Cloudy Water with Particulates - Help me Pinpoint the issue

[Asonitez]

For a few weeks I have been dealing with chronically low PH. I would say PH hovering around 7.5 to 7.6.

Prior to this I believe I had what could have been a bacterial bloom caused by adding my fish to the display from the quarantine system. Here are the changes that I did leading up to where I am.

All tests by Hannah.

Display 60 X 30 X 26
Alk 8.5
Calcium 420ppm
PH 7.8
Sand 120 lbs Ocean Direct Live Sand

To Rule out Equip:
Regal 250sss
GFO/Carbon
Filter Sock
SKimz MBR Reactor w/ chaeto
L1 Return
4 X Vortech Mp40's for Flow
8X4 - Marine Pure Block
1Gal Marine Pure Ceramic Bio Media Balls
200 LBs Live Rock
Salt is RedSea Reef Crystals.

I also started feeding 2 blocks of brine shrimp a day. One in the morning one before fishie bedtime.

Haven't tested *.ates *.ites but as of last week was zero.

So I added The Skimz Reactor with some chaeto.
I added the GFO and Carbon
I added 22,000 Pods (2 orders from Algae barn)
I added a 60 ML of Phyto
I added 2 TBSP of kalk to a 1 gallon container waited over night and siphoned from the MIDDLE of the slurry leaving and discarding the bottom 2 inches. - This still left a noticeable powdering on the floor of my ATO system. (ATO is a 20g Tank that is sectioned off from my Sump) So i added 1 gal of saturated kalk to 20 gals of TopOff Water.


No Reaction from Fish and No reaction from corals. Actually a Purple cap that had receded a little from being on the and bed recovered and encrusted. LPS are open and showing feeding tentacles.

I think the particles are from the light dusting of KALK that was on the bottom of my ATO container. I thought I could get away from having to elevate the pump if I only took the saturated water but I guess the water wasn't really saturated.

If so how to remove the particulates from the water?

 

[Tahoe61]

I have never had that issue when using kalk in an ATO. My pumps sits on the bottom, I now siphon out the settled particles in the ATO tank just to prolong the life of the pump.

 

[sbash]

Quite simply, to remove particles, you need to run the water through a particle filter. It looks like you are already using a sock, so you could try a lower micron rating.

You could also just set up a temporary pump that pushes the water through a particle filter, similar to the particle filter in an RO system...

 

[Asonitez]

I drained and emptied my ATO section and re-filled with new RODI after wiping and rinsing it out well. I'm hoping that a marine clarifier will bind the particles. I DO have a a MAG pump that i could suspend in there somehow. I wonder if I fill a container up with some filter floss and run the water through that if it would work. Or maybe line my filter sock with some filter floss and let the water run through it.

 

[spiraling]

Cloudy would suggest a bacterial bloom or the phyto. Is it white or green? . If they are consuming O2 you would also get the PH drop. Raising your alk just a bit can help the PH until you diagnose the problem.

 

[Asonitez]

It's white I am however seeing about a billion white pods all over my glass

 

[Asonitez]

I managed to get a video of the particles. What does this look like to you guys? Calcium precipitation?

 

[acanfor420]

I'm having a similar issue with my 135gal it was super white cloudy and have reduced it to where ya can see to back of tank but still that white hazy cloudiness just can make disappear so any help for you will hopefully help me as well [emoji6]