Green Cloudy Murky Water

rleal07 · Jul 18, 2016

I've got a 30 gallon tank running on about 2 years now. It's running on a 30-60 gallon HOB filter with a Reef Octopus BH-100 skimmer. I have about 25-30 lbs of live rock and live sand substrate. Currently I have a clown fish, domino damsel, striped damsel, 2 goby, lawnmower blenny, a couple of snails, and a large hermit crab. A few months ago I removed the skimmer to clean it out, but never put it back on. I started noticing after a couple of months of no skimmer that my water started turning green and cloudy. So I did a 25% water change, replaced the carbon filters, and re started my skimmer once again. Within 4-5 hours my water was crystal clear again. My skimmer collected a bunch of green crap water, so i figured it was just that I needed my skimmer back on. While I did the water change, I was siphoning some of the sand which made my sand bed somewhat scarce. So I added white rock substrate to replace some of the sand. I rinsed out the rocks prior to adding them in the tank. Well ever since I did this, my water is starting to get cloudy and murky again. My skimmer is running very wet. I just cant seem to find the "sweet spot" on it anymore since I added the new substrate. And if I try to lift the collection cup, it won't skim like it's supposed to. Yesterday I replaced the carbon filters again and added a water clarifier, but that didn't seem to help. I read that I probably have an algea bloom and should turn off any lights and not feed fish for a day or two. Why would I get an algea bloom if it's been running for about 2 years now? The last time this happened was about a month after I first started the tank, but then I got a good skimmer and that cleared the water right up. I guess I feel like my skimmer isn't doing it's job like it's supposed to. But I don't understand why if it worked perfectly a couple of weeks ago. It seems like it started acting up after I added the new white rocks. Is there anything else I can do to clear up my water? I have ordered a cannister filter with a 9v UV sterilizer, but haven't received it yet. I'm hoping this new filter will do the trick. Any suggestions???
Thanks in advanced...

rleal07 · Jul 18, 2016

beaslbob · Jul 18, 2016

if you kill the lights it will clear up. macro algae will help as well.

That said the wife added a 9v uv/canister and her tank and it has remained clear after that. So hopefully that will clear it up.

my .02

RyanCSGO · Jul 18, 2016

looks like its right in front of a window correct?
not saying this is the cause, but my old tank was next to my front window and i constantly had dirty glass from natural sunlight coming through (even with the shades down).