Cloudy Water???

[jeebus]

This is a 2 year old setup with lots of live rock in a 37 gallon tank.
The water has become increasingly cloudy over the past few days. It is a whitish sort of haze, not green as I have seen during cycling. I had a fish die about a week ago, but 2 others are fine. This morning I found a dead snail (large Mexican trochus from Saltwaterfish.com) that may have been rotting in there for a couple of days. Seems to have contaminated the whole food chain, as I found lots of dead "pods" while cleaning up the tank. Also found 2 dead brittle stars and a serpent star late this afternoon - also removed.
So far I have done a 1/3 water change and added some Amquel, Stress Coat and some Cycle. I have tested the ammonia and nitrite levels and they look fine, so the problem may be correcting itself. Is there anything else I can do other than water changes to help clear things up?
Is it reasonable to assume that a dead critter in the tank could throw everything into chaos? I thought I had a pretty well balanced system, but I did add a few critters a couple of week ago.
Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

You are getting some serious die off. the fact that you added cycle will cause a re-cycle of your tank.
Watch the water params and do a 5% water change every two days for a while.

 

[jeebus]

Was adding Cycle a bad idea? I only added the minimum amount.
Could die off and the resulting haze be a result of overfeeding?
Thanks.

 

[entice59]

i think cycle helps the process of cycling a tank, thus the name cycle, i could be wrong and i could be write but its something to think about
What are your nitrate levels? or what were your nitrate levels
hm... a tank that is "re-cycling", that doesnt happen unless theres a reason... right? i dont want my tank doing the same

 

[melbournefl]

??? You added this product "cycle" to an established tank ??? Why? It sounds like, yes you have started a new, higher bio-load, cycle. If you had a "dead critter" in the tank then it could indeed start a peak and cycle again but by adding the product "cycle" you compounded the problem.
I think what might have happened is that something died, peaked the ammonia and set off a mini-cycle, you added the "cycle" and that added more ammonia and god knows what else to the tank and now you're going through, what could be, a major re-cycle. Watch the parms closely and keep an eye on your fish etc. If you start doing water changes in a big way, keep a close eye on the Ph, higher Ph will raise the levels of toxic ammonia so be careful there and keep the Amquel bottle close at hand. I'd do daily water tests until the tank rebalances itself.
Good luck and hopefully one of the many people here that know *MUCH* more than I can help with their suggestions (and corrections if needed LOL)
Later,
Paul

 

[nickoz]

I am not an expert on 'Cycle' however my understanding of the product is that it does not increase ammonia levels but introduce bacteria to aid the nitrogen cycle. Please see the link below for a FAQ from Hagen that may clear up any questions.
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/faq...T=1&SUBCAT=121
-nick

 

[broomer5]

jeebus
You added new fish a few weeks ago.
This increases the load on the tank. The bacteria just prior to your adding the new fish could handle whatever ammonia there was at that time.
Then you loaded the tank with new fish.
The bacteria must reproduce and increase in numbers in order to handle this new ammonia load.
Plain and simple.
But ~ it sounds like a fish died. Was it removed immediately or left in the tank for awhile ?
Same with the dead Trochcus. These are pretty good sized meaty snails - lots of tissue to rot in those guys.
Cloudy water is sometimes due to a bacterial bloom - where tons of bacteria are feasting on the newly rich ammonia water.
They reproduce rapidly - and their numbers cloud the water.
Eventually the water clears as their numbers balance out.
The nitrogen cycle is just that - it's a CYCLE.
It doesn't start and stop - it goes on continuously - as long as there is a souce of ammonia.
If the ammonia level rises faster than the bacteria population can react - then you will measure ammonia in the water.
If the bacteria population is sufficient to handle any new additions of ammonia - then they do it - and you will NOT measure ammonia in the water.
Plain and simple.
Much talk of mini cycles and major cycles and new cycles and re-cycles of every other shape and desciption.
The fact is - every time a fish produces a hint of waste - the ammonia is there - for a brief time. Then the bacteria grab it up and use it as food. Then nitrites is leftover - and the other bacteria eat up the nitritre leaving nitrate.
That's the cycle ~ the cycle that is always happening in our tanks.
In an established tank with fish or a tank that is being fed ~ It doesn't stop, nor does it start. IT'S A CYCLE !
If we can measure ammonia or nitrite - it does not mean a CYCLE has STARTED !
It means our fish and overfeeding wastes are MORE THAN the current bacteria can handle - and they respond as they should.
The reproduce and eat it up.
They're doing this all the time.
Having a measurable amount of ammonia or nitrite in the tankwater just means something got out of balance.
You either added too many fish at once.
You over fed the tank considerably.
You lost bacteria from other causes.
A tank is always CYCLING - we just can't measure the amount, nor are we fast enough to even detect the presense of trace amounts of ammonia and nitrite.
Plain and simple.
ON THE OTHER HAND:
CYCLING a brand new tank - one that has just been set up is an entirely different story. It does have a beginning and an end.
But it's not the nitrogen cycle. It's is a RESULT of establishing bacteria that are a part of the nitrogen cycle.
Plain and simple.

 

[jeebus]

Broomer5
The fish was removed fairly soon after it died. The snail may have been in there as long as 2 days. I think it was the snail that kicked off the problem, although as you mentioned the addition of the new life a couple of weeks ago may have stressed the tank.
I understand fairly well about the "cycle" and "cycling" etc. I have been through it with a new tank and while curing live rock. I don't think my tank is totally out of balance, so I assume the cycle is still established and working. I have a lot of live rock and I understand that really helps keep a healthy cycle working.
I have tested the params and everything seems fine. The only problem is the pH is low at 7.8 (probably from the water changes). I added some Kent Superbuffer dKH so that problem should be resolved shortly.
Do you think the pH should be addressed more aggressively?
Other than that I had some more die off. I lost another large snail and a small serpent star. What ever this is seems to be killing off specific critters (mexican trochus and serpernt/brittle stars). I suppose I should sift through the tank and make sure there aren't any more snails rotting under a rock.
Broomer5, thanks very much for the input. After looking at your web page I know that I am getting good advice. Great tanks!