Water Clarity Issue 2 month old tank

[Boochika]

My tank finish its cycle over a month ago, and was crystal clear for a while.

I'm currently running carbon and dosing NoPox.

I'm just starting to see some brown algae, which I've wrote about in another post, and I assume is diatoms from the tank being new.

However, as of the past week I've noticed tons of sandy looking particulates in the water column. They haven't filtered out even after cleaning and replacing the filter socks every other day. I'm not sure if this is a bacterial issue or if it's something else I'm doing wrong.

There is a fair amount of silt in the sump from my marine pure block degrading, but it doesn't appear to be decreasing in that chamber of the sump.

Any help would be appreciated, and sorry for the rant..

[mcgyvr]

Detritus? (likely IMO)
Actual sand particles due to powerheads stirring it up?
If its not going over the overflow and into the sump is not going to be mechanically filtered out..
Have you noticed your sand bed thickening/thinning in some areas? (mounds forming?)

Typically bacterial problems are a clear "snot" like consistency..

Sounds fairly normal IMO...

[CSmooth2009]

U might be able to filter it out with a cheap hang on the back mechanical filter for less than 20 bucks from the store... I had a issue for a few weeks and once I put it on... it cleared up within a week


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[Boochika]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Detritus? (likely IMO)
Actual sand particles due to powerheads stirring it up?
If its not going over the overflow and into the sump is not going to be mechanically filtered out..
Have you noticed your sand bed thickening/thinning in some areas? (mounds forming?)

Typically bacterial problems are a clear "snot" like consistency..

Sounds fairly normal IMO...

OK thanks for the input, I move my aquascaping around recently and glue it. I could be a result of that. But that was 5 days ago and shouldn't take taht long to clear. I'm used to the high and low spots of my sand bed. I'll smooth it out and see if I can find areas where it gets stirred up. Maybe adjust my powerheads depending on this.

[Boochika]

Originally Posted by CSmooth2009

U might be able to filter it out with a cheap hang on the back mechanical filter for less than 20 bucks from the store... I had a issue for a few weeks and once I put it on... it cleared up within a week


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Good idea, I do have an Aquaclear 30 that could probably help with it.

I'm just bothered by the light reflecting of the particles in the tank. Not something I've experienced since it's been set up.

[Lsufan]

The description doesn’t sound bacterial but being u are dosing nopox it may very well be. Is there a reason u are dosing nopox on such a young tank? Im not saying it can’t be done, but I would let the tank stabilize on its own for a few months & see what happens. After 6 months or so if u have problems with nutrients then start the carbon dosing.

I would consider cutting your dose in half & see if it helps. If it does then think about stopping the dosing all together until the tank matures & u get to a point to where it may help

[Boochika]

Thanks for the advice. I cut it in half today. I'll see how it does after a week.

I also recently dropped the height of my sump water to accommodate skimmer and I wonder if it's creating more micro bubbles since the return pump only has about 1-2 inches of water above it.

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[Lsufan]

The return shouldn’t be putting out air bubbles unless it is sucking air. If u have 1 to 2” of water over it then it shouldn’t be sucking air. It should be easy enough to check. Turn the pump off for a while but leave the powerheads going & see what happens. If that is the issue, then u can raise the water level back up in the sump & place the skimmer on a stand. I built a stand out of acrylic but before that I just cut a couple pieces of egg rate (light diffuser) & set it under the skimmer

[Boochika]

Originally Posted by Lsufan

The return shouldn’t be putting out air bubbles unless it is sucking air. If u have 1 to 2” of water over it then it shouldn’t be sucking air. It should be easy enough to check. Turn the pump off for a while but leave the powerheads going & see what happens. If that is the issue, then u can raise the water level back up in the sump & place the skimmer on a stand. I built a stand out of acrylic but before that I just cut a couple pieces of egg rate (light diffuser) & set it under the skimmer

I tried this and you're right it's not from my return. It's clearly substrate particles. It's been over a week since I moved and glued my rock and it might be slightly better but it's still there.

Could it be my powerheads? Should I angle them up or point them straight? Doesn't seem like sand is being disturbed.

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[LeJeune981]

Could it be precipitate ? Like calcium carbonate floating around?

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[Boochika]

I was wondering that. My pH was high around 8.4 or higher after I dosed buffer. The buffer I have I think is lousy or I don't know how to use it. Kent super buffer.

I Plan on doing a water change this weekend but my mixed water oh is high too. Using red sea coral pro. Been mixing for 4 days. I'm not sure how strongly I should be breaking the water surface tension.

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[LeJeune981]

Originally Posted by Boochika

I was wondering that. My pH was high around 8.4 or higher after I dosed buffer. The buffer I have I think is lousy or I don't know how to use it. Kent super buffer.

I Plan on doing a water change this weekend but my mixed water oh is high too. Using red sea coral pro. Been mixing for 4 days. I'm not sure how strongly I should be breaking the water surface tension.

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I don't know anything about ph buffer.. I've never used it..

In my brute.. I have a power head at the bottom mixing... and a second power head pointed up.. just enough to make the surface ripple and move around a bit... just like it does in the display tank..

I mix about 40 gallons at a time..

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[Boochika]

Originally Posted by LeJeune981

I don't know anything about ph buffer.. I've never used it..

In my brute.. I have a power head at the bottom mixing... and a second power head pointed up.. just enough to make the surface ripple and move around a bit... just like it does in the display tank..

I mix about 40 gallons at a time..

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When you say ripple does this mean the water is moving at the top or does it mean there are white crests at the top forming Bubble s

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[LeJeune981]

The water is just lightly moving around..


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[Boochika]

Is.it.possible for all the white dots to be pods or some other type of bug.

I've noticed tins of white moving specs in my car in reactor and now they're appearing on my DT glass. Perhaps they bloom when I get some algae?

I've stopped dosing carbon and the algae has really started to grow in again but looks like diatoms so I'm gonna let it be.

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[Sk8r]

The white dots if they move could be pods. THey are easy to spot until you get something that eats them. Then they all seem to take the cue and hide.