cloudy water? HELP!

1

1602reefer

New member
Hey all, I am some what new to this hobby but something strange has happened that has never happened before... So yesterday I went out a bought a pretty nice frag of orange monticap and placed it in my tank. I already have some bubble coral, frogspawn, green cap, and a few sps. When I woke up around 4 to get some water I looked at my tank and found all the water to be really white cloudy. I have a scopas tang, two clowns and a bicolor blenny, so I'm damn sure that they didn't kick up any substrate. I decided to just run my skimmer until I woke up this morning think it would be eliminated but I just got up and some of my sps isn't looking to good. I was thinking maybe something on the monti cap I just bought did it but I don't see anything... Need HELP please.:(
 
Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0, Nitrate=0. Everything else is normal parameters. I do 10 gallon water changes every Monday on my 55. The cloudiness just happened over a couple of hours out of nowhere. I was also wondering if maybe one of the corals is leaching something into the water?
 
Have you added any calcium or alk. supplements? Are you using kalk or running a reactor? This would possibly cause a snow storm (calcium carbonate precipitation).

The other possibility would be a bacterial bloom if it does not settle out onto your rocks......coral, etc. If the color is mixed with green it could be algae blooming also.

A good picture might help. :)
 
Sounds to me that something has triggered a bacteria bloom. I'm wondering if someone didn't have some additive in the bag the coral came in and it is fueling the problem. Bacteria outbreaks go as fast as they come but can be hastened in their departure by using a canister filter with a submicron polishing filter.

The main thing is to keep oxygen levels up as a bacteria bloom will deplete dissolved oxygen rapidly. Aim a powerhead toward the surface of the tank to create a strong flow along the surface. Watch for fish going to the surface to gulp air, a sign of oxygen distress.
 
Yeah I add this cal/alk additive called CalMax pro, and I only add it three times a week on every mon, wed, fri. I'm attaching some picks, hope they are clear enough. Also its more of a white cloudiness. Spawning? the larger of the two clowns was acting weird.





 
And that is only a Minor outbreak at best. REAL REEFERS have bacteria bloom that make submarines have three hour delays when landing at seaports because of poor visibility. :D
 
I don't have any advice, but interestingly enough, the Brute can of new water I mixed this weekend looked just like that. Completely cloudy, after about 4 hours of aeration and heating. I can't imagine it was bacterial bloom, as the water was 100% RODI until I added the salt, and the can had been cleaned with vinegar and left dry for a week. If you ever get a solid answer to what caused the cloudiness, I'd love to hear it!
 
Common when mixing salt mixes. Fishme. Not too worry; give it a little rest time and then add it to the tank. It will be clear by Monday.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14810799#post14810799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HighlandReefer
Have you added any calcium or alk. supplements? Are you using kalk or running a reactor? This would possibly cause a snow storm (calcium carbonate precipitation).
Click to expand...

This is what it looks like to me. added to much Alk or Calcium and got some precipitation.
testing alk and Ca levels would definatly help in working out if this is the problem.
 
Fish4me2 I'm pretty sure it was a bacterial bloom cause I've never had it happen before and I don't mix salt, I get it straight from oceanography school close to my house. But I have heard that a lot with mixing salt. And why_drift I only add the recommended dose three times a week on every Mon, Wed, and Fri and this happened over night on Sat. But if I ever encounter it again I will know what to look for right away. Thanks again waterkeeper.
 
You're welcome 1602 and calcium precipitation usually has snowflake type particles and not the fine stuff your pictures depict.
 
All I had to do it seems is do the 10gallon water change and the bacterial bloom started to subside and now is almost gone. Thanks to all. :)
 
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