cloudy water and other wierd things

[douggiestyle]

the tank is about a month old. the cloudiness appears around 11am and ends around 4pm with it peeking in cloudiness around 2pm.
right now the tank is perfectly clear. its 7pm.
my lighting cycles 12hrs on 12hrs off. 8am to 8pm.
purple filaments appear after water has cleared. the filaments diappear over night.
repeat...

 

[DamselnDistress]

is your tank cycled? Also if your tank is near a bunch of windows that could have something to do with it. We need to know more about your tank. Do you have live rock? That could be causing it. Or your substrate may not have settled...but after a month it should have already. I'm not sure about the purple filaments.

 

[jackdp]

Do you test for pH, calcium and alkalinity? If you have these kits I would check pH in am before lights on, then check it several times during lights on and after lights out. You could be seeing some big pH swing which may be affecting calcium and carbonate solubility and causing the cloudiness. Also, is there much of a temp swing from lights off to lights on? The purple things....cyano maybe...

 

[reefrunner69]

I don't know any that do it like this...but it sounds like some sort of spawning event...are there any corals or LR in the tank? Any fish that might just wake up at those times and start disturbing the sand bed? If you look closely does the cloudiness look like particulates, or smoke in the water?

 

[douggiestyle]

I believe it is sun related. today the tank stayed clear all day. it was cloudy all day.
Will post again after next sunny day. or if cloudiness reappears

 

[douggiestyle]

Day 2 no cloudiness in tank and clouds out side. cloudiness seems to be dependent on sunlight. Is this bad for salt water?

I still have those wierd threads of purplish stuff. It reminds me of the bottom of some thermal spring at Yellowstone.

 

[reefrunner69]

Day 2 no cloudiness in tank and clouds out side. cloudiness seems to be dependent on sunlight.

This would indicate that your tank is receiving direct sunlight and you are experiencing an algae bloom. Maybe you should cover the window or move the tank.

I still have those wierd threads of purplish stuff.

Sounds like cyano bacteria which is fueled by excess nutrients, this would also support the cloudiness being an algae bloom. I would do a water change using RO/DI water use RO/DI water for top off, feed less and if your not running one, use a protien skimmer.

 

[douggiestyle]

This would indicate that your tank is receiving direct sunlight

no direct sunlight just a sunny room

 

[douggiestyle]

Sounds like cyano bacteria which is fueled by excess nutrients, this would also support the cloudiness being an algae bloom. I would do a water change using RO/DI water use RO/DI water for top off, feed less and if your not running one, use a protien skimmer.

have protien skimmer.
am feeding most every day and only enough that the fish eat in a few seconds. is there a way to test for these excess nutrients before a water change

 

[jackdp]

Do you use RO/DI water for water changes and/or topoffs. You can test for nitrates and phosphates, these are the two biggest culprits associated with algae blooms. Test the tank water and then test your water change water after adding salt and bringing to proper SG. If you are using tap water it can be high in NO3 and PO4.
As to the sunlight thing, are you seeing an algae bloom or is the sunlight just allowing you to see cloudiness that is already there. Sometimes when I let sunlight shine through the sides of my tank the water takes on an entirely different appearance....just a thought.

 

[douggiestyle]

Dont have a PO4 test. will look into purchasing. also looking into 10% weekly water changes. currently I am at a 25% water change every 21 days
if you check my profile you will see my water quality is excellent (except maybe PO4)

 

[douggiestyle]

Bought the test today. My PO4 is less than 0.2 ppm . How's that?

 

[douggiestyle]

yesterday was the first day since that it was clear and sunny. No cloudiness.
guess that blows the alga bloom idea. havent had any cloudiness in a while. havent changed any habits either.
any ideas.
today looks like it will be sunny. will keep posted

 

[Biggen]

yesterday was the first day since that it was clear and sunny. No cloudiness.
guess that blows the alga bloom idea. havent had any cloudiness in a while. havent changed any habits either.
any ideas.
today looks like it will be sunny. will keep posted

Great! Hopefully whatever it was, is now gone.

 

[riptide]

Monitor the temperature swings thourhout the course of a sunny day, checking every couple of hours....

 

[douggiestyle]

three sunny days in a row and nothing. i dont get it. well at least i dont have to move the tank.