Green cloudy water

[BLACKMOSS]

Hey all.. Still new at salt water. My tank has pretty much just been cycling for about 4 months now with 3 damsels, 4 snails, 5 hermit crabs and about 40 lbs. live rock. I have a 75 g tank. I have been saving for my T5 lighting which I am getting this week and more live rock. Everything has been giong great, but I noticed my water getting very coudy. It has gotten worse and worse and when I look through my tank it is like a green cloud. I quickly did a 15% water change and it stil has not cleared up. All fish are doing fine, what is going on?!!? A guy at work told me salt water is diff. then freshwater in that you need to be on top of things or they go bad fast.

Blackmoss

 

[ccCapt]

Algae bloom. Have you done any tests on your water? Nitrate? Phosphate?
What kind of light is over the tank now? What color (K temp) bulb(s)?
What kind of water do you use? Tap water, RO/DI, well water?
What do you have for mechanical filtration, if any?

 

[BLACKMOSS]

Thanks for the reply ccCapt. The light I'm using now is the same flourescent lights I used for my freshwater tank.. just 40w 4ft flourescents. I only use water (Fresh & salt) that I purchase from the LFS. I have not tested the water since all I have is a ph test kit atm. I just take it to the fish store for weekly tests and everythign has been fine. I have a refugium system with a skimmer in the sump. The sump water looks pretty clear if that helps. How can I fix this?

Blackmoss

 

[CaptainAhab]

IMO the first step to fixing it is getting your own test kits, doing your own tests and knowing what the numbers are. Your LFS is predisposed to say your water is fine playing the odds that you'll start looking at the fish while they have you in the store. Not all distort the truth but..... You need to know what the numbers are for (at a minimum) ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, SG and PH. Also calcium, alk, phosphates amongst others.

Pretty good rule of thumb: If it's green it algae. If it's algae it's either your lighting, you are letting too much sunlight hit the tank, your nitrate and/phosphate are high (or a combination). Remember, your nitrates and phosphates may test low because your algae bloom is eating them. So your tank produces more and you get more fat algae. And the cycle continues.

You also need to understand what you water params are before and after you mix the salt or if buying premixed then what they are before they go in the tank to know if you are adding nitrates/etc with water changes.

You could cover the tank and kill it off but if your water is the cause then as soon as the light comes back.,.BANG.. algae.

Also, lights lose their effectiveness and can cause an algae outbreak as well.

Just some of the things that need to be kept on top of.

O the joy eh?

 

[ccCapt]

To add to Capt Ahab....I recommend you buy Salifert test kits. Start off with nitrate, pH and alkalinity. Later on you may want to get phosphate, calcium and magnesium kits too. You will probably have to get them online, and they do cost a little more, but they are accurate and easy to use.
How do you check the salinity (specific gravity) of your water? If you don't have 1, invest in a refractometer.
If you are buying premade saltwater from your LFS, test their water. In the long run, it will be cheaper to buy a RO unit and make your own saltwater.
Your bulbs are probably not helping, but they alone won't cause an algae bloom. You will have to make a change in the future.
For now, to get the algae bloom under control, I suggest you start doing lots of water changes. It won't hurt to do a 20% change every 3-4 days. It's alot of work, but nothing comes easy.

 

[BLACKMOSS]

Thanks again for the replies. I still am not sure what I got myself into here with the salt water, but I am ready to take on the challenge just because of the beauty of the tank. I barely have anything in the tank, as mentioned above, but I can easily stare at it for 15-30 min. just watching everything move around.

I was expecting something like, " put this chemical in here and it will fix it", like the LFS said when they sold me a ph buffer cause mine was a lil low. I have yet to hear anything here about any chemicals, so I will do the water changes every week and go out and get me a good test kit. It just suks to not be able to see through the tank.... hope I dont have any company coming over this mother's day weekend!

Blackmoss.

 

[melosu58]

I was expecting something like, " put this chemical in here and it will fix it", like the LFS said when they sold me a ph buffer cause mine was a lil low. I have yet to hear anything here about any chemicals,

You wont hear too many people on this site recommend chemicals. Chemicals are a band aid solution. You need to find the fuel source to the algea bloom and eliminate it. Your LFS is trying to make a sale. We are not trying to sell you anything. Just offering good advice and you`ve got some too. As mentioned above PWC`s and water test results.

 

[CaptainAhab]

If someones first response is chemicals. RUN AWAY Last I saw nature is not dosing chemicals and in general you don't need to either without a test result that shows you need to..... PERIOD

 

[BLACKMOSS]

Thanks again for all replies. I think I was guilty of leaving my light on all the time. I really never shut it off. After reading more, I have the lights on a time schedule now for both upper and lower sump tanks. I did shut off the light for 4 days and I notice the bloom is almost completely gone. Also did a water change of 20%. Boy have I got a lot to learn!


Blackmoss

 

[divedeep1689]

from expereice chemicals just fix it temp then its right back on you ya have to find the source of any problem before you can ever beat it.

 

[Justin1989]

In your sump you have a refugium correct? May I ask what you have in there? If you have room and have not done so yet, you could add a macro algae called chaetomorpha. This algae will eat up excess nutrients and grows rapidly from lights. This sits in your fuge out of sight of the main tank, eliminating algae from your display. Leaving your lights on continuously like you found out increases algae Time periods will save most of your issues.

 

[BLACKMOSS]

I am still having problems with this cloudy water . It is def. not near as bad as it was before. What I did was I started shutting off the light every night, sometimes I just left it off all day. I have done 2 15% water changes in 2 weeks. The cloud is still there, just floating. Fish, crabs, eat fine. I just want my clear water back again! The tank sits right next to a window, but not directly in front. Yet, I have a lot of windows in the house where sunlight will hit it. Do yall still think this is a lighting issue? or something else? My water tested fine at the LFS. I have yet to get my own test kit. I can buy a test kit this weekend and report readings if needed.

Also, to answer Justin, I do have a refugium system and I have a bed of sand and some green moss with live rock in the sump. I also have a light on the sump and skimmer is in the sump. The return hose goes into a sock filter.

I am wanting to purchase my new t5 lighting and get some more live rock so I can start aquiring corals, but I need to fix this problem before all that.

Thanks for reading this and for any replies.

Blackmoss.

 

[Harry Gross]

I sometimes get the same/simular green water deal.But PWC's "always" clears "MINE" up. W/a 100 gal display (+) a 25-30 gal sump a 30% change is pretty-much manditory.
Luckily over time I've figured out a way to do the 30% change w/salt water....then add 2-3gallons of fresh into the sump....keeping a close eye on salinity reading through out the initial process...and the rest of the day.
Chemical are NOT an option for me thankx to the assitance from the beginning of A/A.
I don't think God used any at the beginning when he designed these thing in the wild.(snik)
Voted for A/A today???????????????????