Would this cause my water to be cloudy?

[coral_reefer_25]

In the past, my tank's Ca level has been high in relation to the Alk level, but now, it's just the opposite.

Would a Ca level of 400ppm and an Alk level of 3.5 meq/L cause the water to become cloudy?

 

[ocd_mariner]

I dont think so. Those params sound pretty good, well within an acceptable range.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=387360

 

[coral_reefer_25]

That's what I thought too man...but it's still slightly cloudy and I'm unsure why. According to Randy Holmes-Farley, the Alk would seem a little high for the level of Ca to be "balanced", but in the past, when the tank has been cloudy, the Ca would be more like 500+ and Alk would be around 9.

Now, it's just the opposite.

 

[Mikeyjer]

Cloudiness can also be caused by over feeding, excess food waste. Micro-bubbles too!!!

 

[ocd_mariner]

Oh. And my favorite. The extra fine sand in a 4 inch bed that you are stuck with until you move to a new house in 2 years.

/runs to corner and cries
/is also sorry about the hijack

 

[coral_reefer_25]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8627648#post8627648 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mikeyjer
Cloudiness can also be caused by over feeding, excess food waste. Micro-bubbles too!!!

If overfeeding was the case, wouldn't there be Ammonia/Nitraites/Nitrites detected? I haven't tested those lately, but I definitely will tonight.

Microbubbles I've had a problem with since day one. I can't seem to get rid of them, but I've re-routed the return line and lately there have been fewer bubbles than before....then BOOM! The water got cloudy.

It's really getting frustrating because it will be clear for a few weeks, and then I'll start dealing with cloudiness again...

 

[Sir Knight]

I noticed you are using a Kalk reactor, could this be your problem maybe over dosing or dosing right after a mix cycle.

 

[coral_reefer_25]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8629788#post8629788 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sir Knight
I noticed you are using a Kalk reactor, could this be your problem maybe over dosing or dosing right after a mix cycle.

It's on an auto topoff device...it adds to the tank in small increments each time...maybe 1/4 cup....and the reactor only mixes 3 times a day for 5 minutes each time.

I suppose it's possible that I added too much kalk to the reactor the last time...which was about 4 or 5 days prior to becoming cloudy...but if that were the case, I would think that the Calcium level would be through the roof, when it's actually lower than it typically runs. Normally, it's running 450ppm or higher...with an Alkalinity of 11 or 12dKH.

 

[coral_reefer_25]

I tested the tank params last night...here's the rundown.

These were tested at 8:30PM...the lights had been on since 2PM.
pH - 8.2
Alk - 8dKH (was 10dKH the day before, but the fresh H2O container was empty when I got home, so the Kalk reactor couldn't top off the tank sometime yesterday.)
Ca - 400ppm
NH3/NH4 - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 0

I'm going to try feeding less over the next several days and see if that helps.

 

[gflat65]

Do you run any carbon, Ryan?

 

[coral_reefer_25]

No...I don't run carbon...but I'm thinking I need to. Yes?

 

[gflat65]

It'll help clear up the water. There have been tons of discussion on whether or not you should, but I run 24/7 in all of my tanks. May be a band aid, but may be a fix, too.

 

[coral_reefer_25]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8641909#post8641909 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gflat65
It'll help clear up the water. There have been tons of discussion on whether or not you should, but I run 24/7 in all of my tanks. May be a band aid, but may be a fix, too.

Do you have an area in your sump where water is actually "forced" to go through the carbon filter? My sump isn't laid out in a good way for this to happen. Sure, I can throw in a bag of carbon...but I don't think it'll really do that much good.