Sudden yellow/green cloudy water at night

B

brentj

New member
Hello.

We had a bit of a panic last night. After lights-out by about an hour I happened to notice that the sump looked murky and there was a yellow-greenish film on the surface. Then I noticed the display tank was really cloudy.

When I put some water in a jar or looked at the skimmate, there was a bright almost neon green tint to the offending agent.

What is this? It was fine 2 hours earlier.

240g DT, 100g sump, 50g frag/fuge
1.025 sg, 11 dka no ammonia

3 tangs, 1 bluejaw trigger, stony, soft corals, 2 crocea a sea hare, green BT anemone

Is this some kind of spawning? I couldn't see individual organisms/eggs, just cloudy and surface film. Wishing I had my microscope...

Or a bloom? Happened VERY fast.

Or sea hare ink? Still researching, but I read one account of it being red, not green. Maybe there are different kinds?

I skimmed a lot last night and changed some water, I can tell it's getting better. The fish seem to all still be there...

Anyone know the answer?
 
Agreed. Are you dosing anything in that time frame? Anything happen in the house recently such as an airborn spray?
 
Thanks. Ran about a cup or two of carbon last night.

I thought hard about the airborne spray question at the time. There were two possible things, but they didn't seem to match time-wise.

2 days previously I'd done a fair bit of spray painting in the basement, with a box fan trying to draw the fumes out a door (my sump is in the basement in another room)

yesterday early afternoon, we painted a small upstairs bathroom nowhere near the tank with latex paint.

And the tank looked fine all day until soon after lights-out.

I was in the basement grouting tile at the time I discovered it (I know, exciting saturday night!) but I really didn't have any visible dust with the grout mixing.

I've been trying to blame myself for something, but it just doesn't add up in my mind.

I dose calcium and ash/alk. Haven't measure calcium yet... didn't think that'd be green though.
 
if its yellow then maybe nitrate/detritus accumulation?, do you run ozone?, does it look yellow/green with natural sunlight?, i had something similar to you and noticed it at night, i had a problem a while back, my water turned a little yellow and at night with the help of some blue moonlight leds the water looked green, blue+yellow=green, ran carbon, skimmed wet and partial water change helped....

Sana
 
No ozone. It was bright green when looked at under room lights in a little vial.

It was an amazingly fast change.

Water looks normal this morning. hmm.
 
I was wondering about algae since it was a green slime...

I have chaeto in the fuge and ulva. And some red macro. And some kind of macro "weed" in all tanks...

I've heard of some "going sexual"; is that a rapid process to immediately cloud a tank?

Phosphates 0, Ca+ 410. Everything seems fine a day later, post carbon (little bit) and skimming. The stuff came right out with skimming since it likes to film on the surface.
 
Yes but that sexual phase is mainly associated with Caulerpa...I am not sure with the Ulva and Red Macro..someone else should chime in on that one..but I am sure it isn't the chaetomorpha

Here is an article on Caulerpa and the 'sexual' phase..I had it happen several years ago and it was a disaster..but if memory serves me correct it was more of a milky color.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/nftt/index.php
 
Thanks.

I't happening AGAIN!!

Greenish surface film on the display tank surface.

Sea hare is at the far corner of the tank so I can' check him out. Don't see any clam spawning.

ORP dropped again.... arrrrgh. 2 nights in a row. The lights have not gone out yet. I don't see it in the fuge, so I think it's starting in the DT
 
Here's a closeup of a macro pest algae I inherited with the live rock.

I've been told it may be a Caulerpa relative. I can't see any change in it though. Can anyone ID so I can try to read about it? any references?


11973IMG_2148-med.jpg




The haze returns.... Not as bad as last night yet, but see the film?



11973IMG_2147-med.jpg
 
So let me get this right..it is a film on the surface of the glass?! or in the water column.....???

Please take a picture of this ASAP
 
Cloudy water, film on surface. Appears very rapidly at 9-10 PM 2 nights....

can phyto appear out of nowhere? immediately?

Is sea hare ink green?
 
No..it is purple to reddish.... I believe that plankton rises into the water column starting at twilight..at least in the wild....that is when the plankton feeders rise closer to the surface to feed...don't ask me how I know this...(I am pretty sure I am right).

but I am not sure about plankton outbreaks in the reef aquaria..I am doing some research on the topic though.
 
The only thing about that thread though..is I believe green water is a constant problem..not something that just happens at night...but a diatom filter can help filter the particles out of the column if that is indeed what it is...I have only dealt with green water in FW tanks so I am still looking around:)
 
I'm sorry, I can't get that link to work; just brings up a list of all the forums.

I'd love to read what you're referring to though.

I'll try to read more on diatoms though. I'm not sure where they were hiding during the day if that's what it was.

Sure green though, makes me think of some plankton too small to see perhaps. Need a microscope! I want a USB one that's not crappy/cheap...
 
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