cloudy water????

[angeladawng]

have had 56 gallon set up for almost 2 months now with no major problems at all...tested water daily for the first month and now test every other day. Tested yesterday and everything was fine...woke up this morning to cloudy water. Tested water again and pH has dropped to 7.4. It was and has been between 8.2-8.8 since the very first day. Can't figure out for the life of me what could have happened, literally overnight, that would cause this. Any suggestions??

 

[ccCapt]

Did you dose anything? I really have to question the pH. It's virtually impossible for the pH to get that low on it's own in a typical saltwater system.

 

[angeladawng]

Nope...didn't do anything to the water...going to test again...is it possible for maybe the bottle of pH chemical to go bad?? Truly am baffled here....

 

[Soccerdude]

Are you using an API test kit. I've recently heard from multiple people that their tests were giving inconsistent results with every test. You might want to get your water tested at you lfs just to make sure.

 

[crister13]

What ph chemical? You shouldn't be using anything to buffer ph.

 

[Rosesrblu1]

Think he is talking about the testing solution. I can go bad, but takes a while. I just had that with some API trate tests. They are at about 20, but with the test kit I had they wer showing a staggering 160!!!

Red sea for me!!! But they don't make an ammonia or ph anymore. Any recommendations other than API?? Anyone ever use the salifert?

 

[ganiel]

The OP is actually having cloudy water. That cant be a result of bad test kit. I've read before that it could be a bacteria bloom. Bacterias resides in water so for immediate fix this would require lots of water changes. Still need to find the source though.

 

[Crazycajun]

My tank did this and it was a bacteria bloom. I installed a uv and it cleared in two days.