ah cloudy water wont go away

[frogz]

for the last 2 weeks i cant seem to get rid of the cloudy water
in my tank . the water seems to be clearer in the mornin then it starts to get clouder as the day goes on. i can see particles floating everywhere i have tried a water polisher and carbon
they seem to help but as soon as i quit using them the water gets cloudy. all water conditions are good i cant check phosphates yet (waiting on test kit) its a 72 gallon with a fuge and sump 88 lbs of live rock 3 inch sand bed . one thing i did find in the fuge was some of the algae was floating on top of the water i scooped it up and it looked like jello. all the rest of the algae looks great, my lighting is 2-250watt 20k metal halide
i run them 8 hrs a day and the fuge is lit 24/7. any suggestions
i also use ro water i have the air fire and ice unit, i have 2 clown fish and a sailfin blenny and a clean up crew , also i keep getting a diatom bloom in the sand bed . could the cloudy water be from high phosphates?

 

[beaslbob]

I suspect you do have high phosphates or possibly high nitrates. the presence of brown algae (diatoms) indicates phosphates are present.
with an active refugium full of plant life, i recommend you turn your lights off in the display until the display water is clear.
Keep the fuge going and processing the wastes including the phosphates.
Hopefully when the water is clear, the plant life in the fuge will be able to keep up.
then try reduced lighting for awhile to see if the display stayes clear. Say about 50% or you current display duration. then increae the duration as long as the water stays clear.
If that does not result in the display staying clear, then add more plant life.

 

[birdy]

Is there any possiblity that you are seeing micro bubbles in your tank, they can make a tank look cloudy.
I cannot see any reason why you are having a cloudy tank. I don't think high Phosphates will make your tank cloudy, just help algae grow, unless you have some sort of suspended algae growth.
How high is the flow going through your sump? I ask this because I had the same problem and had to decrease my circulation through my sump.

 

[bang guy]

Just to be safe I would buy a PO4 test and test your tank water as well as your RO water. If your RO water has a high level of PO4 then you'll probably want to invest in a DI unit.

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by Bang Guy
Just to be safe I would buy a PO4 test and test your tank water as well as your RO water. If your RO water has a high level of PO4 then you'll probably want to invest in a DI unit.
Bang:
don't you think it is a reasonably safe bet there is phosphates in the system? 1) it gets clouder the longer the lights are on. 2) there is brown alages on the sand. To me both spell phosphates.
Sure test if you want. but even if negative you have algae action. the fix will be the same either way. Di will not touch the phosphates from his bioload. So get the refug plant life processing the phosphates instead of the display browns and suspended algaes. turn your ligts off in the display. if comes back you need more plant life. Guess that's too simple.

 

[frogz]

i didnt turn on the lights today so i we will see what happens
tomorrow . i have an ro/di reefkeeper its the typhoon ,today i noticed my filters on the unit are extremely dirty its probably only made maybe 200 gallons i will take a picture of the filters,
maybe they are not working cause they are to dirty. i am waiting on my test kit then i can tell whats goin on

 

[birdy]

WHOA, Those look nasty!! I had a problem with some RO filters one time, I didn't run water through them for a while and they sat in the old water, it caused an ammonia build up and all the water put out by my unit had tons of ammonia in it. Looks like you need to change out those filters, that is why it is good to always run water through the filter, at least once a week. I also flush my membrane once a week.

 

[frogz]

i have 2- 3/4 inch drains goin to the sump and a mag9.5 return pump to the display. for the fuge i have 1-3/4 inch drain that drains into the fuge then gravity drains into the sump, the tank only clouded up after my first diatom bloom the cleanup crew got rid of it .then it got cloudy then there back

 

[frogz]

i have a 5 gallon rubbermaid that the ro/di unit feeds behind the tank that is where i get my topoff water i have an automatic
system . when the sump gets low it turns the pump on in the rubbermaid container and pumps water from the rubbermaid container to the sump, then i have a float swith in the rubbermaid container that turns on the ro/di unit till the rubbermaid container is full them it stops so the ro/di unit makes about 2 gallons of water a day

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by beaslbob
Di will not touch the phosphates from his bioload.
So? I guess I'm too simple to understand how this means anything.
I agree on one of Beaslbob's points that a seperate algae refugium will help you export nutrients long term and that's the best ultimate solution.
Until that gets established you should test the output from your RO. I see you have DI but I question if it's operating properly.

 

[shrkbait]

What is your calcium,PH, and ALK levels? Is your skimmer working over time? or is it normal?
You may have stuff precipitating out of the water. I added too much calcium once and it got real foggy. Usually you will have a film on the glass though. Just a thought.
Skimmer...something might have died=foggy
Unusual ALK,PH or Calcium= Many problems...but it may cause precipitation. Not just calcium either.