Hopefully this post isn't too long winded but there are multiple factors here that may need addressing.
I'm having an issue with cloudy water, to the point that you can't see more than a couple inches or so into the tank. The cloud is white and not green. So to start off I'll post tank and params.
100g total volume
Salinity 1.024
pH 8.25
Alk 9.5
Calcium 350
Mag 900-1000
Nitrate 1
Phosphate 0
Diablo XS160 skimmer
Dual Icecap 2k gyres
14 frags
Naso Tang
Coral Beauty
2 clowns
5 chromis
Was feeding Hikari pellets, New Life Spectrum, pellets, mysis, nori, and Reef Frenzy all sparingly and only as much as the fish would eat in a few minutes. I went to feeding every 3-4 days once this all started.
Here's the story. A few weeks back I started noticing a brown'ish substance growing on the rocks. This substance was unlike anything I have seen and have yet to identify what exactly it is. Some said dinos, others said bacteria.
A couple weeks after it showed up the water started getting cloudy. Not too bad at first, but after a couple days it was full blown. I tried blowing some of the rock off with a turkey baster and only the loose pieces came off. It was a little slimy to the touch.
MY first reaction was let nature takes it's course but I after a few days it stayed the same. I have not done a water change since it started as some have stated to let it be and that changing water wouldn't really do much.
My first course of action was to hit it with some Seachem Clarity. Two doses as a matter of fact, 24 hours apart. No change.
Next I tried some Matrix carbon in a mesh bag sitting inside the filter sock. After a couple days still no change.
This is when I decided to let nature take its course. But after a week or so I couldn't stand it any longer, I had to try something else.
So I bought a 13w in-tank sterilizer. 395gph max flow. Installed it and after a couple days there was no real change, maybe a very slight increase in visibility, but barely.
My next, and last try at a solution was to run some DE in a Marineland polishing filter. That was yesterday and still no change as of this morning.
I'm really at my wits end here and have considered on one or two occasions to just throw in the towel, but part of me says that at some point "this too shall pass" and to not give up.
Here's my theories.
1. Magnesium is too low and I'm seeing calcium come out of solution. However, I'm not getting a white film on the glass or overflow which I know is a tell-tale sign of a calcium precipitation event. Seeing as how Magnesium is a the glue between Alk and Calcium I figured my low mag was causing the cloudiness.
2. If, in fact, the brown stuff on the rocks is bacteria, and I blew some off that the gyres caught some of it, chewed it up, and the released the bacteria into the water column.
3. I have noticed that some of this brown stuff has started to go away and that the cloudiness is just part of that process of the die off.
It may be none or all of these things combined. So at this point I'm trying to decide what to do next, if anything. Here's what I consider my options to be:
1. Remove the UV and the DE filter and do nothing.
2. Leave the UV and DE in and do nothing.
3. Start dosing the Red Sead Mg I bought to raise the level and see if it really is a calcium precipitation.
4. Do a big water change in conjuction with number 1, 2, and/or 3 or just a stand alone water change.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I'm having an issue with cloudy water, to the point that you can't see more than a couple inches or so into the tank. The cloud is white and not green. So to start off I'll post tank and params.
100g total volume
Salinity 1.024
pH 8.25
Alk 9.5
Calcium 350
Mag 900-1000
Nitrate 1
Phosphate 0
Diablo XS160 skimmer
Dual Icecap 2k gyres
14 frags
Naso Tang
Coral Beauty
2 clowns
5 chromis
Was feeding Hikari pellets, New Life Spectrum, pellets, mysis, nori, and Reef Frenzy all sparingly and only as much as the fish would eat in a few minutes. I went to feeding every 3-4 days once this all started.
Here's the story. A few weeks back I started noticing a brown'ish substance growing on the rocks. This substance was unlike anything I have seen and have yet to identify what exactly it is. Some said dinos, others said bacteria.
New item by Ed Olson
photos.app.goo.gl
MY first reaction was let nature takes it's course but I after a few days it stayed the same. I have not done a water change since it started as some have stated to let it be and that changing water wouldn't really do much.
My first course of action was to hit it with some Seachem Clarity. Two doses as a matter of fact, 24 hours apart. No change.
Next I tried some Matrix carbon in a mesh bag sitting inside the filter sock. After a couple days still no change.
This is when I decided to let nature take its course. But after a week or so I couldn't stand it any longer, I had to try something else.
So I bought a 13w in-tank sterilizer. 395gph max flow. Installed it and after a couple days there was no real change, maybe a very slight increase in visibility, but barely.
My next, and last try at a solution was to run some DE in a Marineland polishing filter. That was yesterday and still no change as of this morning.
I'm really at my wits end here and have considered on one or two occasions to just throw in the towel, but part of me says that at some point "this too shall pass" and to not give up.
Here's my theories.
1. Magnesium is too low and I'm seeing calcium come out of solution. However, I'm not getting a white film on the glass or overflow which I know is a tell-tale sign of a calcium precipitation event. Seeing as how Magnesium is a the glue between Alk and Calcium I figured my low mag was causing the cloudiness.
2. If, in fact, the brown stuff on the rocks is bacteria, and I blew some off that the gyres caught some of it, chewed it up, and the released the bacteria into the water column.
3. I have noticed that some of this brown stuff has started to go away and that the cloudiness is just part of that process of the die off.
It may be none or all of these things combined. So at this point I'm trying to decide what to do next, if anything. Here's what I consider my options to be:
1. Remove the UV and the DE filter and do nothing.
2. Leave the UV and DE in and do nothing.
3. Start dosing the Red Sead Mg I bought to raise the level and see if it really is a calcium precipitation.
4. Do a big water change in conjuction with number 1, 2, and/or 3 or just a stand alone water change.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.