cloudy tank

[kev-dog1]

I was greeted tonight by a cloudy tank. Not drastically, but enough to notice.
Yesterday I did a regular water change - 10 gallons on a 55g tank. I do this twice a month. Water comes from Critter.
The only difference was yesterday I dosed with a different product. Seachem for calcium and alk. Also dosed with Kent Iodine.

I'd been out of Calcium and Alk dosing liquids for probably a month to six weeks, so I hadn't done this in a while. Usually I dose only once per week. Used to use B-Ionic, but lately had been using Kent products.

I'll be honest, I don't test my water (let the flames begin). I did test tonight for pH and Alk and calcium. pH - 8.2, alk - high, calcium 350.

Everything looks good, but should I be worried?

What actions should I take?

[wooglin]

I have heard that could indicate a bacterial bloom. I run carbon when my water gets less than perfectly clear.


Next time you go to the critter get 5 gallons of the water only without salt, and bring a sample to the next meeting. You will be shocked when we test it with the TDS meter. I used to get water from the critter, till I found out it was reading the same as my tap water on a TDS meter. Then I bought a RO/DI unit for 89.99 off ebay, and now I have 0-1 TDS water.

[fishdoc11]

Kev dor'
I have heard bad things about H2O from the critter from more than one person. In fact from people that have no conflicting interests. I never had any problems when I used their H2O a long time ago besides low SG (1.019). Anyway I have since switched to making my own and it is not only more convienant but you have more flexibility. Wooglin got his RO filter on Ebay ( the auction site ) for $90. I had a problem when I tried to switch to Seachem calcium suppliments from Kent tech about 1.5 yrs ago. All my corals shut up and the tank just looked bad for about a week, no cloudiness though. I think tanks get used to a ceartain routine and getting them off that routine can cause changes that are'nt too predictable. I would switch back to B-ionic. Also I would'nt add iodine at the same time you do H2O changes. You are allready adding some when you do a H2O change. I would stagger it. Unfortunately you changed ( performed more than 1 operation )more than 1 thing at the same time so it is difficult to figure out what specifically did it. I would be willing to bet it will clear up on it's own though.
good luck, Chris

[kev-dog1]

I've also read some pans about Critter water, but have to say that my tanks are certainly way better than when I mixed my own using Nashville tap water.

Unfortunately a RO/DI unit is not in my immediate future. "She who must be obeyed" really likes the tanks, but not all the stuff associated with it (buckets, etc.). And we are bursting at the seams of our house as it is.

Wooglin
What's TDS? And what are the consequences of a bacterial bloom? I have no carbon, nor an easy way to run it.

fishdoc11
Thanks for the advice about dosing and changing water at the same time. I'll change that habit.

And keep my fingers crossed that this'll work itself out.

[wooglin]

TDS stands for total dissolved solids. It is a measure of whats in your water. After going thru a functional ro/di it will be 0. You can put a RO/DI under the kitchen sink, and then all you are doing is filling the 5 or 7 gallon jug you allready tote from the critter. I fill it up late at night and put it in the garage after filling it with water, pour in 3 cups of salt, and let it run overnight. Then its ready for my water change. Very clean and no mess.

It takes about 2 - 3 months to pay for the ro/di depending on how big your tank is and how many water changes you do. I was doing 20 gallons a month plus 10 of evap water. So that was 25 a month.

[reewik]

I like this information. I am getting some brown diatoms. I guess I really need to get an RO/DI unit.

Woogin thanks for the location tip. That will make the spose happy unlike the cost of it... No really she likes that tanks too.

[wooglin]

My RO/DI was 89.99 plus shipping.

[kevlouie]

I did the same thing, I got mine from USA filters or something like that, with shipping it was like 118 bucks. TDS stands for total dissolved solids, and it is not a specific measurement of what it is thats in your water, just that dissolved stuff is in your water. TSS would be total suspended solids, a good comparison is salt and sugar. Salt dissolves in water, sugar becomes suspended. Mud/sand/silt would also be something that gets suspended, and settles out quickly, while once something is dissolved, it has to be filtered out, such as salt, phosphate, nitrate, heavy metals, etc. Sorry I am a little long winded sometimes. Bottom line is TDS doesn't tell WHAT is in the water, just that something is in it.

