Bacterial bloom help

tshutler

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Hey all,

I have a Waterbox 90.3 that’s been running since November and is bare bottom. I have been taking things really slow and have in the past couple months added fish and just started adding coral. All my parameters have been good. Gotten nitrates and phosphates where they need to be. Calcium at 390, mag at 1390, all is a little high at 13 but I’m. Ot adding anything so it can come down naturally. Temp is a steady 78 F.

I had to remove a fish and added a new one and started to get cloudy water. the water got clearer in its own and all was well. Well last week while I was gone for a few days at work my wife said the water got cloudy again. Came home and the socks were overflowing and it was slimy with a clear slime in the sump and tank. So I have been working at it and the slime is gone but the socks still overflow after about 30 mins in the tank and the water is still fairly cloudy. It’s been probably three days with no improvements. All the signs point towards a bacterial bloom but I seem to have hit a wall and am not sure what else to do. I’ve cleaned the skimmer and tried doing everything i can think of. Any tips? Thanks!!
 

bushdoc

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If it’s bacterial bloom then the best is to use UV sterilizer. Water changes are of little value as heterotrophic bacteria multiply too fast. You can also decrease feeding, increase flow and increase aeration through skimmer or/ and using airstone As bacteria consume oxygen fast,For bacterial bloom people had success using inexpensive UV sterilizers like “ Green Killing Machine”
Good luck!
 

p1u5h13r4m24

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are you running a protein skimmer? Are the socks overflowing because of the clear slime?
 
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tshutler

tshutler

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Thanks. I have a smaller UV up and running now. The water has started to clear even before I hooked it up. But I’m going to run it for a little while to help the process.
I do have a protien skimmer running and it’s slimming really wet so I’m emptying it every Two days just about. And the filter socks don’t appear dirty but I wash them and they filter the water for about 20-30 minutes before they overflow. And it has to be what’s in the water. Unless I’m doing something wrong. Do I need to buy new socks?
thanks for all the help
 
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tshutler

tshutler

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I just hooked up a small UV and let the tank run mostly without the filter socks. I did benefit from cleaning any remaning goop out from the skimmer and other parts of the tank. But about a week or two later I am back to normal.

I expect this when a cycle starts and I had a small bloom at the start of my cycle too. But this one was bad so I had to deploy the small UV. Hopefully yours is quick and painless @ChickenApplePie! Best of luck
 
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