Tank suddenly cloudy

91mini

New member
Overnight my tank went cloudy. It's like a light milky haze. I added a Zebra Moray Eel 8 days ago and feeding him raw shrimp. This has been the only change in the tank. PH is 8.0 and all other params are in line. I have also started to see some red slime algae on the sand.

I'm out of town for 4 days and had my wife fill the reactors with fresh carbon and GFO but she does not know how to do a water change. Do you think this will help? What are some things that could be causing this?

Reading online most sites suggest bacteria bloom. If that's it what could combat this? I'm thinking most will say water change. Which I will do Thursday when I get back home. I do 20% every 2-3 weeks and its been 3 weeks since the last change anyway.
 
I'd guess bacterial bloom or particulates and decaying matter stirred up from the substratre by the eel.

Skimming, gac, extra mechanical filtration like a fiter sock. if it persists a uv sterilizer might help clear it.
 
Do you have one or more anemones or clams in your tank? My tank went cloudy a couple of months ago & it was one of my GBTAs spawning. I've also witnessed a pencil urchin spawning with similar results. During the BTA event I considered a water change but after observing the tank for a day or two & seeing no real ill effects, I waited until the next scheduled WC, which was only a week or so down the road. Nothing bad happened, but obviously you need to confirm what's going on with your tank & if you can't, a water change might be in order.
 
not saying this is the only reason for cloudiness but - my eel would "quiver/vibrate" (best way i can describe it ) into the sand and send up TONS of detrius. mine used to do it every couple of weeks or so.
i couldn't figure it out untill i saw it happening
 
I have a rose bubble tip anemone

That could be it then, when they spawn you do end up with a white milky haze. Skimmer & other filtration should take care of it within a day or two. If not, I'm wrong & it's something else!
 
Could be a spawn but I've had them . Either way the actions you can take are about the same.
 
I added a Zebra Moray Eel 8 days ago and feeding him raw shrimp.
This is what is most likely causing it. You overwhelmed the bacteria with this. But I don't know how big the eel is or your tank or the age of the set up so I am guessing
 
Tank is 6 months old
Tank is 100G and 5' long with a 30 gallon sump
Eel is full growth at around 4 foot. Got him from a local reefer whose tank cracked and couldn't find a home for him

My wife did comment that the tank is less cloudy yesterday.
 
This is what is most likely causing it. You overwhelmed the bacteria with this. But I don't know how big the eel is or your tank or the age of the set up so I am guessing

If it is bacterial bloom what's the cure?

Water changes only?
 
No cure, it will go away as the bacteria population stabilizes at a new higher population. Generally if you increase the bioload rapidly you'll get a bloom every time. Happens in freshwater, I assume salt as well.
 
No cure, it will go away as the bacteria population stabilizes at a new higher population.
Exactly, And if that is the case, your tank is living on the edge of crashing.
 
I'd check the ammonia level.
That eel is a large addition for that tank.
No cure. Other than less bioload or more bacteria.

Extra aeration might help with oxygen depravation from the bacteria.
Some gac might help.
Extra surface area for bacteria to colonize such as live rock in sump might help.
Heavy skimming would be a plus.
 
Sorry I didn't spell it out , gac stands for granulated activated carbon.
 
Well, the cloudiness only lasted 2 days. By Wednesday it cleared out so I'm happy about that.

My wife did tell me that my Tongue coral which will usually get a few small openings at its center was open for 2 days when the cloudiness started that you could fit a finger in (no she didn't put her finger in it to see of it fit). Do you think this had anything to do with the cloudiness or the cause of it?
 
Cloudy water can happen for any number of reasons, many of which have already been speculated in this thread. I've had smaller tanks get cloudy for a day or two for no apparent reason, and then clear up - in all cases, cause proved elusive. I suspect PaulB is correct that adding a large animal upset the tank balance and it was a bacterial bloom. Bacteriological filter will catch up, but a big eel can be a major load on a tank.
 
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