cloudy cloudy cloudy

Vin7250

Vin7250

Active member
my tank is very cloudy, its a 40gal breeder thats been up for about 3 or 4 months, i thought this was a pH problem becuase my test showed it being off so i bought a new one and it showed it being around 8.5 or so then i brought water to LFS and it showed that the pH was fine and the alk was a little low.......here is the thing the tank has been great for 3 months now the only change i have made was stronger lighting and i took a 10lbs piece of live rock from my dads tank which has been set up for like 4 years and all levels are normal except phosphate but its only like <.5ppm everything else is perfect and there is not a bit of cloudyness in his tank, why after adding this rock and getting better lighting have i started to have this problem??????? my amm is 0 my trite is 0 my trate is <15ppm my phos is 0 my pH is 8.4-5 and my alk was just buffered up yesterday to normal, ive also done 2 pretty good water changes in the past week a 25% and then a 35% change.....the tank looked great yesterday and this morning went to work came home and its back to cloudy with brown diatoms EVERYWHERE..............what do I do???????? i really need help with this cause i spent a lot on this tank.
Vinny
 
btw im using walmart brand RO water that tests everything at 0 i was told by many on here that this water is perfect until i get my rodi unit!!!!!!

HELP
 
A phosphate level of 0.5 ppm or in that range is very, very high. What are the calcium and alkalinity levels for the tank? The cloudiness might be a precipitation event. It could also be a bacterial bloom. Either seems possible. For a bacteria bloom, some water change might help a bit, but waiting (or perhaps a UV filter) would be the cure.
 
would a protein skimmer and a UV sterilizer help??? i mean i intend fully on getting a skimmer, just figured why would i need it yet i have nothing but live rock live sand and 2 clowns...........40 gal breeder 55+ lbs LR 40lbs LS 15 gallon sump ????????????
 
maybe i got the phos reading wrong.....what ever it is on the chart its the next one up from 0 i mean it was like at the extreme at one point but its next to 0 on the chart i thought that said .5ppm.....im assuming its a bacterial bloom, its a 40 gal tank would an 8 watt UV rainbow lifeguard sterilizer help????????
my calcium level is unknown right now and my alkalinity is in the acceptable range for a reef tank so my LFS tells me........the water is def like a brownish color so im assuming the bacterial bloom or algea is whats the problem so wait it out is that what i should do?????
 
The skimmer might help a lot, too.

If the water is brownish, the problem is likely an algal bloom. I'd get the skimmer, rather than the UV, since it'll be useful in the long haul. Some water changes might help, and I'd stop all feeding for a few days.
 
this is very strange, it seems to get way worse with the lights out....all of a sudden the day I got these new lights boom 4 months of a nice lookin tank down the drain and it looks dreadful......
 
I think many tanks get some new algal blooms as new stronger lights are used, I would get the skimmer and be patient, see what it does, the algae could settle on its own, just relax :) .
 
even if its like in the water and its made my water completely opaque?????? i hope so i just actually orded a coralife superskimmer 125 for my 40 gallon, new ro/di cartridges for my system, 8 watt rainbow lifeguard uv unit, and a bunch of new test kits....do you think im well on my way?????
 
The bacteria in the tank can quickly deplete the dissolved oxygen in your tank. It is very common at night for the oxygen leves to dip since the photosynthetic organisms are no longer producing oxygen. To my knowledge, good surface agitation and an open top will help with the O2 levels. You'll know if have a skim on the top of your tank, looks like an oil slick and prevent gas exchange.

You don't mention how much flow you have in your tank, if there are dead spots this can contribute to the growth.

no need to break down, my brothers tank was covered in hair algae a month ago and now is looking like a real reef tank, just took some elbow grease, water change, and patience....
 
its a 40 gal breeder tank, ive got 500 gph from my sump and about 100 gph going through a hob refuge.....and there are no dead spots the tank moves a lot
 
this gets me so upset......also marinedepot tech guy told me UV will not help already bloomed algea it will only help it from comming back once the problem is done is thi strue???
 
Well, UV probably will kill the microbes that pass through it, if it's set up properly, so it might help some with a bloom.
 
this problem is so really strange in the morn when the lights first go on the tank is 100% cloudy then by the end of the night it is about 75% cloudy has cleared a bit this is really screwy.
 
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