Cloudy Water, for a 2nd time...

[Manos]

Hey guys, I just started my 44G reef, it started running from 28/12/2020, after a few days I had cloudy water, mix salt side effects? Bacteria bloom? Maybe both?
Anyway, at 03/01/2021 the water started getting clearer and at 04/01/2021 it was really better, not crystal clear bit it was much much better. Suddenly yesterday it became cloudy again! Is that normal? Of course nothing changed in the system...

 

[polyppal]

sounds like a bloom. unless theres unrinsed sand thats become agitated

 

[Familyman2010]

Hey guys, I just started my 44G reef, it started running from 28/12/2020, after a few days I had cloudy water, mix salt side effects? Bacteria bloom? Maybe both?
Anyway, at 03/01/2021 the water started getting clearer and at 04/01/2021 it was really better, not crystal clear bit it was much much better. Suddenly yesterday it became cloudy again! Is that normal? Of course nothing changed in the system...

Sump? Canister filter?

 

[PBar]

Hi Manos,
Please give a little bit more information regarding the system, meanwhile two important ones
Are you using live rock?
Did you dose any type of bacteria?

Very unlikely to be related to the salt.

 

[Manos]

Let me give all the info of the system :
- 167 litres Tank.
- 44 litres sump, 4 compartments.
- 4 stages RODI water, filter media, carbon, membrane, di filter. Inline tds meter gives 257ppm on the tap water, 3ppm on the exit.
- Sump for filtration, I use sock for mechanical filtration, already swap one of the two I already have.
- The skimmer is off, I turned it on just to see if it works, a friend of mine gave it to me, so it is used and its working sweet!
- One piece of dry rock in the 2nd compartment of the sump without sand, bare bottom.
- 2 litres of sera siporax pro on the 3rd compartment.
- 2 pumps for the return, on the 4th compartment, 1200 litre each.
- dry rock, thoroughly cleaned with tap water, then rinsed with RODI water and leave all of it submerged in RODI water for 2 days.
- Aragonite sand thoroughly cleaned, water changed 12 times in a bucket, then 3 times with RODI water.
- 19 kilos of dry rock, the scape was made with cement, dried for a week.
- introduced 20ml of pure ammonia, pharm graded, in the 2nd day as well in the 8th day. Ammonia readings are 1.5 until now.
- introduced in the tank Seachem stability for 7 days.
- at the 8th day I also introduced Microb lift Special Blend, and per the instructions I will add another dose on the 8th day, which is tomorrow.
- Lights are completely off, run them just for testing purposes, cause they are DIY, total of 2 hours...
- indirect/ambient light from a window at about 4 meters away...
edit : forgot about the powerheads, 2 pieces Sicce nano 1000lt/hour.

 

[PBar]

Hello,
thanks for the detailed explanation.
According to your description, I tend to incline more to a bacteria bloom.
Did the cloudy water pop-up (for the second time) one day after the addition of the Micro lift Special Blend?
(The dates seems to be close)

 

[Manos]

3 days after the introduction of the special blend I think...

 

[PBar]

Ok, than it is very likely to be bacterial bloom indeed.
If it really bothers you, you can turn the skimmer on for a couple of hours... but since it is cycling... it is not necessary.
Enjoy and good luck on the waiting period... the older the better, so no rush

 

[Manos]

Thank you PBar, no rush at all!!! Just hope for the better!!!

 

[Manos]

Hey guys! I still have cloudy water and today I just measured nitrates, I'm on the 23rd day in, so I assume that probably I am near the end of the cycle.
I just did an eye contact with the sump today and saw that I had the 2 return pumps set to full flow, so I dialled them to min flow which is 800 litres per hour. Before they were set at 1200 litres per hour!
You think that maybe this might be the problem of the cloudy water? Maybe something else could be wrong cause of the higher flow? Thank you.

 

[hds4216]

Hey guys! I still have cloudy water and today I just measured nitrates, I'm on the 23rd day in, so I assume that probably I am near the end of the cycle.
I just did an eye contact with the sump today and saw that I had the 2 return pumps set to full flow, so I dialled them to min flow which is 800 litres per hour. Before they were set at 1200 litres per hour!
You think that maybe this might be the problem of the cloudy water? Maybe something else could be wrong cause of the higher flow? Thank you.

Do you have any pictures? It would help us to see the problem visually.

 

[Manos]

Just took them...

 

[hds4216]

Did you rinse the sand before you put it in the tank? It's possible flow is causing it to be stirred up frequently. If you turn off the pump/wavemakers for a few hours, does anything change?

If not, it's probably a bacterial bloom. I would increase skimming or invest in a UV sterilizer.

 

[PBar]

Hello Manos,
I agree with @hds4216.
But just to be sure, did you already turn on your skimmer?
Another remark is related indeed to the sand... which one it?
Cheers!

 

[Manos]

I rinsed the aragonite very very very good! I did rinsed it with rodi water each batch of a litre about 10-12 times!
The thing is that at the start the water was much clearer than what you see in the photos.
It wouldn't be a problem if I switch off the pumps and/or the wavers?
I do not have a skimmer yet, I am waiting for it for the DHL to deliver... We have a big problem with the courier services due to the covid situation...
You think that a UV is a must have?

 

[hds4216]

I rinsed the aragonite very very very good! I did rinsed it with rodi water each batch of a litre about 10-12 times!
The thing is that at the start the water was much clearer than what you see in the photos.
It wouldn't be a problem if I switch off the pumps and/or the wavers?
I do not have a skimmer yet, I am waiting for it for the DHL to deliver... We have a big problem with the courier services due to the covid situation...
You think that a UV is a must have?

Since you have nothing in the tank, there's no consequence to shutting off the pumps/wavemakers. I would leave them off overnight. Maybe leave one small wavemaker on very low flow near the surface just to help keep oxygen levels acceptable for your bacteria. Even established tanks with fish and coral can have the wavemakers off for a few hours (generally speaking).

If it turns out not to be the sand, then I would wait to invest in a UV sterilizer until your skimmer is up and running. If the skimmer doesn't fix it, then I'd do the UV.

 

[PBar]

Fair enough, I forgot that the water was clear in the beginning.
Since you don’t have a skimmer yet, I wouldn’t do anything for now.

The most likely situation is that after you turn on the skimmer that water will be clear again after one or two days.

Regarding the sand, since it is very thin... once stirred the water can turn a bit cloudy for some time.

UV is a nice tool, but not essential. Maybe for the future... do some research because there are some things to be considered before buying

 

[PBar]

@hds4216 fully aligned again

 

[Garf]

I rinsed the aragonite very very very good! I did rinsed it with rodi water each batch of a litre about 10-12 times!
The thing is that at the start the water was much clearer than what you see in the photos.
It wouldn't be a problem if I switch off the pumps and/or the wavers?
I do not have a skimmer yet, I am waiting for it for the DHL to deliver... We have a big problem with the courier services due to the covid situation...
You think that a UV is a must have?

You say you used cement to stick the rocks together and left them for a week to set. Was it normal Portland cement? Can you check pH? Cement leaches calcium hydroxide if not cured for about 4 weeks in freshwater.

 

[Manos]

The cement was a particular kind of cement, which we use here in Greece. I did made a research before I did purchase it, and I did it per the instructions of the forums topics.
I can't check the PH yet, I will tomorrow or the day after. I will tell you about the results.
For now I have already closed the wave makers and I will see what will happen.
Thank you guys for your interest and help.