Nick’s 10g

[4FordFamily]

I’m so excited! This thread will be coming alive in the near future.

I will be ordering a Naked Ocellaris pair from LiveAquaria when the time comes to start stocking it. Other than those two, I’m not sure what else I want. The skimmer is rated at 75g for a heavy bioload, 120g for a medium bioload, and 160g for a light bioload. I love minimal aquascapes, so I don’t plan on a bunch of rock in the display; I’ll use MarinePure in the sump to carry the weight. I’m also heavily considering a bare-bottom setup because I love the ability to easily clean the tank and not worry about detritus buildup. I will miss the look of sand, but maintenance and stability are my priorities.

It’s taken me a long time to accept bare bottom but I’ve seen some really exemplary tanks bare bottom and I’m now a fan, if done right!

I overskim my tanks by that’s because I grossly overstock them! Ha!

 

[DerekDun]

Can’t wait to see!

 

[nickkohrn]

So, with all of the trouble that my tanks have been with regard to bacterial blooms, I took al of my equipment out and cleaned them with bleach, along with my tank. I set the tank back up the other day and let it run with just tap water overnight. I awoke the next day to clear water, which was great. I filled it up with saltwater last night and added the equipment back in. I awoke this morning to cloudy water. I have no idea what to do. I clearly can’t have saltwater in my quarantine tank without it clouding up from a bacterial bloom. I have absolutely no idea how to get rid of it, and I’m definitely not going to be setting up my new Waterbox until I have it figured out. This is the fourth time of tearing the tank down within a couple of weeks because of this. I really need some help because I’m starting to feel like it’s a sign that I shouldn’t have a tank and that I just need to cut my losses and take another long break.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Have you replaced the filters and resin already? If not I would wait.

 

[nickkohrn]

Have you replaced the filters and resin already? If not I would wait.

Yeah, I replaced the filters, resin, and membrane. However, this is saltwater that I bought from a local shop.

 

[Deiblerj]

Maybe you have some bad salt...?

Are you mixing your own or buying premixed?

 

[Deiblerj]

Sorry just saw you said it was premixed.

 

[Deiblerj]

How cloudy are we talking? Do you have any pictures?

 

[nickkohrn]

How cloudy are we talking? Do you have any pictures?

I didn’t get any pictures this morning before I left for work, but it’s just like it was three weeks ago in the attached video.

 

[Deiblerj]

I am at a loss...

The bleach should have killed anything left in the tank and on the equipment. Because of that I’m thinking it’s not bacteria related but possibly something else.

Maybe try vodka dosing...don’t know much about it but seems like it would kill off any remaining bacteria if there is any. But again bleach should have taken care of that.

Could be a coincidence that your LFS has bad water too...

How long have you been letting your saltwater sit? Could jus take need to dissolve and settle

 

[nickkohrn]

I am at a loss...

The bleach should have killed anything left in the tank and on the equipment. Because of that I’m thinking it’s not bacteria related but possibly something else.

Maybe try vodka dosing...don’t know much about it but seems like it would kill off any remaining bacteria if there is any. But again bleach should have taken care of that.

Could be a coincidence that your LFS has bad water too...

How long have you been letting your saltwater sit? Could jus take need to dissolve and settle

It sat for four days before I used it because I was cleaning the tank and equipment during that time. Maybe I’ll just wait it out and see what happens for another month or two. I’m definitely going to be getting a UV sterilizer for my new system that’s coming. I’m sick of dealing with this, so I’m going to bust out something big for it. It’s too bad that I can’t put it on my 10g AIO quarantine system. This persistent issue has me wanting to get the largest possible wattage UV sterilizer possible for my system. I think that I’ll be doing my own plumbing on the new system rather than using the plumbing kit that comes with it because I want to be able to move my sump over a bit so that I can add extra equipment, like the UV sterilizer, in the cabinet.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I am at a loss too. The RO/DI unit seemed to be a good bet with old filters, but was not the answer. You used LFS salt this time that was probably sitting mixed thoroughly. You bleached everything else. Strange. I am not sure a UV would get anything that bleach would miss. Is there anything possible environmentally we are missing? I guess if you knew that you would not be so frustrated. If it was environmental, the UV may help that.

I am no expert though.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Here is what I do not get, tap is clear, but saltwater is not. If I recall, you used your own salt mix at least once and LFS saltwater this time. Why do different saltwater mixes make your tank cloud, but not tap?

 

[nickkohrn]

Here is what I do not get, tap is clear, but saltwater is not. If I recall, you used your own salt mix at least once and LFS saltwater this time. Why do different saltwater mixes make your tank cloud, but not tap?

Yeah, that’s definitely why I’m confused. Maybe I haven’t completely sterilized all of my equipment because I wasn’t running most of it while running tap water through the system. It seems to happen when I add all of my equipment back in. Maybe it’s my Apex probes? I didn’t soak them in bleach-water. Whatever the cause, I shouldn’t have to sterilize every single piece of equipment and wait months for this crap to dissipate. I doubt that I’ll ever have everything sterilized enough to be sure that it won’t cause another bloom. It’s so frustrating and tiresome.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Definitely, extremely frustrating. I am starting to wonder if it even is bacterial. Could something be causing a precipitation? I guess that is rhetorical. You are only getting cloudiness, no buildups anywhere of any kind. It is just so strange. I have set up dozens of salt and fresh tanks in my life for myself and others and never seen this persistent clouding.

 

[nickkohrn]

Definitely, extremely frustrating. I am starting to wonder if it even is bacterial. Could something be causing a precipitation? I guess that is rhetorical. You are only getting cloudiness, no buildups anywhere of any kind. It is just so strange. I have set up dozens of salt and fresh tanks in my life for myself and others and never seen this persistent clouding.

I’ve checked all of my equipment to make sure that nothing is corroded or that anything would be leaking substances. Maybe I’ll try some Chemiclean to see if that helps knock it out before I spend the money on a UV sterilizer.

 

[Deiblerj]

Have you tried just keeping saltwater in tank without any other equipment. Just saltwater, not filters, no blowers, nothing, take everything else out of the tank.

Start with that. Tank and saltwater.

If you have done that and it’s still cloudy then it’s got to be something in the water. Or something is causing a chemical imbalance in the saltwater since freshwater doesn’t seem to cause you any issues.

 

[nickkohrn]

Have you tried just keeping saltwater in tank without any other equipment. Just saltwater, not filters, no blowers, nothing, take everything else out of the tank.

Start with that. Tank and saltwater.

If you have done that and it’s still cloudy then it’s got to be something in the water. Or something is causing a chemical imbalance in the saltwater since freshwater doesn’t seem to cause you any issues.

I have not tried that yet. I can definitely do that, but I’ll have to re-sterilize everything again, which is fine. I’m not sure how I can clean my Apex probes, though, since I doubt bleach-water should be used on them. I know that I can use vinegar, but I don’t know that it will clean them well enough.

 

[Deiblerj]

Straight vinegar or vodka soaking should do the trick. Let them sit for an hour or so.

Try tank and water and see what happens. This will narrow it down to possibly something with the tank (maybe some sort of oil or something on the glass from the manufacturer) or it’s in your water.

 

[Deiblerj]

I’ve been following this build since day 1....we’ll get you through this haha!