Tank is Cloudy

oneradtek

oneradtek

Active Member
So i haven't had much of an issue with my water clarity until today when i came home i noticed its cloudy if i look at the tank on end, from the front view its not as bad.
but it seemed to happen overnight......ever since i started my tank about 2 months ago, i havent changed or washed my filter pads, i think this is the cause....should i just place new ones in or just replace half of them with new ones? or just clean the ones currently in here or what? and how do u clean a pad if u don't want the bacteria/algae in the pad to go away
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
Cloudy how? White or looks like sand stirred up? Could be calcium precipitation. When was your last water change and what are your calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium levels?
I squeeze out my sponges in salt water. If you rinse them with fresh you'll kill the bacteria.
 
oneradtek

oneradtek

Active Member
its a white cloudy, like it looked when it was cycling
and well yesterday i did stir up the sand to knock out the last of the diatom bloom thats now going away, and i was playing in the water a little bit.
My last water change was a few days ago, i do them every week and also i do freshwater top offs every other day or so.
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
Originally Posted by oneradtek
my calicum levels are high....550-600ppm
but that may be due to my frequent top offs
Sand would have settled if you disturbed it. Sounds like calcium precipitation. Need alkalinity and magnesium levels to be sure. Others have described it like "snow" and I believe it tends to settle around power heads and heaters.
 
oneradtek

oneradtek

Active Member
ok what does it look like? this is still cloudy in my tank....is it a type of algae? what does the calcium precip look like an how do i fix it?
 
kclester

kclester

Active Member
i have some of that on my PH and heater and always wondered what it was...is that good or bad and what do i need to do about it...i dont test for calcium
 
tokey

tokey

Member
What do you have living in your tank as some coral,clams and fish will cloud your tank when they spawn. I had my 150 gal tank go cloudy for a few hours after something in my tank spawned. A friend filmed his clam shooting out a continuous stream of stuff out of its mouth that lasted for hours and completely clouded his 200+ tank for a good 24hrs
 
oneradtek

oneradtek

Active Member
its a new tank only a few months old and i have a clown fish, emerald crab and a few snails, and hermits....some dying mushrooms and a healthy ricordea....
 
oneradtek

oneradtek

Active Member
ok, nevermind the post about my really high calcium level.....i re-did the test and i have 420ppm-450ppm....PERFECT!
So maybe its not precip, but instead algae.....or i just need to clean my filters??
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
You could still have calcium precipitation if first test read that high. It's possible for things to happen which will alter results. Basically calcium precipitation occurs with high levels of calcium 500+ but there are other factors (pH, alk, mag, temp etc) that play a role. The calcium becomes saturated and the water can't hold any more so it begins to solidify forming calcium carbonate and the tank becomes cloudy or looks like it's snowing. The higher your alkalinity the less likely calcium will stay in solution. Magnesium is a little more difficult to understand but basically if magnesium levels are below recommended then calcium precipitation can occure more rapidly.
I really don't think that it's from your dirty filters. Yes filters can only hold so much detritus and junk before it begins to release it back into your system but I would imagine it would settle pretty quickly. My guess is it's precipitation but again, we need to know your alk and mag levels to be sure.
 
oneradtek

oneradtek

Active Member
ok well i read the test wrong first.....so thats why it was high....i re -did the test and its normal.... 420-440ppm, not over 500.....i dont have a alk test or a mag, but im gonna go get it tested today
 
meemmoo

meemmoo

Member
I would try running some carbon incase there is something in the water and water changes can only help IMO.
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
Could be an organic bloom run a poly filter BTW Kenny the store on bonita beach road is open
I heard. Just opened today huh?
 
kclester

kclester

Active Member
what cause's this and how do i lower it...i dont test for calcium but is there any ways to prevent this ?
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
Originally Posted by kclester
what cause's this and how do i lower it...i dont test for calcium but is there any ways to prevent this ?
Yep, but you should test for calcium at least have your LFS do it from time to time. To prevent, use RO or RODI water, keep up with scheduled water changes, don't buffer your tank and only add additives that you test for and follow the directions on that, and test for cal, alk, and mag, making sure that all levels are in check.
Not sure how to rid the tank of it but my guess would be to clean all the powerheads of the calcium crystals and then do water changes with quality water and salt mix that is within recommended parameters.
 
b-baby80

b-baby80

Member
The cloudiness could just be the end cycle of the diatom bloom.Mine did that.I got new lights and then got real bad diatoms.The day after the brown started to disappear.The tank got real cloudy but was all better the day after that.not sure if it was related but possibly
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top