"Milk" in a new tank cycle

saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
hey everyone, - i asked this in a different post that sorta went unnoticed, thanks trainfever for your reply - but just trying to see if others have an opinion.
i started a 10 gal QT tank, and put a small chunk of LR - about the size of a fist. after about a week the water tested all fine except for PH was a little high, but i think that was due to water evap. any way the day after i tested, the whole tank was filled with a wierd milky cloudiness - almost like smoke. it has had this translucent colloidal quality about it for 3 days now, and it just seems to be subsiding a little bit. however now the LR has one side of it COVERED in a what looks like a calcium build up , in bubble pattern. the white stuff seems to have slightly coated the fake rock / hiding place and im sure its on the substrate as well.
what is this stuff? is it harmful? do i have to clean it? will this now not work as a hospital tank?
btw i didnt use tap water so i dont think its hardness, and that tested normal.
train suggested it was critters on the LR...
 
simms

simms

Member
I had a similar issue with "milky water." Mine came sand settling to the bottom, it took about 3 days to clear. I doubt that is your issue.
 
dalerich

dalerich

Member
I have no idea what this problem could be. Can you post a photo of it? It is very easy to second guess everything that gets posted on these pages. Why did you not use water from the 75 gallon tank during a water change? When I set up my hospital tank I used 12 pounds of LS from my 55 gallon tank and 12 gallons of water in the hospital tank. I then dumped about 20 pounds of new LS and 12 gallons of fresh salt water in the 55 gallon tank.
Again it's easy to second guess but if you have problems use the pre-cycled water and if you can use the pre-cycled sand.
post a pic if you can it helps alot.
Hope this helps.
 
kiharaconn

kiharaconn

Member
I've read in several books that you should not have sand or live rock in the quaratine tank. If you need to medicate the fish it will kill the bacteria in both the rock and sand. Just put something in the tank for the fish to hide behind.
 
dalerich

dalerich

Member
Author Beth
By Jwtrojan 44
"What water to Use?
If the water in your main tank is good quality, you can use that water to fill your QT. Of course, you will then have to replace the water in your main tank with new pre-mixed, aged salt water. Doing this is a real plus because your main tank water will have bacteria in it that will help establish and cycle your new QT. Otherwise, you can do 50-50 water in the QT, meaning 50% water from your main tank and 50% pre-mixed, aged salt water. Or, if you are patient and don’t mind a slower cycling process, you can just setup the QT with all new salt water then cycle your tank. Up to you how you want to handle it.
Substrate?
None. At least not very much [more below]. Paint the bottom [on the outside] of your tank black or blue. Emphasis on the OUTSIDE. The reason you do this is because a QT should not have substrate. Without substrate, aquarium bottoms become reflective which can be disturbing and disorienting to fish. Don’t let anyone tell you that this is not a necessary step. It is. I have seen fish become disoriented and not able to eat properly due to reflective bottoms. Alternatively, if you have a black table top or stand, then you can place the aquarium on this and skip painting the bottom. Be sure to use black or blue. Some hobbyist will also paint the back and even the 2 sides black—further reducing reflectiveness in tank. That is optional.
Tip: You can add a couple of cups of sand from your display to kick start your QT. This will seed the QT and provide more surface for biological filtration."
I guess you are correct not to use substrate or very little substrate but the article also says not to use live rock if you follow the link.
Full article here
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
right well i took what i could from that,
the current substrate is some rock pebbles like you would put in a FW tank. the LR piece i put in there was just to start the cycle, after it completed i was planning on popping it into my main display. this would leave nothing biological in the QT tank with the exception of the bacteria.
The Water i used was left over pre mixed from the LFS , from when i filled my display up. it was about 2.5 weeks old, so i dont know if that falls under the "Aged" category. unless "Aged" means cycled. The Reason i did not use any water from the display tank is because i had Ich all over the place and it killed everything except for my wrasse. so i figured the ich was in the water and it would not be wise to put "infected" water into a hospital tank.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
well the milk is gone now. iv put the LR piece in my display and added a damsel to maintain the bio system in the QT. not sure what it was all well.
 
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