cloudy tank overnight

[jp75]

I went to bed last night around 12 am with a crystal clear tank. I got up at 6 am and the tank is cloudy. Corals all look normal and the clown fish is swimming near the top. Last water change was 2 days ago.

I tested the water this morning:
PH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 40
Salinity 1.025
Temp 80.1

What could cause the cloudiness? I feed every other day a frozen food and usually remove uneaten food after 5 min.

 

[thegrun]

Did you add any additives to the tank? If not I would suspect a bacteria bloom or perhaps a spawn.

 

[jp75]

No additives placed into the tank except for nite - out nitrifying bacteria on Sunday (4 days ago)

 

[W1ngz]

I'm assuming your tank is cycled since you have fish in it. Is there a reason you're using a bacteria additive?

 

[jp75]

I added a damsel and two peppermint shrimp and a few frags. I added the bacteria to help with the adjustment of the bioload.

 

[toku58]

What do you have in your tank?
Anything that spawns? like feather dusters?

 

[jp75]

Tank inhabitants:
1 clownfish, 1 blue damsel
1 purple tip frogspawn (6 heads)
1 unknown paly group (Appx 12 polyps)
1 zoa frag (5 polyps)
1 mixed zoa colony
1 green torch (2 heads)
1 green star polyp covered rock
1 Duncan (1 head with 2 starting to emerge)
1 purple singularity frag
1 acan frag
1 favia frag

There are a ton of tiny feather dusters, stomatella snails, and at least 5 tiny striped serpent stars hiding in the rocks, 7 Hermet crabs and 5 turban snails

 

[thegrun]

You should not need to add anything to your tank when you add to the bio-load assuming you add fish slowly. With the additive I would now be fairly sure you have a bacteria bloom.

 

[nmotz]

I think grun is right, try to decrease lighting for a day maybe? Then try to deal with nitrates through water changes, skimming, and macroalgae, not bacteria dosing.

 

[W1ngz]

Personally, I'd just tweak the skimmer a little on the wet site to pull stuff out a little faster and dim the lights. Probably clear up in 24 hours or less.

 

[coralsnaked]

If it settles out fairly rapidly or sticks to glass most likely precip from dosing Alk / Ca. If it stays suspended then most likely bacterial bloom and only problem could be oxygen depletion. If clown is at surface then i would add airstone and / or crank up the skimmer and remove collection cup and let it overflow into sump for added oxygenation.

 

[jp75]

I don't have a skimmer and have not dosed anything except for the nitrifying bacteria. I guess the clown fish was only at the top thinking he was going to get some food. Once I sat away from the tank he went back to swimming normal neat the bottom.

 

[toku58]

Tank inhabitants:
1 clownfish, 1 blue damsel
1 purple tip frogspawn (6 heads)
1 unknown paly group (Appx 12 polyps)
1 zoa frag (5 polyps)
1 mixed zoa colony
1 green torch (2 heads)
1 green star polyp covered rock
1 Duncan (1 head with 2 starting to emerge)
1 purple singularity frag
1 acan frag
1 favia frag

There are a ton of tiny feather dusters, stomatella snails, and at least 5 tiny striped serpent stars hiding in the rocks, 7 Hermet crabs and 5 turban snails

The feather dusters spawn by blowing out a milky white cloud. That could be your culprit.
If it is? shouldn't hurt anything.

 

[jp75]

Since all the feather dusters are very tiny, but a ton of them, would they spawn all at the same time to create that much cloudiness?

 

[mike1024]

Had a similar situation. Changed the filter sponges, and tank returned to normal after a day or so. They were close to saturated with ... stuff.q

 

[jp75]

I was going to do a water change but I tested the salinity of the water I got from a lfs and saw it was at 1.029. That is the last time I buy water from them.

I changed the filter pad and then I had to leave and haven't been back all day. Wife seems to think it is starting to clear up tho.

 

[toku58]

Since all the feather dusters are very tiny, but a ton of them, would they spawn all at the same time to create that much cloudiness?

Depends? Not sure what type of dusters they are? But YES! They will all spawn at the same time.
Not really sure what triggers them to do so?
I freaked out the first time my dusters started to spawn.:eek2:

 

[jp75]

I woke up this morning to the tank being perfectly clear. I didn't get to do the water change and all I did was change the filter pad. All inhabitants still look happy and unaffected.

 

[LuvMyBlenny]

Turbo snail spawning .

 

[Pcrain]

Sounds like bacterial bloom did the right thing .. nothing