Cloudy Water

[pbmahaffey]

New to reefing...tank has been up since the beginning of August.
Having a challenge with cloudy water in my 90-gallon tank. Parameters are ammonia near 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 25, Phosphate .25, Calcium 440, Alkalinity 9.8, Magnesium 1350, PH 8.3. Changed out my Carbon Reactor last night...no change. I have 19 fish in the tank. 10% water change each week. Change filter sock every 2 - 3 days. Clean skimmer often.
The first video is a month ago before my Reef Brite lights...other pictures are today.

Any suggestions?

 

[lapin]

Did you rinse your sand before adding it to the tank?

Might it be micro bubbles?

Could be a bacterial bloom?

 

[pbmahaffey]

Did you rinse your sand before adding it to the tank?

Might it be micro bubbles?

Could be a bacterial bloom?

I did rinse the sand before putting it in the tank.

What are micro bubbles?

 

[jgirardnrg]

If it's bacterial bloom I clear mine up using a UV. I just run it with it's own small DC pump in a closed loop in the sump. Water goes from hazy to crystal clear.

 

[pbmahaffey]

If it's bacterial bloom I clear mine up using a UV. I just run it with it's own small DC pump in a closed loop in the sump. Water goes from hazy to crystal clear.

What can I do if I do not have UV?

 

[jgirardnrg]

What can I do if I do not have UV?

You can get ones that hang on or go in the tank for pretty cheap. I don't run mine 24/7, just when I see the water start getting hazy. I don't know what your budget is so I can't really recommend anything. If you're on a budget you could get something like this and use it as needed:

 

[pbmahaffey]

You can get ones that hang on or go in the tank for pretty cheap. I don't run mine 24/7, just when I see the water start getting hazy. I don't know what your budget is so I can't really recommend anything. If you're on a budget you could get something like this and use it as needed:

OK...Thanks

 

[jgirardnrg]

OK...Thanks

No problem... if you have a budget in mind someone could recommend a better unit. Having said that, something is better than nothing if you want to go with the cheaper one above. I've used a similar one in the past in both fresh and saltwater and it did the job.

 

[jgirardnrg]

I did rinse the sand before putting it in the tank.

What are micro bubbles?

Micro bubbles are just what they sound like. Tiny bubbles being blown back into the tank through the return nozzles, usually from the skimmer.

 

[pbmahaffey]

No problem... if you have a budget in mind someone could recommend a better unit. Having said that, something is better than nothing if you want to go with the cheaper one above. I've used a similar one in the past in both fresh and saltwater and it did the job.

Is there a good, better, best I can consider for my 90-gallon?

 

[Garf]

New to reefing...tank has been up since the beginning of August.
Having a challenge with cloudy water in my 90-gallon tank. Parameters are ammonia near 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 25, Phosphate .25, Calcium 440, Alkalinity 9.8, Magnesium 1350, PH 8.3. Changed out my Carbon Reactor last night...no change. I have 19 fish in the tank. 10% water change each week. Change filter sock every 2 - 3 days. Clean skimmer often.
The first video is a month ago before my Reef Brite lights...other pictures are today.

Any suggestions?

How much food are you adding? Is someone else putting food in? I only say that because my wife has a totally different definition of “A pinch” than I do.

 

[pbmahaffey]

How much food are you adding? Is someone else putting food in? I only say that because my wife has a totally different definition of “A pinch” than I do.

Feeding two cubes of Hikari brine shrimp twice a day with 1/8th teaspoon of seaweed extreme in the evenings for my tangs.

 

[jgirardnrg]

Is there a good, better, best I can consider for my 90-gallon?

I run this one on my 60g cube with a Coralbox DC pump. I could use a much smaller one with my water volume but it fits perfectly in my stand and with the DC pump I can control the flow easily:

 

[Garf]

Feeding two cubes of Hikari brine shrimp twice a day with 1/8th teaspoon of seaweed extreme in the evenings for my tangs.

If you diversify your food, pellets, Mysis, flake bla bla bla, it will be better for your fish and may in fact reduce cloudiness.