Bacterial bloom after new rock

[claytonga87]

I set up new tank almost 2 months ago. Started with couple pieces of well established, Coraline covered live rock and bags of Caribsea live sand. Rodi water and seapora salt. Everything clear and looking great for weeks. Bought and added 80lbs of dead marco rock. Withing few days tank went so cloudy I can't see even a couple inches into the water. Cloudiness has perceived almost 2 weeks now with no sign of letting up. Increased oxygen production in a number of ways. Just want to know how long this may take or anything I can do in meantime please? No signs of algaes, no nitrite, minimal nitrate and phosphates. Some crabs and snails that seem to be doing fine.

 

[KrisReef]

Shut off the lights if you’re getting oxygen production.

The old rock brought in a bit of nutrients, (have you tested phosphate?) and the microbes are enjoying the bounty.

It always takes longer than we want.

Edit- I skimmed the first time, no phosphate, I don’t trust your test kits for that.

 

[Privateye]

Any idea whether it's a microbe or not? The third photo shows a lot of silt on the sides of the tank. If you're unsure you can use the jar test - just put some water in a jar and see if the stuff settles out over time or stays in the water column. If it settles out then it's likely silt or other debris. If it stays in the water then it's likely microbial. If it's a microbe bloom, then you could add a UV, you could increase skimming, or it's also likely you could just wait until your tank stabilizes.

 

[Dan_P]

I set up new tank almost 2 months ago. Started with couple pieces of well established, Coraline covered live rock and bags of Caribsea live sand. Rodi water and seapora salt. Everything clear and looking great for weeks. Bought and added 80lbs of dead marco rock. Withing few days tank went so cloudy I can't see even a couple inches into the water. Cloudiness has perceived almost 2 weeks now with no sign of letting up. Increased oxygen production in a number of ways. Just want to know how long this may take or anything I can do in meantime please? No signs of algaes, no nitrite, minimal nitrate and phosphates. Some crabs and snails that seem to be doing fine.

Did you rinse the rocks before adding them to the aquarium? This seems to be more like suspended dust rather than microorganism growth which needs food to make water this cloudy.

 

[claytonga87]

Any idea whether it's a microbe or not? The third photo shows a lot of silt on the sides of the tank. If you're unsure you can use the jar test - just put some water in a jar and see if the stuff settles out over time or stays in the water column. If it settles out then it's likely silt or other debris. If it stays in the water then it's likely microbial. If it's a microbe bloom, then you could add a UV, you could increase skimming, or it's also likely you could just wait until your tank stabilizes.

yea minimal phosphates... ive tested a few times, they read slightly more than zero. Im pretty certain its bacterial. The third photo is the tank originally from when i started it with a couple pieces of well established rocks. The middle photo is the rocks after i added them and the cloudy is where ive been at currently for 2 weeks now. I dont want to use an UV sterilizer as i feel its just a bandaid for what i want in the long run. A fully established, stable system. Im determined at least for now not to use a protein skimmer on this tank. So far im just waiting.

 

[claytonga87]

Did you rinse the rocks before adding them to the aquarium? This seems to be more like suspended dust rather than microorganism growth which needs food to make water this cloudy.

No i regret to say i never did rinse the rock before adding it. If only i had known it would be this bad... Id have t o think by now at 2 weeks it would have settled if it were debris.

 

[fish_collector]

Get some calcium carbonate powder, add a few spoonfuls to a glass of water and pour it in. It acts as a flocculent and will clear the water usually by the next morning. Once it's all on the bottom, siphon it out and discard it.

Why wouldn't you want to use a protein skimmer on the tank? That is the most beneficial piece of equipment one can use.

 

[claytonga87]

Get some calcium carbonate powder, add a few spoonfuls to a glass of water and pour it in. It acts as a flocculent and will clear the water usually by the next morning. Once it's all on the bottom, siphon it out and discard it.

Why wouldn't you want to use a protein skimmer on the tank? That is the most beneficial piece of equipment one can use. There really is no valid argument for not using one.

i just dont feel like its neccesary, especially in a system without fish... I just want to keep it cheap and simple. And i want to aim for zero Nitrate and Phosphate and have residuals for corals. I have a 30 gallon sump tank on 75 Gallon display. Just going to make it like a big AIO with some bio chambers and refugium.

 

[davidm777]

Also no sump and then a sump. If you don't do anything, one day you will wake up and it will be clear.

 

[claytonga87]

Also no sump and then a sump. If you don't do anything, one day you will wake up and it will be clear.

lol yea. Sorry i just kind of chipping away as cheap as i can... That is what i am eventually hoping for. Working on sump and stand design in the meantime.

 

[claytonga87]

Whats longest anyone has seen a cloudy Bacterial Bloom on a new tank?

 

[fish_collector]

Zero nitrate and phosphate? Good luck with that.

 

[claytonga87]

Whats longest anyone has seen a cloudy Bacterial Bloom on a new tank?

Well thats kind of the point... I can aim for zero and still without a skimmer keep decent residuals.

 

[fish_collector]

Well thats kind of the point... I can aim for zero and still without a skimmer keep decent residuals.

So you want zero nitrate and phosphate, what are the residuals you mention? Residual what?

 

[slingfox]

yea minimal phosphates... ive tested a few times, they read slightly more than zero. Im pretty certain its bacterial. The third photo is the tank originally from when i started it with a couple pieces of well established rocks. The middle photo is the rocks after i added them and the cloudy is where ive been at currently for 2 weeks now. I dont want to use an UV sterilizer as i feel its just a bandaid for what i want in the long run. A fully established, stable system. Im determined at least for now not to use a protein skimmer on this tank. So far im just waiting.

With that much dead rock there will a time both now and later when you will want UV. If that is a bacterial bloom you are facing currently then UV is the most straightforward answer. With that much Marco Rock and assuming you used the Caribsea sand infused with bottled bacteria, you will almost certainly get visited by Dino’s in a few months—especially if you are aiming for zero nitrates and phosphates. You will want UV for the battle with Dino’s as well.

 

[slingfox]

Get some calcium carbonate powder, add a few spoonfuls to a glass of water and pour it in. It acts as a flocculent and will clear the water usually by the next morning. Once it's all on the bottom, siphon it out and discard it.

Why wouldn't you want to use a protein skimmer on the tank? That is the most beneficial piece of equipment one can use.

Going to take longer to remove the calcium carbonate flocculant without a protein skimmer. It can be done via mechanical filtration but it will take longer.

 

[KrisReef]

I’m fascinated with the green tank. Maybe the bacteria are photosynthetic, like phytoplankton?

The other images do appear to have a bacterial bloom or huge cloud of debris, presumably from the dead rock addition.

 

[claytonga87]

I’m fascinated with the green tank. Maybe the bacteria are photosynthetic, like phytoplankton?

The other images do appear to have a bacterial bloom or huge cloud of debris, presumably from the dead rock addition.

Yea it is weird. Keeps me constantly guessing ... No signs of any algaes tho

 

[Reefering1]

Im confused. What are your goals with this tank?

 

[claytonga87]

Im confused. What are your goals with this tank?

right now to have nice clean, stable, salt water... eventually to be a mixed reef tank. What is confusing?