Water still cloudy

[Kets]

Hi,

I posted last week about my water being cloudy. I did a 20% water change using DI water. The DI reads 0 on a conductivity meter. I've cut down on feedings making sure all the food I give my clownfish is taken before adding anymore. I tried adding a cup of activated carbon and doing another 20% water change with no effect. In fact it seems worse.

I can just barely see the back of the aquarium at this point and the odd thing is the cloudiness seems to be taking on a greenish tinge.

Could this be some kind of algae bloom in susoension in the water?

Until this started last week, my water has always been very clear.

Robert

 

[scuba_steve]

you did rinse the carbon right i guess it could be ive never had this issue in any of my tanks ever!! so kinda lost can you post a pic?

 

[Kets]

you did rinse the carbon right i guess it could be ive never had this issue in any of my tanks ever!! so kinda lost can you post a pic?

No I didn't rinse it. Aside from removing the dust, what else is rinsing supposed to do for you?

Although the carbon didn't actually do anything, the problem only got worse two days later. And when I restarted my Eheim filter after adding the carbon, no dust came out.

I'll tale a picture tonight and post it from home.

Robert

 

[scuba_steve]

ya want to get the dust out could make your water a grayish color for a while at least !! yea like to see a pic

 

[Kets]

ya want to get the dust out could make your water a grayish color for a while at least !! yea like to see a pic

Ok. I didn't rinse since the charcoal was taken out of the top part of a 100 pound bag so was basically dustless. And the extra clousiness only appeared two days later and is not greyish. It more greenish white than grey.

Robert

 

[jackdp]

Post some water test results...pH,ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and even calcium and alk if you've got them...it sounds like you have an algae bloom or even a bacteria bloom.

 

[Kets]

Post some water test results...pH,ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and even calcium and alk if you've got them...it sounds like you have an algae bloom or even a bacteria bloom.

I've been meaning to run some tests but haven't. I spent the free time I had doing a water change, but I will tonight and post tomorow.

What's an algae bloom, what does it look like and what causes it?

Oh, and how do you get rid of it?

Robert

 

[jackdp]

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

 

[Kets]

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

 

[Atari]

Sounds like cause more than coincidence. Some flake foods have high levels of phosphates too.

You really should be testing your water levels frequently.

 

[darb2]

It is time for a skimmer.
I would reduce the time the lights are on for now. try 10 hours, and see if it helps

 

[Kets]

Hi again,

I ran some tests and here are the results;

Ammonia = 0, nitrite = 0, nitrates are less than 10, PH was 8.1 and I've added a little buffer to bring it back uo a bit. Salinity is 1.024 and temp is still 76. I've been leaving the lights out all day aside for a ten minute period for feedings.

It seems a bit better today.

I also added a bit more carbon to the filter and a pouch of phosphate removal resin.

I also removed the foam filter that came with the powerhead I added a few weeks ago. When I rinsed it I couldn't believe tha crap that came out of it. I haven't re-intstalled it.

I also noticed that my hair algae is mostly gone. The last little bits that were clinging to one rock have been removed. Could this be the source of my water-borne algae?

I've taken a few pictures but still do not know how to post them here.

I'll see if I can figure it out and post them later.

Robert

 

[scuba_steve]

yea those sponges on the powerheads can get clogged quick and reduce the flow from the powerhead id leave it off !! if its been in there a few weeks could be a issue with the water being cloudy id relax doing anything else for a few days my guess is it should clear up by morning all test look good to me for the basics !! also i hate flake foods !! i always feed misis/clam/shrimp/zooplakton/nori thats about it

 

[Kets]

yea those sponges on the powerheads can get clogged quick and reduce the flow from the powerhead id leave it off !! if its been in there a few weeks could be a issue with the water being cloudy id relax doing anything else for a few days my guess is it should clear up by morning all test look good to me for the basics !! also i hate flake foods !! i always feed misis/clam/shrimp/zooplakton/nori thats about it

Even since last night I've noticed a change. I was gone all day today and just got back a few minutes ago. The light was off again and I just turned it back on to check out the water and there is an appreciable difference already. Considering the greenish tint the water had, I'm really starting to think the algae bloom trigered by the accidental overfeeding was the culprit. I'll leave the light off again tomorrow.

I'll be getting a skimmer this week anyways. A turboflotor 1000, 2nd hand.

Thanks for all the help guys. You've been great.

And if you don't mind, tell me about this misis/clam/shrimp/zooplakton/nori. Is this a homemade mixture or different frozen foods you buy? If they can be bought, I'll check out my LFS.

Robert

 

[scuba_steve]

i buy mysis at the local pet shop !! clam/shrimp from the local store !! the zoo i buy is called sweetwater i order from dr/fosters