Milky White Water

[Kisseskriss]

Last night around midnight, my water went quite milky for a moment, but then seemed to clear. This morning the water is so white and opaque you can't see through the tank at all.
We had been battling nitrates, and we went from really high nitrates around 80ppm to high nitrites anywhere between 2-5ppm, to everything being around zero.
The corals aren't opening, but the fish appear to be just fine.

It's a nano, 15 gallon tank that has been running for around three months. I have a pair of clowns and a regal dottyback, they've been there for a month and a half or less, with no problems.

I'm using a canister filter, which my husband recently cleaned. And I have a hang-on protein skimmer that is suddenly working on overdrive.

I'm thinking it's a bacterial bloom of some sort, but all the photos I've seen don't look nearly as bad as I think my tank looks. Any advice?

 

[Kisseskriss]

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[Sk8r]

Aerate. Oxygen is shorter in milky water.

 

[Kisseskriss]

Aerate. Oxygen is shorter in milky water.

How much? We have always had a 12 inch air stone along the back of the tank, and recently added a second smaller one.


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[Dr. Reef]

With 2 airstones you will be fine. It's bacterial bloom should pass in couple of days. Keep aeration.

 

[ajoe]

Couple of things.
1) What did you clean the cannister filter with?
2) Do you have any surface agitation? If not you might aim a powerhead towards the top of the tank to get some water movement on the surface as well.

 

[Kisseskriss]

Couple of things.
1) What did you clean the cannister filter with?
2) Do you have any surface agitation? If not you might aim a powerhead towards the top of the tank to get some water movement on the surface as well.

Canister filter was cleaned with just water. I didn't do it, and my husband isn't home so I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure he just rinsed everything with tap water.

I've got plenty of surface agitation between the filter return, the skimmer and the two air stones. So I think that's okay.


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[scooter31707]

Canister filter was cleaned with just water. I didn't do it, and my husband isn't home so I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure he just rinsed everything with tap water.

I've got plenty of surface agitation between the filter return, the skimmer and the two air stones. So I think that's okay.


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Possibility you rinse all the good bacteria off with the tap water. It's recommended you rinse and clean with tank water. On my 20 gallon, when I decide to clean my filter, I do it when I am during a water change and rinse the filter if the water that has been taken out the tank. That picture looks like a bacteria bloom.