Algae Bloom and Cloudy Water?

[alten78]

Good morning all!

Ive been dealing with slightly cloudy water for several months now. The water doesn't look green or yellow, just really not clear. For awhile I thought it was a bacteria bloom and just ran carbon, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Ive noticed most is the amount of green "dust" that accumulates on the glass, very quickly after wiping it off. At the same time, I'm getting some pale sps, the lone frogspawn not really opening up, but kenya trees are growing well. Growth overall has been OK. Colors just suck.

My thought was high PO4 because of the green glass (tomini tang and foxface seem to enjoy the back glass because I don't clean it as often) and pale/brown sps. Also thought I may be stripping the water too much with the use of carbon and BRS GFO but stepped up my daily feedings a few months ago. I don't have any other nuisance algae, typical diatoms on the sand that the snails and conch do a good job of cleaning.

When I bring the GFO online, the green dust on the glass certainly diminishes, but I don't want to strip too much to be detrimental to the coral. Stop the GFO and its back quickly, probably within a day or so.

Whoa...this is getting longer than I originally expected...To sum it up, in the past month I tried to just get back to the basics, stopped carbon, GFO, kalk, just weekly 10% water changes with Reef Crystals. I did turn back on the GFO last night (changed media) because the green glass is just too annoying.

Parameters this morning before the lights come on

SG - 1.025 (recalibrated last night, target is usually 1.026 so it was off by 001)
PO4 - 0.00 Hannah checker LR, it is always 0 regardless of when I'm testing, lights on and off.
CA - 480 api
dkh - 7 api
Nitrate - 0 api
Mg - no test yet

Ill post pictures later when I get home.

 

[alten78]

Should also mention that both MH are about 9 months old

 

[bertoni]

Carbon can help with organics, but it won't remove bacteria. My guess is that the issue is a microbial bloom, possibly bacteria, or maybe a tiny bit of phytoplankton. You could try taking a cup of water from the tank and seeing whether it settles and becomes more clear. Bacteria will tend to stay in suspension. Does the GFO seem to help with water clarity?

A mechanical filter, like a diatom filter, might help. If you could borrow one for a bit, that might be an interesting experiment.

 

[dkeller_nc]

If your tank is equipped with a sump and sock filter holders, you can try the 10 micron felt socks. While it's true that bacteria are less than 10 microns in size, felt filter socks act as a "depth filter" and they'll still remove most of the suspended bacteria in the water passing through them. They're not nearly as effective as a Vortex diatom filter - while an ancient design in aquarium terms, they are unsurpassed at removing particulates/bacteria from aquarium water.

With respect to the GFO and kalkwasser, these shouldn't encourage bacterial growth. In fact, removing dissolved phosphate from the water should actually discourage bacterial blooms.

 

[alten78]

When I fill a glass of water it appears clear, I'm not seeing anything stringy or slimy...maybe cloudy isn't the word, just not clear and full of little particles? Its odd and I just cant tell and pictures don't show anything. The glass looks clear but when I stop the pumps there are plenty of particles suspended in the water column.

I do run a sump and filter socks, unsure of the micron size but I would assume 10? I have been changing them every 3rd day to try to see if there was a difference but haven't seen anything yet.

I just brought the GFO back online a few days ago (1/2 of the recommended amount) but haven't noticed much difference yet other than a bit less junk on the glass.

Maybe its just the clowns kicking up too in their corner? Come to think of it, I did clean the two WP25's so perhaps I'm getting more flow but I'm not really seeing sand kicked up?



Thanks guys!

 

[bertoni]

It could be the clowns or it could be a bit more flow. I'd suspect the clowns more than the flow, but it's hard to be sure. If you could borrow a UV unit for a bit, a properly-sized one should clear up a microbial bloom quickly. The fix might be temporary, but at least you'd know more about what's happening.