Can a copepod boom cause a “dust storm”?

cshouston

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I recently had to put all my fish in QT to treat for ich, and at just about the same time I added some new live rock from the Keys and then a bottle of EcoPods from Algae Barn. Over the past few days, I’ve had an explosion of my pod population. There are big (for pods) white copepods all over my glass, overflow, and probably the rocks and sand as well. They molt like other inverts, right?

My water looks like I have a dust storm going on. I do have sand, but I even lowered my pump intensity slightly to no effect. It’s even collecting at the surface which is annoying since one side of the tank never seems to make it to the overflow. Could this be pod molts? My tank looks like **** right now because of all the tiny particulate in the water. 100 micron socks aren’t making a dent in it.
 

xxkenny90xx

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Your sure this isn't bacterial cloudy water? It's bigger particles like molts? If it is pods I wouldn't worry, chances are you have a fish that when added will get them under control.
 
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cshouston

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Your sure this isn't bacterial cloudy water? It's bigger particles like molts? If it is pods I wouldn't worry, chances are you have a fish that when added will get them under control.
Positive it’s not bacterial. From a distance, the tank looks crystal clear, but when you get close you can see a massive storm of particles blowing around in the flow.

It looks like silt from the sand bed, but my bed has been stable with the flow for a while now. Anything that was going to blow around already has. Today is water change day anyway, so I’ll try and siphon a bunch of it out.
 
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cshouston

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Distant:
B45A1D44-AF64-4A54-9CCE-C3582EB9D33A.jpeg


Up close:
316831EA-C9B4-4865-8225-44BA7FA026BF.jpeg


So, nope, not bacterial. Definitely particulates in the water column. I was just wondering if such a population boom could molt up a storm.
 

ScubaFish802

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Distant:
B45A1D44-AF64-4A54-9CCE-C3582EB9D33A.jpeg


Up close:
316831EA-C9B4-4865-8225-44BA7FA026BF.jpeg


So, nope, not bacterial. Definitely particulates in the water column. I was just wondering if such a population boom could molt up a storm.
Ahh, yes I would bet $ those are the free swimmers in the water column (with all your fish in quarantine they have free reign.)
Certain copepods like tigriopus califonicus (a popular sold pod, although I think these particular ones are orange colored?) will “swim” at a stage of their lives. Your fish will be pumped when they are back from QT.

Edit:Apocyclops Panamensis are another example per Algae Barn.
 
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The water is still now. I do see some free swimming pods, some tiny bubbles coming from the rocks which I assume are the product of photosynthesis, and then a buttload of tiny specks that just float. They don’t move, or sink; they just float there. The house I’m renting does have old carpet and we struggle with dust, but I’d be amazed if that much household dust was in the water column. I still think it might be a ton of copepod molts, but I suppose I can’t know for sure without a microscope. I’m assuming it’s possible. Hopefully, it clears up once my fish get back into the tank and start chowing down.

Here you can see the podsplosion on just this small area of glass. It’s like this all over the tank:
D8172D49-300C-4BE2-A2DA-E1659530A48C.jpeg

And the mess on the surface that I wish would get into the dang overflow:
1A648E72-2EBC-4426-8A39-21AF00C68B1D.jpeg

The still water column:
5D5AADDC-C857-4444-A75E-D71EBDBAD4C8.jpeg
 

Pistol Peet

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I highly doubt it more than likely bacterial bloom UV sterilizer or water changes will help
 
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cshouston

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I highly doubt it more than likely bacterial bloom UV sterilizer or water changes will help
It’s 100% not a bacterial bloom. We broached that topic several posts back. You can check the photos. It’s millions of tiny suspended particles. Thank you, though!

I did a water change, but sadly it didn’t even make a dent in the number of particles.
 

Pistol Peet

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Do you have a UV sterilizer and filter socks help try to catch some of these particles
 
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cshouston

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Of course. Two in the sump. 100 micron. It doesn’t help that my overflow has a hard time catching particles. They love to just flow right past without going in. Anyway, I’ll just assume it’s copepod molts and maybe some household dust. Hopefully, it’ll go away when fish start eating the pods again.
 

Pistol Peet

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Of course. Two in the sump. 100 micron. It doesn’t help that my overflow has a hard time catching particles. They love to just flow right past without going in. Anyway, I’ll just assume it’s copepod molts and maybe some household dust. Hopefully, it’ll go away when fish start eating the pods again.
Could definitely be copepod skin
 

GillMeister

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This one goes back a couple months but I just stumbled upon it. I have the same issue though it's not really bothering me. I have a very healthy population of pods and my water column is full of molts. Bring a flashlight to your tank at night and watch the little guys do their business. You'll be amazed by how many you'll see. I'm considering a Mandarin Goby to keep them under control.
 

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