After changing the total volume of water over a two week period, my 300 gal. reef tank is still cloudy. Really, really, milky white. For no reason, the aquarium cleared up for two days, crystal clear, and has gotten the cloudiest ever. During the cloudiness, the pH drops from it's normal 8.3 to about 7.8. Adding marine buffer brings the pH back up and usually the tank clears up for a few days before dropping the pH and getting cloudy again. CA is 420 and KH is about 109. AM, NO2, NO3, PO3 all 0. Any ideas?
Aquarium Still Cloudy
- Thread starter swbrewers
- Start date
CodeBlueMedic
New member
Someone more experienced than me can probably pinpoint the exact problem, but just throwing something out there, it could be a bacterial bloom. How long has the tank been setup?
gone fishin
New member
You should not add anything to buffer your pH. It will just rise and fall. Essentially all you are doing is increasing your Alk. Chasing pH has got a few people into some trouble.
All things considered 7.8 is not a bad pH. Try not adding anymore buffer and see how things go. I assumed your KH was 10.9. Good luck
All things considered 7.8 is not a bad pH. Try not adding anymore buffer and see how things go. I assumed your KH was 10.9. Good luck
The tank has been set up for about 18 months. I have a BIG skimmer set up in the sump and it appears to be working fine. Added buffer yesterday and this is the first time that the tank did not clear at all. pH at 8.2. Looks like all of the purple/red encrusting algae is dying off.
uncleL
New member
Possibly one of the most exciting sources of cloudy water is a coral or clam spawning event. You know your tank is healthy when the corals and invertebrates spawn, but the sudden influx of organic material might overwhelm your filtering systems, cause a bacteria bloom, and subsequent nutrient spike. It would be best to ensure good water oxygen levels, and to closely monitor and clean the skimmer and other filtration systems after such an event.
killinit123
New member
do you have a refuge in your sump? if so what kind of macro is in there? im wondering because this has happened to me before my macro was not getting enough nutrients to support itself and started to die off. hence the cloudiness in my tank this could be a possibility if you do in fact have a fuge with macro in it.
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