Foggy Quarantine Tank

[Serge]

Good morning everyone!
Well, I am somewhat puzzled.... My first step in this new hobby was to setup the QT which I did last Sunday. Installed everything and added the salt mixture and the QT has been running nicely and the water was clear, except for tiny bubbles (caused by the returned water). Yesterday, I get home to find the water all foggy! What gives??? I check the salinity and performed the 4 chemical tests and everything is where it should be as there is nothing else in the tank but SW. Any ideas anyone???

Thanks,

Serge

[Cafe Jeff]

Are you using sand as a substrate? Jeff

[Serge]

Hi Jeff. No, there is no substrate or LR or anything else. It is a bare quarantine tank with: filtering system(integrated pump with carbon filter and bio wheel), light and heater. Nothing else, except the SW of course.

Thanks,

Serge

[IfoundNemo]

What kind of water are you using? Could it be bacteria blooming? If so, your QT should clear up.

[revhtree]

Some type of algae bloom possibly.

I did a water change a month or so back on my main and my qt, and both tanks were cloudy for a few days, then it went away. My water parims were good.

[Serge]

Since I was filling up a brand new tank, I was told that I could fill it up with regular tap water. We can drink the stuff here. For now anyway.

All the equipment was heavily washed after unpacking. No soap, just rince, rince, rince.

So, if this appears to be "what-have-you" blooming, I'll sit tight and wait it out for a while to see what happens.

Thanks, Serge

[Serge]

Well, the darn sting is still cloudy! Yesterday, thinking that perhaps it required more oxygenation (sp?), I got a small powerhead to provide more water circulation. It works nicely, lots of water movement and tiny air bubbles, but I did not noticed any difference this evening. This is getting depressing. My main tank has been ordered and should be here in 2 to 3 weeks, and the QT is still not cleared up. Would anyone have any additional suggestions?? It has been cloudy for a week (tomorrow).

Thanks in advance!

[tmcpeek]

Are you doing topoffs with tap water too? I would guess it is your water. Try making up some saltwater with RO water and do a 25% change every couple of days for one week and it should clear up. Do you have a tds meter to test your tap water. I used to drink my water at home too until I tested it with a TDS and it was almost 400. My RO ? DI unit was <$100 and it drops down my reading to zero. I have had no problems since I started using RO/DI water.

[Serge]

Hi tmcpeek.

I only added a little water this pas week-end, about a gallon or so because I had not filled it quite to the max. I was not aware that we had to have a TDS meter. Guess I will add this to my whish list. The RO/DI is on my list of must have. I do have some tap water treatment/conditioner product. They state one drop per gallon. I have to put up with this until I get the RO/DI system. I will do a 25% water change later this evening to see if this will help. Umm... If tap water is the issue, I wonder what it does to our stomach! 8O

Thanks.

[tmcpeek]

Can you buy R/O water at the grocery store? It is like .30 a gallon here. A tds is one of the cheapest tools in this hobby. I have found it to be very helpful along with my refractometer to check salinity. I bought my ro/di from filtersdirect on Eblah. Good luck. If you can use some RO water for your changes I think you will be better off. I don't think those conditoners remove any minerals which may be causing your cloudy water IME. Good luck. How big is your QT and what size tank are you going to setup?

[IfoundNemo]

Some LFS do give away RO water for free. Reason for that is they want more traffics into their store. You should check around in your area.

[cmor1701d]

Serge,

Did you add anything to start cycling your QT tank?

I agree that this is probably some type of algae bloom. Have you checked your tap water for phosphates? Perhaps your LFS can do this test for you.

[Serge]

Hi tmcpeek.

I don't know about availability of RO water, but I think that distilled water is water is available, either at the drugstore or supermarket. This could possibly temporarily resolve the foggy issue until I get the RO/DI filtering system. I agree with you that it only works for the chemical part of water not the particles floating around. Drats! The quarantine tank is not very large, 12 gallons, but it came with the basics. A marine starter kit from Big Al's: light, pump, filter with bio wheel, heater. I think it is a neat little kit and should be sufficient for a QT as I don't intend on bringing in more than one fish at a time. I also did a 25% water change, still using tap water , and adjusted the salt levels. Salinity was within the acceptable range.


To answer your inquiry, the main tank is a 125 gallons, 6 feet long. Reef ready with 4 wholes in the bottom. I plan on using one pair for the sump/filtering system, and the other pair for high level water circulation. I think it is called a closed loop.

[Serge]

Did you add anything to start cycling your QT tank?

Umm... Did I miss something here?? From your question, I sense that I should have "something" in the tank to start the cycling? I thought I was only supposed to have something, like snails, in the main tank to initiate the cycling... Am I correct in assuming that I should put "something" in the QT to begin the cycle??

Thank you all for your time and ideas/suggestions! I am learning something new every time I visit in here. I go to bed less ignorant each time! 8)

[cmor1701d]

Check out this article about setting up a QT. If your QT tank is not already cycled then when you drop your new arrivals in the tank they will start the cycle there! As your main tank is not set up yet, you don't have the option of using main tank water or a filter from there for your QT. Therefore you should get the cycle going in the QT tank and have it complete before you get any livestock.

It sounds like you got a Marineland 12 for your QT. It has the carbon/filter pad and a small biowheel. That's what I use for my QT. I put the pad/filter in the main tank overflow for a several days to week before putting it into the QT so it has plenty of bacteria on the fiber material. You don't have that choice so you should get the tank cycled.

My 125 RR tank has both overflows going to the sump and back out as returns. The sump/returns are your high flow. A Fuge would be an area of lower flow. Did you tank not come with the overflow kits? AGA now offers Durso type overflow kits.

HTH,

Cmor