Cloudy Water, Low Alkalinity, Skimmer Issues

[Brit’s Fish]

Edit: this posted before I was done.

I am a little perplexed but maybe this is all nothing. I just need some input/reassurance.
have a ProClear ProStar 150 (120g DT, ~20g sump) that completed it’s cycle on 4/8/21.
This is my first “big tank” with a full on sump (my other 4 systems are AIO nanos) & I’m still feeling intimidated by it and like I just don’t know what I’m doing. I started the tank with live sand, CaribSea LifeRock & 2 bottles of BioSpira and then I added two large live rocks about 2 weeks after the cycle was done. No real reason, I just needed to fill out some spaces & I found cool rocks.
I’m making my own water with RODI & Red Sea salt (not the Coral Pro one). I did a 20g water change on Sunday (5/23/21).

I have a pair of Mocha Storm clowns, Cleaner Wrasse, male Purple Scale Fairy Wrasse, 1-1/2” Blue Tang, 1-1/2” Tomini tang, Yellow Watchman Goby, Black Capped Jawfish, female Randall’s Anthias & a very small Purple Gramma. Various CUC.

My current parameters:
Nitrate 5 (Nyos)
Phosphate 0-0.03 (Salifert)
PH 8.0 (Red Sea)
KH/Alk 7.5 (Red Sea)
Salinity 1.023 (Hanna)
Temp 76.6 (hanna)
I do not have calcium or magnesium tests at home but can get them tested tomorrow.

My questions:
1. My water is cloudy today. Not super cloudy but noticeably cloudy. What could be causing this? anything that my parameters could indicate?

2. Is my Alk too low? I have some corals in this tank, including frags and a few of the larger corals from my other systems that needed more room. Mostly mushrooms, zoas, a large leather & LPS. No SPS. Most of the corals look fine except one of my two Cynarina which is not inflating.
I have Brightwell Alkalin8.3 that I could dose if it’s worth it. I don’t know enough about Alkalinity, I guess.

3. I have a Bubble Magus Z8 skimmer in my sump. The ideal water depth listed by BM is 6-8” & I have the skimmer in 7” of water. My ATO keeps the water at a pretty steady height. I have not been able to turn the skimmer on much because it spits out crazy amounts of micro bubbles and just immediately fills the collection cup with water and foam. I have tried letting it run for a few hours but my fish get freaked out by the bubbles it seems. Do I need to have it on yet? How am I ever going to get this thing dialed in?

 

[arking_mark]

You may want to provide some more details about your issues.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

You may want to provide some more details about your issues.

I am having tech issues today & somehow posted before I was done typing

 

[RobB'z Reef]

If I read correctly you just have fish and softies and a small small account of lps this time? Alk is fine from 7-10 dKH. Some ppl run higher in that range only to get faster coral growth but your fish won't care. Yours isn't a problem. I'd let that be while you settle your tank in and not worry about that for now.

Being a newer tank my guess on cloudy water out of nowhere is likely a bacterial bloom. Should clear itself up in a few days. For now just observe.

I don't know anything about your brand of skimmer however.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

If I read correctly you just have fish and softies and a small small account of lps this time? Alk is fine from 7-10 dKH. Some ppl run higher in that range only to get faster coral growth but your fish won't care. Yours isn't a problem. I'd let that be while you settle your tank in and not worry about that for now.

Being a newer tank my guess on cloudy water out of nowhere is likely a bacterial bloom. Should clear itself up in a few days. For now just observe.

I don't know anything about your brand of skimmer however.

Thank you for the feedback!! I will not worry about the Alk for now then.

I was also thinking that it could be a bacteria bloom. I have not dosed any bacteria since I started her up but I suppose a bloom can happen any time & it’s probably not related to the bottled bac from the cycle?

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Ur tanks still really new. Id maybe raise the skimmer up if u can and leave it on and let it run 24-48hrs.
I almost bought one of those skimmers. Urs is the dc version? Maybe turn it down half way well it breaks in and than turn it back up?
Hths
D

 

[arking_mark]

Ur tanks still really new. Id maybe raise the skimmer up if u can and leave it on and let it run 24-48hrs.
I almost bought one of those skimmers. Urs is the dc version? Maybe turn it down half way well it breaks in and than turn it back up?
Hths
D

Good advice. Strangley, most skimmers have a break-in period before over/under skimming and micro bubbles are no longer an issue. My Aeraqua Duo went through the same issues.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

Ur tanks still really new. Id maybe raise the skimmer up if u can and leave it on and let it run 24-48hrs.
I almost bought one of those skimmers. Urs is the dc version? Maybe turn it down half way well it breaks in and than turn it back up?
Hths
D

Yep, I got the DC version. I will give that a shot with turning it down half way. I thought it would work better to have it all the way open while it breaks in, but that’s just not working. I get frustrated and end up unplugging it after a couple hours. It seems like it gets a little better every time but then I think maybe the tank is still too new to actually produce much anyways.

