Water cloudy

takoarm8 · Dec 30, 2022

Tank is 2.5 months old.

tropic Marin salt
40 gallon cube AIO

Nitate 2.3
Phosphate .015
Alkalinity 10.2
Salinity 35

LPS thriving
Monty Cap super happy

fish extremely happy.

only algae visible is green on rocks not a slime or hair.

sandbed is immaculate vacuum 2x a week
I do (3) 5 gallon changes a week every other day.

I dose manually Kalk 2 times a week when lights go out.

JaFish720 · Dec 30, 2022

I have a 2.5 month old 40g breeder and had the same thing. I think it’s a bacterial bloom usually from stocking a new tank. I got a uv sterilizer and it was clear after a day or two

MrGisonni · Dec 30, 2022

I agree. Probably a bacterial bloom a UV will do the trick. The mean green killing machine is great. Pick your size plug and play. After the bloom it will increase water clarity.

takoarm8 · Dec 30, 2022

I have an AIO tank so UV would be tough to run. Do I just wait it out and keep up with my water change schedule?

Pseudoskill · Dec 30, 2022

The UV sterilizer mentioned above is the answer. You can get the green killing machine at Petco, it will just stick to the inside of your display if you want. It's obviously ugly AF but I got one and put it in mine overnight + the next day and it was gone. I had the cloudiness as well despite trying Clarity additives/water changes, etc I couldn't get rid of it.

ScubaSnacks · Dec 30, 2022

I have a 40b aio and I put my killing machine in the return chamber above the pump. Cleared my water within a few days like others have said.

takoarm8 · Dec 30, 2022

Hmmmm looks like I’m just gonna have to find a way to make it work

ScubaSnacks · Dec 30, 2022

takoarm8 said:
Hmmmm looks like I’m just gonna have to find a way to make it work

Worst case, run it in the display to clear and remove when it's done it's job.

bushdoc · Dec 31, 2022

Transient bacterial blooms are common in newly established tanks.
You are not dosing carbon, I hope?
If not, overfeeding may be the cause. Bacteria on your rocks, unless they are Live rocks, are not yet capable to convert all nutrients, so heterotrophic bacteria in water column take over. Water changes are of little effect, because those bacteria multiply every 20-30 min, unless you want to dilute nutrients.
The only danger is oxygen consumption and creating oxygen deprivation in water column. UV is probably your best mode of action.

takoarm8 · Dec 31, 2022

I have a carbon reactor lol

takoarm8 · Dec 31, 2022

takoarm8 · Dec 31, 2022

Just ordered this.

ScubaSnacks · Dec 31, 2022

takoarm8 said:
Just ordered this.

That'll do.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 31, 2022

The three most common causes of cloudiness are:

1. Suspended organisms, usually bacteria but could be other things, including spawning events.
2. Silt stirred up, most often from new sand or a water change that stirred up old detritus.
3. An over dose of an alk supplement, usually a high pH type, causing precipitation of calcium carbonate. These can turn the tank to look like milk.

MrGisonni · Dec 31, 2022

ScubaSnacks said:
That'll do.

Super cool awesome little UV. perfect!

takoarm8 · Jan 5, 2023

UV went in today. Now the sand bed has what looks like Dino’s. I’ll post updates in a couple
Days.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 5, 2023

takoarm8 said:
Now the sand bed has what looks like Dino’s. I’ll post updates in a couple
Days.

Sorry to hear that. If it is dinos rather than cyano, I might boost the nutrients a b it more by feeding more or dosing.

JaFish720 · Jan 5, 2023

Are you sure it’s Dino’s and not diatoms?

Troylee · Jan 5, 2023

I’d slow down on water changes and not sure why you’re dosing alk at all? You have very little to no corals in a tank and a hefty water change schedule that could keep up with out dosing anything in a fully stocked tank lol..