mitchar19
New Member
Hey I wanted to see if any one had any tips regarding a bacteria bloom. I'm pretty sure I've got a massive one going. Here's a little history
Tank is 125 gallons and about 4 to 5 years old but I wanted to change my sand bed and re-scape. Two to three weeks ago I pulled out all fish, coral and live rock. I completely drained the tank, got rid of the old sand and cleaned the inside of the aquarium. I put in brand new pink fiji sand unwashed but I only placed about a half to one third of my live rock back into the tank because they were covered in red mushrooms and I wanted to get those out of my tank. I assumed my bioload would be okay because I didn't clean the sump to keep the benefical bacteria in there. (I'm pretty sure I screwed up by not putting all rock back in) Everything was going good coral growing and all until about 3 days ago I started to notice a white film starting on the glass and then the tank water was becoming milky white. I've tested my water multiple days and ammonia is at 0 always and nitrates were 25 yesterday today around 10. I started running a 40 watt UV sterilizer 2 days ago and did a massive 75 percent water change yesterday. Tank was starting to clear up this morning and now by this evening it's milky white again. UV sterilizer has been running this whole time. I'm not really sure what else to do at this point. I've lost a kole tang and blue tang that I've had for probably 5 years at this point. The only other fish in the tank at this point are a copper band butterfly I've had for about 3 years and two clownfish that I started the tank with. I'm thinking of pulling the fish out at this point and putting them into a separate tank with fresh water and just give them to a good home. Any advice? Thanks.
Tank is 125 gallons and about 4 to 5 years old but I wanted to change my sand bed and re-scape. Two to three weeks ago I pulled out all fish, coral and live rock. I completely drained the tank, got rid of the old sand and cleaned the inside of the aquarium. I put in brand new pink fiji sand unwashed but I only placed about a half to one third of my live rock back into the tank because they were covered in red mushrooms and I wanted to get those out of my tank. I assumed my bioload would be okay because I didn't clean the sump to keep the benefical bacteria in there. (I'm pretty sure I screwed up by not putting all rock back in) Everything was going good coral growing and all until about 3 days ago I started to notice a white film starting on the glass and then the tank water was becoming milky white. I've tested my water multiple days and ammonia is at 0 always and nitrates were 25 yesterday today around 10. I started running a 40 watt UV sterilizer 2 days ago and did a massive 75 percent water change yesterday. Tank was starting to clear up this morning and now by this evening it's milky white again. UV sterilizer has been running this whole time. I'm not really sure what else to do at this point. I've lost a kole tang and blue tang that I've had for probably 5 years at this point. The only other fish in the tank at this point are a copper band butterfly I've had for about 3 years and two clownfish that I started the tank with. I'm thinking of pulling the fish out at this point and putting them into a separate tank with fresh water and just give them to a good home. Any advice? Thanks.
