Cloudy water in Cadlight mini 8g

JJ650 · 03/13/2014, 03:35 PM

Not sure what is going on with my tank. I did my weekly testing last night on everything.

0 Ammonia
0 phos
0 Nitrite
15ppm nitrate
Calc. 450ppm
PH 7.8
SG 1.023-4

Nothing out of the ordinary, but I have been chasing nitrate for a little bit. The water was clear and nothing out of the ordinary.

This morning, I turned on the light and the water is still clear. I left for some customer meetings @ 9AM
I get home @ 2pm and the water is very cloudy. Do some quick testing and I get:

0 Ammonia
0 phos
0 Nitrite
0 nitrate
Calc. 450ppm
PH 7.6
SG 1.023-4

Everything in the tank is fine. I expected something had died and seriously polluted the water, but nothing has expired.
I have a banded rock anemone, a galaxea colony, Xenia and zoas (7 heads), unknown number of porcelain crabs, and crabs/snails for a CUC.

I did notice my skimmer is absolutely disgusting right now and it's normally something I don't have to bother with. Right now, it's chock full of garbage and brown water. The pump is operating (canister with chemi-pure/carbon) and water is circulating.
Aslo, the PH is down from last night.
Any ideas? Bacteria bloom maybe? If so...that was REALLY fast and would that bloom absorb that nitrate so fast?

JJ650 · 03/13/2014, 09:34 PM

No ideas? Do I need to post elsewhere?

TankStudy · 03/14/2014, 08:17 AM

It could be a bacterial bloom like you mentioned. I'm not sure on the absorption of nitrate though.

Generally, I hook up a UV sterilizer and it deals with bacterial blooms pretty well. The water clears out pretty quickly.

hersheyb · 03/15/2014, 12:03 PM

uv and carbon should clear it right up

JJ650 · 03/15/2014, 01:30 PM

Hey all,

The problem went away after a day or so. Everything is fine and the chemistry looks good.

Ammonia 0
nitrite/nitrate 0
Phosphate 0

The skimmer is still pulling a lot out and I am fine with that. The more the merrier. I think it was a bacterial bloom and so does the LFS.

I took a sample of water and they ran more test. The verified what I found and checked everything else. They said the water was fine, chemistry wise. I told them the skimmer was pulling out a lot and I have noticed stringy slime on the rock. They said most likely a bacterial bloom and most likely the reason for the nitrate decline.

So, I just let the bloom settle itself and it's now crystal clear. Everything back to normal I guess.

hersheyb · 03/15/2014, 06:04 PM

That's always good to hear!

03/13/2014, 03:35 PM	#1
JJ650 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Fort Mill, SC Posts: 242	Cloudy water in Cadlight mini 8g Not sure what is going on with my tank. I did my weekly testing last night on everything. 0 Ammonia 0 phos 0 Nitrite 15ppm nitrate Calc. 450ppm PH 7.8 SG 1.023-4 Nothing out of the ordinary, but I have been chasing nitrate for a little bit. The water was clear and nothing out of the ordinary. This morning, I turned on the light and the water is still clear. I left for some customer meetings @ 9AM I get home @ 2pm and the water is very cloudy. Do some quick testing and I get: 0 Ammonia 0 phos 0 Nitrite 0 nitrate Calc. 450ppm PH 7.6 SG 1.023-4 Everything in the tank is fine. I expected something had died and seriously polluted the water, but nothing has expired. I have a banded rock anemone, a galaxea colony, Xenia and zoas (7 heads), unknown number of porcelain crabs, and crabs/snails for a CUC. I did notice my skimmer is absolutely disgusting right now and it's normally something I don't have to bother with. Right now, it's chock full of garbage and brown water. The pump is operating (canister with chemi-pure/carbon) and water is circulating. Aslo, the PH is down from last night. Any ideas? Bacteria bloom maybe? If so...that was REALLY fast and would that bloom absorb that nitrate so fast?

03/14/2014, 08:17 AM	#3
TankStudy Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 242	It could be a bacterial bloom like you mentioned. I'm not sure on the absorption of nitrate though. Generally, I hook up a UV sterilizer and it deals with bacterial blooms pretty well. The water clears out pretty quickly. __________________ Until there is sufficient evidence supporting your fish-craft, I don't agree with you.

03/13/2014, 09:34 PM	#2
JJ650 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Fort Mill, SC Posts: 242	No ideas? Do I need to post elsewhere?

03/15/2014, 12:03 PM	#4
hersheyb Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Covina Posts: 1,626	uv and carbon should clear it right up

03/15/2014, 01:30 PM	#5
JJ650 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Fort Mill, SC Posts: 242	Hey all, The problem went away after a day or so. Everything is fine and the chemistry looks good. Ammonia 0 nitrite/nitrate 0 Phosphate 0 The skimmer is still pulling a lot out and I am fine with that. The more the merrier. I think it was a bacterial bloom and so does the LFS. I took a sample of water and they ran more test. The verified what I found and checked everything else. They said the water was fine, chemistry wise. I told them the skimmer was pulling out a lot and I have noticed stringy slime on the rock. They said most likely a bacterial bloom and most likely the reason for the nitrate decline. So, I just let the bloom settle itself and it's now crystal clear. Everything back to normal I guess.

03/15/2014, 06:04 PM	#6
hersheyb Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Covina Posts: 1,626	That's always good to hear!