Cloudy Water

[Jwithay]

I have a 55 gal salt water tank with a hang on Amiracle bio-ball filter with protein skimmer. In the tank I have a 5" GreenBird Wrasse, a 5" dogFace Puffer, 3" FoxFace, 3" queen Angel, 2 1/2" WhiteFaced Tang, a tiny hawk, an algae eatter and one blue damsel left from cycling almost 2 years ago. There is about 35 Lbs of live rock and 30 lbs of live sand in it. I have had continuous problems with this tank and cloudy water. I had a eheim canister filter on it but at the recommendation of LFS rep went with the wet / dry filter system. The cloudiness did not get better. I have recently had a bad bout with high Nitrates. After changing 75 gals of water in the last week and 1/2 It seems to be getting better but the tank is so cloudy. I put a quick cartridge filter in about 2 weeks ago but that really hasn't done anything. You would think with all the water changes it would be crystal clear! The water is clear for about 24 hours after I change it and then clouds up again. I have two other tanks that I have perfect water. Is this tank doomed to be forever clouded? Any advice will be carefully considered and appreciated.

 

[ewisner]

What color is the cloud? Is it White? Milky smooth or particles?

 

[Jwithay]

I would have to say Milky in appearance. The LFS guy, who came and checked it a couple of weeks ago, thought it was caused by microscopic grains of sand and such. That was the reason for getting the quick filter but that hasn't done anything.

 

[ewisner]

I would think "sand" would look like particles floating around. Is there a fine layer of sand on top of any objects in the tank? When I had a milky white cloud, it was a bactiria bloom. In time the bloom will clear up, mine did.

 

[HoopsGuru]

I think this one is pretty clear: Way too much bioload on a small tank creating a constant bacterial bloom. That is why even with a large water change, it gets cloudy right away again :?.

Most of the fish get way too big for that tank individually, let alone to have them all together. The queen angel alone will be getting to 15+" 8O . If you do not remove most of those fish soon, they will begin to perish one by one either from stress, poor water quality (already experiencing), or aggression from others.

I don't mean to be critical, but this is an example of poor husbandry. Research the purchases personally before you make them so you can provide a healthy environment and have a successful tank. And if you were relying on your LFS for advice and they did not acknowledge the obvious problem, I would not do any more business with them.

You can turn this around, but you will have to do the right thing and remove some of those fish immediately.

 

[HoopsGuru]

Potential Sizes
Greenbird Wrasse---12"
Dogface Puffer---14+"
FoxFace---7"
Queen Angel---15+"
Whiteface Tang--8"

Big, big problem here.

 

[reefrunner69]

I wholeheartedly and strenuously agree with Hoops. The bacteria bloom will not clear up without the removal of the bioload. Even if all these fish are juvies, their eating habits are enough to keep enough ammonia in the water for the facultive opportunistic bacteria to feed on. I also question the biofiltration, I do not believe a hang on Amiracle bio-ball filter with protein skimmer is enough for a 55g tank. From what I have seen of amiricle wet/drys they are typically undersized compared to the competition.

 

[Jwithay]

Cloudy water cleared up

Hey people-
Just want to thank you for your advice and knowledge. Knowing what was wrong is 3/4 of the battle. I went through some trying moments with my tank this last week, week and a half ( not to mention what my fish went through!) but with alot of praying and positive thought I got the tank straightened out.
SO NOW.....
I took your advice and purchased a 120 gal tank that I am about to switch everything from the 55 gal into. I wanted to asked- which you do prefer for sea bottom. Live Sand or CC. At this time I have DSB that has been destroyed by medications but I was planning on reseeding with some live recently purchased. It is funny, you get twelve different opinions from eleven different people. I like the look of the DSB but I want what is best for my fish. I read that the greenbird wrasse is happiest with LS. I am told that DSB holds the nitrate levels up higher, what do you think? Also, did anyone ever hear of painting the back of your tank, rather than using a background? Any opinions?
Thanks Again!

 

[alrmc4]

most perfer the dsb, and lots of people paint the back of the tank and i got lots of fantastic ideas with this post
www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=4327&highlight=mirror