jackdp said:
Algae blooms are just that...a bloom of algae..keep in mind that algaes can be huge macroalgaes or microscopic single celled algaes...a bloom of the latter microscopic algaes could cause the green cloudy water you describe. The blooms are can be caused by several things but usually it is an excess of nutrients in the water that feeds them. A bacteria bloom is much the same. The first step to clearing it up is to determine exactly what the cause is, algae, bacteria etc then try to figure out what is feeding it and remove it. In order to better diagnose the problem, post a pic of the tank and describe the setup in a little more detail...lighting, filtration, livestock etc..
HTH
I'll post some pics tonight and in the meantime here is my description of my setup.
I bought this setup second hand and it was about 3 months old. 52
gal tank with crushed coral sand base.
About 40 or 50 pounds
LR but I havent's weighed it myself. Double fluorescent lighting, one blue (actinic?) the other white, both are on about 14 hours a day.
One rotating 160
GPH powerhead, one homemade recirculation setup pump that moves about 500
GPH and an eheim 2717, empty aside for the activated charcoal and about two inches of those ceramic cylinders that I'm using to weigh down the charcoal. The eheim moves about 250
GPH.
No protein skimer, yet.
Water changes are made using
DI treated tap water without
RO pre-treatment. The cartridge is new and the measured conductivity is 0 on my meter. Tap water in my area measures 5.
I keep the temp very close to 76, only slightly higher during warm days. My inhabitants are one false clown and one algae blenny that both seem happy and fit. The rest are one red legged hermit crab, big and getting bigger by the day, 14 blue legged hermit crabs, one large snail, I forget what kind, a rockface crab, a decorator crab and an emerald crab.
I seem to like crabs
Feeding consists of rotating feedings of frozen shrimp and flake food once a day. I haven't been overfeeding significantly except for one time just before this all started. I usually only feed as much as the clownfish will take bit by bit. She will sometimes miss one tiny brine shrimp but I can't imagine how that could foul 52
gal of water.
The only time I overfed was when I opened the flake food container over the tank last week. About a quarter of a teasoon fell in and were blown all over the place by the circulating water. I didn't figure that would be a problem with all the crabs I have. A few days later, the cloudiness appeared.
Coincidence?
Since this started I've cut down on feeding and turn the light off every other day.
Robert