 

[jurgenph]

i wouldn't worry too much about a bloom in a tank thats this new. many bacteria are fighting over territory getting established, eventually they will balance out and things will balance out as your new tank matures.

just keep up on your maintenance, and focus on stability of your major parameters.

two things i'd focus on right now.

get your temperature up to 78F
get your SG up to 1.026, just top off with freshly mixed salt water for a bit instead of rodi, until you get there. then continue top off with rodi.


J.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

For funsies, here’s a FTS. Everything is getting ready to go to sleep, including my giant leather in the corner.
Still haven’t decided where all the frags are going so it looks messy in there.

 

[CoralB]

The cloudiness could be a bacterial bloom . a good uv light could help

 

[Brit’s Fish]

i wouldn't worry too much about a bloom in a tank thats this new. many bacteria are fighting over territory getting established, eventually they will balance out and things will balance out as your new tank matures.

just keep up on your maintenance, and focus on stability of your major parameters.

two things i'd focus on right now.

get your temperature up to 78F
get your SG up to 1.026, just top off with freshly mixed salt water for a bit instead of rodi, until you get there. then continue top off with rodi.


J.

I keep trying to raise the salinity with each water change because I try to keep all my other tanks in the 1.025-1.026 range but I have never had a tank suck up so much fresh water from the ATO. It surely has plenty to do with this tank being rimless, but on my next WC, I’ll add in extra salt.
Would it be too much of a shock to mix 20g to about 1.028 and add it next time? I’m not trying to do anything crazy too quickly.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

The cloudiness could be a bacterial bloom . a good uv light could help

Ah yes, I have one that I have been meaning to hook up. Thank you for the reminder... I need to get a little pump for it still.

 

[jurgenph]

I keep trying to raise the salinity with each water change because I try to keep all my other tanks in the 1.025-1.026 range but I have never had a tank suck up so much fresh water from the ATO. It surely has plenty to do with this tank being rimless, but on my next WC, I’ll add in extra salt.
Would it be too much of a shock to mix 20g to about 1.028 and add it next time? I’m not trying to do anything crazy too quickly.

bumping sg with water changes needs a lot of big water changes

my preferred method is to just replace your ato reservoir with a bucket of salt water for a bit.
as water evaporates, and gets replaced with salt mix, it'll bump your tanks sg slowly , so you're not shocking the system.

also, mixing salt water at higher SG puts you at risk of percipitating out elements if concentrations get too high, and now you have an imbalance in your new water.


J.

 

[arking_mark]

As you are relatively new:

The 12 Commandments of Reef Keeping

Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank Triple-check before you believe any observations or make any changes to your tank Only make one change at a time in your reef tank Use the right tool for the right job Only dose what you can test for Don't chase #s, chase stability. When altering the...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Brit’s Fish]

bumping sg with water changes needs a lot of big water changes

my preferred method is to just replace your ato reservoir with a bucket of salt water for a bit.
as water evaporates, and gets replaced with salt mix, it'll bump your tanks sg slowly , so you're not shocking the system.

also, mixing salt water at higher SG puts you at risk of percipitating out elements if concentrations get too high, and now you have an imbalance in your new water.


J.

Really great points!! Thank you!

 

[blasterman]

It's almost certainly a bacteria bloom. They go away on their own in a week or two.

I would back off your feeding a bit to slow down the bloom and cut with all the other stuff.

For salinity just pull a pitcher of tank water and mix a quarter cup of salt in with it. Let it sit until it's dissolved and dump it back in the sump. Repeat daily until your salinity is where you want. If it was me I would just toss the d@mn salt in my sump once a day until salinity was where I want it.

I would bump up alk to about 9 because you will find it will start diving with the blooms and biological build up in a young tank. It's just baking soda anyways.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

It's almost certainly a bacteria bloom. They go away on their own in a week or two.

I would back off your feeding a bit to slow down the bloom and cut with all the other stuff.

For salinity just pull a pitcher of tank water and mix a quarter cup of salt in with it. Let it sit until it's dissolved and dump it back in the sump. Repeat daily until your salinity is where you want. If it was me I would just toss the d@mn salt in my sump once a day until salinity was where I want it.

I would bump up alk to about 9 because you will find it will start diving with the blooms and biological build up in a young tank. It's just baking soda anyways.

Thank you!! I’m glad to know the consensus is that this is a bacteria bloom. It’s the answer I was hoping for, honestly. I have been feeding a little on the heavy side because a couple of these guys are picky & I want to make sure they all eat. I’m going to cut it back though, for sure. I just need to stop second guessing myself. Lol
And thank you for all the other good advice too!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Thank you for the feedback!! I will not worry about the Alk for now then.

I was also thinking that it could be a bacteria bloom. I have not dosed any bacteria since I started her up but I suppose a bloom can happen any time & it’s probably not related to the bottled bac from the cycle?

Hard to say what it's from really. Our tanks are full of bacteria from everything we put in it. Bottle bacs, the fish you put in there, corals, rocks and every time you put your hands in the tank, it's everywhere. I see it often enough when cycling tanks and tends to be more common in the beginning when things are trying to achieve an equilibriu.
It can happen later on if conditions are right, but usually it balances out without issue.