Cloudy Water tried everything. Need Help!

[daniel_mourra]

Hello!

I have been fighting with my 180 gal tank with cloudy / milky water the past 3-4 days no idea why….

2 weeks ago i have cloudiness issue due to skimmer producing microbubbles… but i fixed that and it went away. Skimmer is behaving OK now and skimming well.

Parameters
Salinity 1.026
Ph 8.1-8.2
Kh 8.9-9.0
Calcium 450-470
Mg 1380-1400
Temp 25.6

Recent events:
2 weeks ago i dosed Lanthium Cloride (Tropic Marine Elimiphos Rapid) to reduce Phosphates.. this clouded the water for 30-40 min but it went away thanks to the skimmer and socks.

1 week ago i added some new fish (small) 2 tangs, 1 emperor angel, 1 goby and an eel and 8 chromis.

Bacterial Bloom?
40 Watt PENTAIR UV is always ON at a rate measured for protozoan parasites…. 220 gph aprox. All water goes through the UV prior to the display.

Skimmer is always on. REEF oct 200-INT Regal Skimmer.

Sock is On (200 micron)

Ozone is On TWICE a day with Timer (1 hour per dose) at settings from 2-4 with ORP monitoring.

I hace no idea what else todo….

 

[Justfebreezeit]

It sounds like you have a general idea what you are doing.

This might just be a waiting game. As long as the fish don't look stressed I'd give it another week.

 

[tankstudy]

Hmph...just double checking but have you check to make sure the UV bulb is not dead?

 

[thedon986]

I think you need a faster flow through the UV for this type of bacteria bloom?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Adding more flow can help, a big tank like that could benefit from another powerhead on the other side. Get more water flowing through the filtration system.

 

[daniel_mourra]

It sounds like you have a general idea what you are doing.

This might just be a waiting game. As long as the fish don't look stressed I'd give it another week.

Ok! Will wait… fish look perfect

 

[daniel_mourra]

Hmph...just double checking but have you check to make sure the UV bulb is not dead?

Yup… i did check and its not dead.. approaching end of life thou…. 10 months of use. Will change as soon as the new one arrives. Already ordered it.

 

[daniel_mourra]

I think you need a faster flow through the UV for this type of bacteria bloom?

I thought about that…. Are we sure its a bacterial bloom? Tank has been running for 1.5 years

 

[daniel_mourra]

Adding more flow can help, a big tank like that could benefit from another powerhead on the other side. Get more water flowing through the filtration system.

I actually do have another MP40 on the overflow side.. basucally 2 MP40s

 

[Miami Reef]

Yup… i did check and its not dead.. approaching end of life thou…. 10 months of use. Will change as soon as the new one arrives. Already ordered it.

Clean the quartz sleeve. Once there’s build up, the UV can’t effectively sterilize.

I use a vinegar-soaked paper towel, which removes the precipitation in one stroke.

 

[littlefoxx]

Hello!

I have been fighting with my 180 gal tank with cloudy / milky water the past 3-4 days no idea why….

2 weeks ago i have cloudiness issue due to skimmer producing microbubbles… but i fixed that and it went away. Skimmer is behaving OK now and skimming well.

Parameters
Salinity 1.026
Ph 8.1-8.2
Kh 8.9-9.0
Calcium 450-470
Mg 1380-1400
Temp 25.6

Recent events:
2 weeks ago i dosed Lanthium Cloride (Tropic Marine Elimiphos Rapid) to reduce Phosphates.. this clouded the water for 30-40 min but it went away thanks to the skimmer and socks.

1 week ago i added some new fish (small) 2 tangs, 1 emperor angel, 1 goby and an eel and 8 chromis.

Bacterial Bloom?
40 Watt PENTAIR UV is always ON at a rate measured for protozoan parasites…. 220 gph aprox. All water goes through the UV prior to the display.

Skimmer is always on. REEF oct 200-INT Regal Skimmer.

Sock is On (200 micron)

Ozone is On TWICE a day with Timer (1 hour per dose) at settings from 2-4 with ORP monitoring.

I hace no idea what else todo….

Activated carbon?

 

[daniel_mourra]

Updtaes…. I accidentally broke the UV quartz sleeve while cleaning it ‍. Just ordered a new one but will have to wait. Put a friends 55 watt JEBAO UV that i bought for the meantime.

Water is still cloudy and now i am experiecjng a HUGE ich outbreak… blue hippo tang had never shown ich in 1 year… now shes full of white spots and constantly scratching…

And yes… water si still cloudy… I HAVE NO IDEA what is going on….

 

[Solo McReefer]

I just found out that salt water can etch glass. After a few years

If the tank makers use the wrong side in

Could it be the glass?

What do you have for particulate filtration? 100 micron socks will take out a lot of stuff floating in the water. I think some roller mats have fleece down to 50 mics

 

[Roatan Reef]

Adding more flow can help, a big tank like that could benefit from another powerhead on the other side. Get more water flowing through the filtration system.

I think you need a faster flow through the UV for this type of bacteria bloom?

Yes, you absolutely need more flow!

 

[daniel_mourra]

I just found out that salt water can etch glass. After a few years

If the tank makers use the wrong side in

Could it be the glass?

What do you have for particulate filtration? 100 micron socks will take out a lot of stuff floating in the water. I think some roller mats have fleece down to 50 mics

200 micron filter sock

 

[daniel_mourra]

Yes, you absolutely need more flow!

Just to confirm….

180 gallon peninsila. 1 MP40 per side…
And 220 GPH running thorugh a 40 watt Pentair UV… still need more flow on the powerheads or on the uv?

 

[thedon986]

Just to confirm….

180 gallon peninsila. 1 MP40 per side…
And 220 GPH running thorugh a 40 watt Pentair UV… still need more flow on the powerheads or on the uv?

Yes the UV. You need the bacteria flow rate not the protozoan. More like 700+

 

[daniel_mourra]

Yes the UV. You need the bacteria flow rate not the protozoan. More like 700+

Ohhh yes! Got it. Unfortunatley i also have a very bad ich outbreak…. Always had ich on this tank and my fish were already under control for a year or so under very high vitamin food sources and lots of nori and good quality food.

For some reason i got a very bad ich outbreak and i am now prioritizing ich over the algae bloom…..

Is there a posibility tthat the algae bloom goes away by itself?

 

[Formulator]

What is your phosphate concentration and how much lanthanum did you dose? I’m skeptical that its a coincidence you just added lanthanum 2 weeks ago and now have a cloudy water problem. If you added too much, it could have zeroed out your phosphate and left unreacted LaCl in the water. Then you added fish and probably increased feeding so with a constant input of phosphate you are seeing the LaCl precipitation as it reacts with new phosphate input. LaCl is also very hard on tangs so probably lowered their immunity, leading to the ich outbreak. Lanthanum chloride is hard core stuff and IMO should be reserved for extreme phosphate issues and dosed very slowly and carefully into a filter sock or into the skimmer neck.

 

[thedon986]

Ohhh yes! Got it. Unfortunatley i also have a very bad ich outbreak…. Always had ich on this tank and my fish were already under control for a year or so under very high vitamin food sources and lots of nori and good quality food.

For some reason i got a very bad ich outbreak and i am now prioritizing ich over the algae bloom…..

Is there a posibility tthat the algae bloom goes away by itself?

Yes they will usually resolve on their own. Just keep an eye on oxygen levels and I would get an air stone or two in there if you don’t have any.