Panic!!!!! Bacteria Bloom

[GaryM1966]

Hi Guys I came down to my tank this morning to find I have a bacterial bloom, I have done a little to much water change in the last 2 weeks and guessing Ive caused this myself. Tank is 3 months old, but the panic is all was fine 3 days ago and I went and ordered a good bit of coral and its due to arrive today :-(

will the coral die in here?

 

[Ron Reefman]

Are you sure it's a bacteria bloom? Have you done the normal water parameter tests this morning? Could it be a calcium/alk issue and the haze is precipitate? What kind of filtration are you running?

I'd test for ammonia, Ca, alk, salinity.

 

[GaryM1966]

Are you sure it's a bacteria bloom? Have you done the normal water parameter tests this morning? Could it be a calcium/alk issue and the haze is precipitate? What kind of filtration are you running?

I'd test for ammonia, Ca, alk, salinity.

Hi Ron
I panicked and researched online and it looked common and familiar,

 

[GaryM1966]

sump with skimmer

 

[Quietman]

If that's a bacteria bloom, it's definitely not a "Panic" bacteria bloom. Relax give it a bit of time. New tanks do things like that part of maturing. If it sticks around a few days, starts having mats of bacteria, then action may be required.

In the meantime, do a water change and have some cocoa.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Do the water tests. The water doesn't look that bad.

Do you have a spare tank? Or some other container that you could put saltwater into and hold your new corals out of this tank until you resolve the problem? It's probably a short term fix.

 

[GaryM1966]

If that's a bacteria bloom, it's definitely not a "Panic" bacteria bloom. Relax give it a bit of time. New tanks do things like that part of maturing. If it sticks around a few days, starts having mats of bacteria, then action may be required.

In the meantime, do a water change and have some cocoa.

What about the corals arriving today will that be an issue> :-(

 

[GaryM1966]

Do the water tests. The water doesn't look that bad.

Do you have a spare tank? Or some other container that you could put saltwater into and hold your new corals out of this tank until you resolve the problem? It's probably a short term fix.

No spare tank, but there is a section of the sump thats dry that could be a spare tank do you think?

 

[Quietman]

What about the corals arriving today will that be an issue> :-(

Doubt it will be an issue. That water doesn't look bad and that was the long end shot.

But don't have much choice if no extra tank so why worry?

 

[GaryM1966]

Doubt it will be an issue. That water doesn't look bad and that was the long end shot.

But don't have much choice if no extra tank so why worry?

But I just checked and there is a section in the sump which is dry so that could be filled with salt water and corals put in short term? but there is no heater in this section so do you think I could put the heater in and out of the main sump, turning it off as I do so of course.

 

[Quietman]

But I just checked and there is a section in the sump which is dry so that could be filled with salt water and corals put in short term? but there is no heater in this section so do you think I could put the heater in and out of the main sump, turning it off as I do so of course.

From what I see on the picture, the water quality looks ok visually. I think it more likely to stress corals more in a small section of sump requiring lots of manual effort.

 

[Euphyllia97]

Don’t worry man... Nothing to worry about, will clear up. Make sure skimmer is running and maybe take the cover of the tank and make sure there is some surface flow. Bacteria blooms will consume quite some oxygen so it is important to provide enough gas exchange. For the rest relax and put the corals in.

 

[brandon429]

I see no bloom at all in the pics, water changes can’t cause bac blooms but they can stir up unrinsed sandbed silt while power heads pump it all about for a while. Put the new corals in beside the live rock when they arrive.

we can tell your cycling params by the pics, not by what api guesses at. Ammonia is zero, thats live rock with things attached to it (a quarter of that live rock would still be zero ammonia even if you had ten clown fish, live rock scrubs all ammonia)
Fish swimming normal, no labored breathing-ammonia is zero. Nitrite is zero as well. Nitrate varies tank to tank, no bearing on this matter. If you aren’t dosing liquid for carbon boosting or two part solutions, or things that affect alk I’ll vote sandbed clouding.

api may not agree with the pic based param assessments, but that’s just api being wrong again.

 

[MERKEY]

Did you just do a water change?

New tank and fish look happy with semi cloudy water.....

 

[Malifry97]

I think the coral will be fin in DT...+1 to sand bed silt. Nothing to worry about even if it is a small bac bloom.

Side Note: MAN! That Live Rock Is Awesome!

 

[GaryM1966]

Did you just do a water change?

New tank and fish look happy with semi cloudy water.....

I did a couple of water changes in the week and a half so thinking I may have caused this myself with taking out some good stuff, I'm not sure I love this hobby but I'm such a newbie I'm not sure Im doing right from wrong but I want to learn.

 

[MERKEY]

I did a couple of water changes in the week and a half so thinking I may have caused this myself with taking out some good stuff, I'm not sure I love this hobby but I'm such a newbie I'm not sure Im doing right from wrong but I want to learn.

Theres not a lot in the water that you are removing that will hurt your tank....all the good stuff is on the rocks, sand, walls and everywhere else.

I notice some corals already in the tank , how are they doing, have been doing...they look a little closed right now. Have they always been that way?

 

[GaryM1966]

Theres not a lot in the water that you are removing that will hurt your tank....all the good stuff is on the rocks, sand, walls and everywhere else.

I notice some corals already in the tank , how are they doing, have been doing...they look a little closed right now. Have they always been that way?

duncan just closed up before I took the picture camera shy but its been ok
Pulsing Xenia has not been happy for the last week
The leather never did anything other than flop down

 

[Gogi]

I've had blooms that made the water much cloudier than yours and the corals were happy as ever.

 

[GaryM1966]

I've had blooms that made the water much cloudier than yours and the corals were happy as ever.

Thanks Gogi