Unidentified Cloud

[Liquid360]

I've got a 60g that's a few years old. The newest thing in the tank is a carpet, s.haddoni, I got about a month ago. The tank has always been stable. Only trauma was over a month ago when my central air failed and the tank reached low 80's. this past Friday I awoke to a milky white tank. All my fish were on the sandbed near death. In a panic I drained the tank and added new water. Nothing changed. Water turned white. I changed the water again. This time, overnight, I awoke to a crystal clear tank. The water tested fine at all times as always. Whatever happened obviously effected my acro as its all dying as I type this. I'm not expecting any answers.... was just soooo strange and inexplicable. So out of the blue as I'd done nothing at all for at least a week.
Friday

Today

 

[KingOfPain86]

How quickly after the water change did the water turn white?


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[Liquid360]

The water was white when I woke up. There hadn't been a water change in a couple weeks.

 

[Liquid360]

Ah sorry I see what you meant. It took about three hours to turn white again.

 

[KingOfPain86]

Are you running any kind of reactors?


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[Liquid360]

None. It's a very basic setup....

 

[KoleTang]

Do you dose kalk? My tank got cloudy when someone shoved the feed line in the ATO into the kalk sludge.

 

[Liquid360]

No dosing at all. I do the 20% water changes and that's it.

 

[Liquid360]

It's strange that only my acro has payed the price. All my nems, LPS, clams, inverts all came through ok. Even my millepora survived. I've never lost an acro before.

 

[KingOfPain86]

You just have the one Nem?


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[Liquid360]

I've got the carpet, an BTA, and an RBTA. All look fine.

 

[KingOfPain86]

I had a BTA and it spewed a milky substance once. I have know idea what it was but I remember sitting watching the tank and all of a sudden, boom milk water. It went away quick but it did agitate the fish a bit.


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[mcarroll]

I've got a 60g that's a few years old. The newest thing in the tank is a carpet, s.haddoni, I got about a month ago. The tank has always been stable. Only trauma was over a month ago when my central air failed and the tank reached low 80's. this past Friday I awoke to a milky white tank. All my fish were on the sandbed near death. In a panic I drained the tank and added new water. Nothing changed. Water turned white. I changed the water again. This time, overnight, I awoke to a crystal clear tank. The water tested fine at all times as always. Whatever happened obviously effected my acro as its all dying as I type this. I'm not expecting any answers.... was just soooo strange and inexplicable. So out of the blue as I'd done nothing at all for at least a week.

Hm…

I suspect the low-80's temp swing was a minor contributor at most.

Looks like a relatively high-nutrient (and increasing with the nem) tank.

Also, the lights are pretty new (just got a Razor 160 myself).

Considering all the above I'm going to say it was a bacterial bloom (looks like one; they are common enough) that had exhausted a high-nutrient system of its oxygen. Biggest animals (usually fish) suffer first and and worst usually. Extra aeration (maybe better water flow too) should have done the trick for the fish and the bloom would have run its course and cleared on its own.

I think the corals are tweaked from the panicked 1000% water change.

-Matt


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