new tank cloudy water

cdek11

cdek11

New Member
Hello I am switching from a freshwater tank to my first saltwater tank tank has been running for about week and water is cloudy is this normal. I think I might need a different filter or just add one but not sure. Tank has sand bottom with a few pounds of live rock. I am running a aquaclear 110 which is what I used on freshwater. My tank is 75 gallons
 
cdek11

cdek11

New Member
No sandbed is not being disturbed no fish in tank also only one powerhead now pointed downward
 
cdek11

cdek11

New Member
sand was washed before i placed in to tank. Increase water flow do i need to add another filter and wavemakers or just a good wavemaker would be enough to increase the water flow.
 
cdek11

cdek11

New Member
adding a wave maker should increase water flow helping to clear up water correct. And poly pad that is added to filter
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
It depends on what you mean by wave maker. Are you talking about adding another powerhead or are you talking about a pump controller. You add the poly filter to your mechanical filtration
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Just adding another powerhead can do the trick. Reef tanks are high energy. Even a lagoonal tank like I had had 10 times more waterflow that your freshwater tank.
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
I would kill the lights and stop adding food to the tank. After a few days it should clear up. Then resume with less lighting and feeding so it will stay clear.
I also recommend adding macro algaes (usually in a refugium {even just a tank partition}) to help balance out and stabilize the tank.
But that's just my .02
 
cdek11

cdek11

New Member
Water is nw clear thanks for help just added powerhead to tank left lights off for 24 hours and checked this morning and now looking good. Must have been sand or salt that did not get mixed well. Next time i will add salt water slower to tank
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Bacteria is my theory.
Two scenarios-
(1) Silt that has not yet been colonized by bacteria will remain in the water column. Increasing waterflow allows more water going by the silt grains and increases the chance of bacteria colonizing the silt grains. Once colonized they tend to sink to the substrate fairly quickly.
(2) Excess ammonia in the water column is causing bacteria bloom in the water. Normally there is not a large population of bacteria in the water column because of a food shortage. With low waterflow the ammonia has more time to accumulate in the water column and this can feed a bacterial bloom. Increasing waterflow allows the bacteria on surfaces a greater chance at consuming the ammonia before it can accumulate in the water column.
 
aquaria

aquaria

Member
I just had the same issue! I ended up buying a power head to increase water flow and my water settled in 48 hours!
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bang Guy http:///t/389857/new-tank-cloudy-water#post_3449382
Bacteria is my theory.
Two scenarios-
(1) Silt that has not yet been colonized by bacteria will remain in the water column. Increasing waterflow allows more water going by the silt grains and increases the chance of bacteria colonizing the silt grains. Once colonized they tend to sink to the substrate fairly quickly.
(2) Excess ammonia in the water column is causing bacteria bloom in the water. Normally there is not a large population of bacteria in the water column because of a food shortage. With low waterflow the ammonia has more time to accumulate in the water column and this can feed a bacterial bloom. Increasing waterflow allows the bacteria on surfaces a greater chance at consuming the ammonia before it can accumulate in the water column.
plus 1
 
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