reefahholic]

Most likely a Heterotrophic bacterial bloom. Reduce the organics going into the tank. Heterotroph’s divide super fast (about 20 minutes) which is why the water will cloud quickly

Skimming will help pull them out.
1-5 micron filter socks will pull them out.
Water changes will also help reduce the numbers.

Good luck!

 

[ying yang]

Not sure if related but my water started going cloudy when started feeding fresh clams ,oysters,scallops etc( frozen but thawed out to use ) I put a little pouch of red sea reef spec carbon in high flow part of sump and got crystal clear water the next day ,cost me £ 6.99.
Now once thawed out I squeeze juices out also,could be coral food but only few corals.

So as reefaholics says reduce organics going into tank as can cause hetrophic bacteria blooms this makes sense

 

[Koh23]

Had same problem for weeks, nothing helped, until i get uv..... Not a big fan of uv, but it helped to clear the water, whatever was cause if problem, its gone now, water is clear even if i turn uv off for days....

Bought cheapest 15w unit, nothing fancy....

 

[frankin09]

I bought a green killing machine 9w and it is great but it has to be in the tank.

 

[Ryde]

Do you have any full tank shots ? Have you changed anything ? Or added anything

As far as I can tell in happened a little bit after I lost 2 fish to a power outage, now 2 remain. I have had to take out the rocks to vacuum the sand.

I had thought that there wasn't enough nutrients in the water. But you all are saying that there's to much? I feed less now and a half the fish. But I'll test in a few and find the numbers for you.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Theres more to cloudiness than using a UV to kill spores. You first want to determine cause and especially with many who simply cannot afford a UV unit. Some causes are:

- Overfeeding the fish
- Poor filtration
- Waste buildup or not cleaning the substrate (water changes)
- Overcrowding the aquarium
- A dead fish or invert in the tank
- Constantly cleaning the filter to the point that beneficial autotrophic bacteria can’t build a colony

For these reasons, when the waste increases, the heterotrophic bacteria multiply rapidly to consume organic substances. A colony of microscopic heterotrophic bacteria is what makes the water look hazy and cloudy. The colony can also form in a new aquarium setup where the nitrogen cycle has yet to establish. In this case, the cycle will stabilize after a while and the water again become clear. Heterotrophic bacteria won’t hurt the fish , however, they produce large amounts of ammonia very quickly creating a dangerous and harmful ammonia spike.
Make sure the ammonia levels aren’t too high in the aquarium. If youre using API test kits, you may be getting false readings and ammonia higher than shown. Assure the water receives enough air with airstone during the bloom as blooms can consume O2.
You can also add liquid bacteria like Bacter 7 which will help digest waste.

 

[olonmv]

I used a capful of seachem stability in a 13.5 gallon evo when I first started my tank. It helped tremendously with the bacterial bloom. Now I add a capful after my water changes…..when I remember lol.