Cloudy new tank, but why?

blasterman789 · 04/23/2016, 12:18 PM

Ok, this one has me stumped and grabbing for the Ouija board. Any ideas are welcome.

I'm tearing down my 30gal frag tank that's been up for 6months and slowly splitting it off into SPS and softy / LPS frag tanks. It's also developed a leak because it's old and I need to replace it anyways. In any case, I bought 5gal generic glass tank, washed it out, and xferred a 5" birds nest and rapidly growing german blue digi frag over to it with a couple of rocks. No base. Existing tank has really good water params, no nuisances or shens going on, a bit of nitrate to keep zoas happy...just enough to trip my API kit...maybe 5ppm. Over a period of the next few days I change out 100% of the water (Instant Ocean) just so I know I'm running as close to 0 nutrients as possible and can work from there. Because the tank is so small I used distilled water because the local store sells it in 2.5gal jugs for cheap (my R/O rig needs to be replaced, and that's on the list). Both frags are happy. I can now focus on replacing the 30. This was a month ago.

After a couple of weeks I get a diatom sludge in the new tank...WTH? Then, a few days ago I get an algae / bacteria bloom and the tank looks like somebody poured 1/4 cup of milk in it. WTH^2 . Water params are spot on....zero everything as expected. I've started up enough new fresh and salt water tanks to be aware of cloudy water syndrome in new tanks, but why? Where did the nutrients come from?

Some years ago a LFS owner older than dirt but otherwise pretty smart told me the source of these new tank blooms was caused by residual silica on new glass aquariums, which is why he washed his with mild acid first. Always thought this was the result of that bottle of Johnny Walker he had in back, and not science. Now I think he's right (??)

bertoni · 04/23/2016, 02:11 PM

Glass won't leach any interesting amount of silicate, but fresh saltwater will have some. It'll also have some ammonia. The bloom likely will go away on its own, but a diatom or UV filter would speed the process. I'd stop any feeding or dosing of organically.

blasterman789 · 04/23/2016, 02:52 PM

Yeah...that's the only thing I can think of. Fresh salt mix contains trace amount of ammonia due to production. Often undetectable, but it's there. With no competition the bloom and diatoms had their way with what little nutrients were there.

feg · 04/26/2017, 06:53 PM

Hello,
My name is Fernando and I am new in here..and to this hobby as well. I just set up my IM Fusion 40 galon tank on April 9th with 16 lbs of live sand and aprox. 30 lbs of base rock but some were once live rock and regular salt water from local pshop, but after the normal white cloud due to the sand set up, the tank clear up nicely but three days later hell broke loose and the tanks looks like i'd pour a galon or so of milk...I don't have any fish and neither any food..I took the water to be tested and everything is fine..Since I don't have much experience, I have lost count of how many times I had done water changes and al kind of filters pads etc,etc..I had in mind to take everything down, take out the sand and start all over again or put every thing in my garage and forget about this for a while...but I find this forum and realized that this new tank syndrome is comon... I just order a uv sterilizer and reading from some of you, hopefully will help me get to the next level..any advise will be more than welcome..I want to give myself few more days and see what happens but it hearts every time I look at the tank and see no improvement..
apreciate any comments
Thanks

bertoni · 04/26/2017, 07:41 PM

To Reef Central

A UV sterilizer might help. So might a diatom filter, if you happen to have one. Personally, I'd give the UV filter some time to work. Water changes can help or hurt, depending on the situation. They add ammonia and trace elements that can fuel blooms, but they also can remove nutrients in the water column. I'd wait to see how the UV works on its own before doing much else.

04/23/2016, 12:18 PM	#1
blasterman789 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 365	Cloudy new tank, but why? Ok, this one has me stumped and grabbing for the Ouija board. Any ideas are welcome. I'm tearing down my 30gal frag tank that's been up for 6months and slowly splitting it off into SPS and softy / LPS frag tanks. It's also developed a leak because it's old and I need to replace it anyways. In any case, I bought 5gal generic glass tank, washed it out, and xferred a 5" birds nest and rapidly growing german blue digi frag over to it with a couple of rocks. No base. Existing tank has really good water params, no nuisances or shens going on, a bit of nitrate to keep zoas happy...just enough to trip my API kit...maybe 5ppm. Over a period of the next few days I change out 100% of the water (Instant Ocean) just so I know I'm running as close to 0 nutrients as possible and can work from there. Because the tank is so small I used distilled water because the local store sells it in 2.5gal jugs for cheap (my R/O rig needs to be replaced, and that's on the list). Both frags are happy. I can now focus on replacing the 30. This was a month ago. After a couple of weeks I get a diatom sludge in the new tank...WTH? Then, a few days ago I get an algae / bacteria bloom and the tank looks like somebody poured 1/4 cup of milk in it. WTH^2 . Water params are spot on....zero everything as expected. I've started up enough new fresh and salt water tanks to be aware of cloudy water syndrome in new tanks, but why? Where did the nutrients come from? Some years ago a LFS owner older than dirt but otherwise pretty smart told me the source of these new tank blooms was caused by residual silica on new glass aquariums, which is why he washed his with mild acid first. Always thought this was the result of that bottle of Johnny Walker he had in back, and not science. Now I think he's right (??)

04/23/2016, 02:11 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Glass won't leach any interesting amount of silicate, but fresh saltwater will have some. It'll also have some ammonia. The bloom likely will go away on its own, but a diatom or UV filter would speed the process. I'd stop any feeding or dosing of organically. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

04/26/2017, 07:41 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	*To Reef Central* A UV sterilizer might help. So might a diatom filter, if you happen to have one. Personally, I'd give the UV filter some time to work. Water changes can help or hurt, depending on the situation. They add ammonia and trace elements that can fuel blooms, but they also can remove nutrients in the water column. I'd wait to see how the UV works on its own before doing much else. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

04/23/2016, 02:52 PM	#3
blasterman789 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 365	Yeah...that's the only thing I can think of. Fresh salt mix contains trace amount of ammonia due to production. Often undetectable, but it's there. With no competition the bloom and diatoms had their way with what little nutrients were there.

04/26/2017, 06:53 PM	#4
feg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Florida 305 Posts: 4	Hello, My name is Fernando and I am new in here..and to this hobby as well. I just set up my IM Fusion 40 galon tank on April 9th with 16 lbs of live sand and aprox. 30 lbs of base rock but some were once live rock and regular salt water from local pshop, but after the normal white cloud due to the sand set up, the tank clear up nicely but three days later hell broke loose and the tanks looks like i'd pour a galon or so of milk...I don't have any fish and neither any food..I took the water to be tested and everything is fine..Since I don't have much experience, I have lost count of how many times I had done water changes and al kind of filters pads etc,etc..I had in mind to take everything down, take out the sand and start all over again or put every thing in my garage and forget about this for a while...but I find this forum and realized that this new tank syndrome is comon... I just order a uv sterilizer and reading from some of you, hopefully will help me get to the next level..any advise will be more than welcome..I want to give myself few more days and see what happens but it hearts every time I look at the tank and see no improvement.. apreciate any comments Thanks