Water milky after water change

[Pbh-reef]

title basically says it all. Fish and coral seem fine, but the water has been a little milky since I changed it yesterday. Alk and calcium both normal.

When I change water I use IO salt and let around 2 gallons mix with a heater for a few hours. I baste the rocks and sand and scrub the rocks with a toothbrush. It’s a 10 gallon tank that I got used with some corals and inverts and has been set up for 6 weeks. I did just change the return pump and add a spin stream. There are some bubbles but I don’t think it’s micro bubbles.

I’m not super worried but would like to know!

 

[Rakie]

probably a bacteria bloom. If it gets bad (think literally 4-5" visibility at best) everything CAN die. I'm not saying it will.. But make sure your powerheads are pointed towards the surface to agitate the water and get more oxygen in the tank. The bloom can get bad and cause loss of oxygen, which can kill everything.

You'll be fine most likely, just make sure to aerate the water as much as possible.

 

[Pbh-reef]

Wow - how can I avoid that? Why would it happen after a water change? Should I not turkey baste the rocks and sand when I change the water?

 

[Rakie]

It happened from blowing the sand around. You want to syphon the sand, not blow it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Likely the sand bed. Dud you ribse sand when it was first placed in tank? Uf not, there is a lot if dust in it along with waste that will cause that.

 

[Pbh-reef]

Derp... well I won’t be doing that again! Thanks for explaining it to me.

And no the tank came to me wet with livestock so I didn’t rinse the sand, don’t know if the previous owner did either.

 

[Pbh-reef]

Btw after a night of aeration and some bad dreams it cleared up!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Btw after a night of aeration and some bad dreams it cleared up!

Yes, it will settle eventually. Next water change, Lightly siphon the bedding as not to remove too much bacteria and reset your salinity and enjoy the tank.