Bacterial Bloom?

24gnanonewbie

24gnanonewbie

New member
I have a 30 gallon tank with a 10 gallon sump. It's been setup now for about 10 months. I am now on my 3rd (what I think) bacterial bloom, its a cloudy white (if you look up from the bottom to the lights, its swirly). I am trying to be patient... am I doing something wrong? I have about 20lbs of live rock, a couple inch sand bed. Skimmer and media reactor that I run carbon in. I have 2 fish (bicolor and chromis). I dont feed but every other day, a pinch of pellets. This current bacterial bloom is 4 weeks now, before it had been clear for about a month or so...

Any help or guidance would be helpful. I have considered taking my fish to the store and returning them... so I can drain my tank and start over again. Should I? Or wait it out?

I can post any pictures you think would be helpful or any parameters that would be helpful.
 
Happened to me recently too and it was my snails spawning. Might want to see if your clean up crew is listening to Marvin Gaye music Lol.
 
if water levels are good then it will fix itself. Have you changed anything? How many WC do you do??
 
I fought a similar reoccurring outbreak of bacteria that would turn the tank a milky white in my 15 nano. I think what originally had caused it was a build up of junk on my sandbed before I added another wp-10 to the tank. When I added the second pump and stirred up the tank, and then the trouble began. I tried for a little over 6 months to get it to go away the "natural" way by fixing levels and waiting it out. The blooms would go in and out but would never fully disappear. Heavy water changes would make the tank look good for one day, and then by the next morning it looked terrible again. My levels were great (except of course the dissolved oxygen which was way low because the bacteria was consuming it). Meanwhile throughout the entire experience my 2 tank occupants, a pair of percula clowns were perfectly happy and healthy as far as I could tell. I had a skimmer and plenty of chaeto growing in the refugium as well.

Finally (month 7 to be exact) I gave in and got a small in-tank UV sterilizer per another threads suggestion here on RC. Ran it for a week. After 2 days the tank was crystal clear, and have since taken it out. The bacteria has never come back. Hell, you can borrow my UV sterilizer if you are cheap like me and don't want to spend the $40 to get something you will only use for a week. Just don't wait around for it to go away on it's own because like me you will regret the wasted time looking at a milky white tank. But by all means, be sure to fix whatever started it in the first place before you run the UV or I bet it will come back!
 
I appreciate the feedback.

E-Reefer - What UV sterilizer did you get? I really appreciate the offer to borrow yours... Im up around DeerValley Airport though...
 
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