Cloudy Water

[vince32]

Hello everyone,
Got a puzzling problem. It's probably an easy fix (I hope). So easy I think I have to be over looking something. A few days ago my tank got cloudy. When I came home from work one day I saw air bubbles in the tank coming from my sump. So I added some premixed water, and now the cloudiness won't go away. What else could be causing this? Any suggestions would be great.
Thanks,
Vince 32

 

[snakeblitz33]

First of all, a pic would be great.
Second, when your tank needs to be topped off, you use freshwater - preferably pure RO/DI water, not saltwater or even pre-mixed saltwater. Salt does not evaporate.
Check your salinity - add a bit more live rock and water flow - or at least some more medium (filtration media) for bacteria to colonize. Bacterial blooms mainly happen when the system has been disrupted somehow and nutrients have been stirred up. Also, it is quite common in new tanks that are not quite established yet. If it is an old tank, consider doing some major maintenance/husbandry by cleaning the sand or replenishing bacterial/microbial populations in it, and deep cleaning the live rocks with a powerhead. Several large water changes will re-set the system and get things in good working order again.

 

[vince32]

SnakeBlitz,
Thanks for the reply/suggestions. As far as filtration I think I have enough of that going on I have a 200 gal tank with a 50 gal sump, a Fluized Bed filter, UV light, Protein skimmer, two powerheads in the tank. One providing bubbles and the other current. I have some live rock (about 30 lbs), and considering adding some more. My Salinity is right at 1.021. The tank was down for about a year. But I reused just about everything. I cleaned it real well and has been running good & clear for a little over 2 months. The water has been real clear and the fish that are in the tank are doing well. Now one thing that did happen recently was as I was reintroducing my protein skimmer I knocked a hose lose to my sump pump, and that disrupted things in the filter a little so I shut down the power to everything so I could reconnect the hose to the sump. I also added some media to the fluidize filter, but I rinsed the media real good before introducing it to the filter.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by vince32 http:///t/394293/cloudy-water#post_3509494
SnakeBlitz,
Thanks for the reply/suggestions. As far as filtration I think I have enough of that going on I have a 200 gal tank with a 50 gal sump, a Fluized Bed filter, UV light, Protein skimmer, two powerheads in the tank. One providing bubbles and the other current. I have some live rock (about 30 lbs), and considering adding some more. My Salinity is right at 1.021. The tank was down for about a year. But I reused just about everything. I cleaned it real well and has been running good & clear for a little over 2 months. The water has been real clear and the fish that are in the tank are doing well. Now one thing that did happen recently was as I was reintroducing my protein skimmer I knocked a hose lose to my sump pump, and that disrupted things in the filter a little so I shut down the power to everything so I could reconnect the hose to the sump. I also added some media to the fluidize filter, but I rinsed the media real good before introducing it to the filter.
What kind of media, and where did you get it? Do you have macroalgae, and if so what type?

 

[geridoc]

You said " two powerheads in the tank. One providing bubbles and the other current". Bubbles are not good in a marine tank, but current is. I would eliminate the bubble function, and get that powerhead to provide only water movement. Look at the water column closely - is the cloudiness due to micro bubbles in the water? That is a common problem, and may be due to the bubbling powerhead, or to pinhole leaks in the plumbing allowing a small inflow of air into the return.