[Sir Knight]

Just wanted to make one suggestion. When you get an RO/DI unit get the biggest one you can afford 50, 100, 200 GPD. If you can afford a 200 GPD system I would go for it and here is the reason. The ro part of the RO/DI is where you produce waste water. You will waste more water in a smaller system then in a larger one. If it takes 24 hours to produce 50 of water you are still wasting 24 hours of water to produce 50. If you get the 100 GPD systems you will waste the same amount of water as you did in the smaller systems and the 200 GPD system same thing. The waste water doesn't increase with the bigger unit just the product water.
Less time, less waste. If you don't want any waste water you can go with a DI system ( No RO membrane). It just will require more replacing of the DI resin. But with the volumes you are producing it should last a pretty long time.

I to in the bringing got my water from a LFS. It will cost you more in the long run buying, you are not getting the salt levels you need and may or may not get the purity. If you buy just RO/DI water from a store you can test it before adding salt to see what the TDS are. If they are not 0 don't use it. With RO/DI water that has salt mixed in it all ready you can not test TDS because of the additives from the salt. There is just to much invested in this hobby for animals to take the chance.

Just something to keep in mind when buying. :beer:

[Sir Knight]

Just one more rule that I live by with any additives. If I don't test for it, I don't add it. You can cause more problems than the cost of a test kit.

The clouding problem was in my opinion from the buffer and or calcium you added. It should clear up in a few days. I had this problem when I added buffers and calcium at the same time to a fresh salt water batch but it did clear in two to three days.

[iReef]

Kev-dog1
I noticed you refered to your wife as "She who must be Obeyed." Does this mean you are a Rumpole of the Baily fan?

Hope you tank is cleared up. It frustrating when something goes wrong and you can't figure out what caused it.
Sylvia (iReef)

[doublee8]

To tag along with this thread, will just the Reverse Osmosis system do you any good or do you need the RO/DI? Looking and finding RO systems for 50 and RO/DI for 100.

[Sir Knight]

With just an RO system you will not get a TDS reading of 0, so you will still have impurities in the water. The TDS reading will be 5 - 15. Is it better then just tap water at say 175 TDS yes. Is it perfect for reef tank NO. Go with an RO/DI system or a DI system you want and really need 0 TDS to prevent problems like algae blooms, etc. You really need to get water that has no TDS as a base.

Just my opinion:beer:

[kev-dog1]

iReef -
Not sure what "Rumpole of the Baily" is...
But I stole "She who must be obeyed" from a writer in a magazine I read regularly. He's Irish, I think.
I guess it's not too flattering, but it makes me laugh.
What's a Rumpole and who's Baily?

[iReef]

Kev-Dog,
It is a mini-series that use to come on PBS's Mystery. Rumople is an old British Lawyer and the Old Bailey is the Law office. He always referred to his wife as "She who must be obeyed". The writer who came up with this character is John Mortimer.
iReef

[fishdoc11]

Just another note. You can use your RO waste water to water your plants, particularly in the summer. I do this as much as I can as I feel guilty about wasting any water.
Chris

[aquaman67]

Ok, I'll chime in here too.

When I cut my toadstool this weekend I needed some rubble to attach the frags to. So I thought, what the hay, I might as well get some some water from you know where while I'm there. It will take a long time to make enough water and I wanted a lot on hand to do a massive water change if I needed to. I had to cut the toad in the tank and had idea what or how much was going to come out of it.

Well guess what,

I looked at my tank this morning and thought, what's that brown crud on my sand???

I've got diatoms on my sand bed!!!

I haven't had diatoms since my tank cycled!

I'm not buying water again...oh yeah, the SG was 1.021, still a little low for my taste.

[kev-dog1]

Just wanted to report that the cloudiness has cleared up and the tank looks great now. Must've been as Joe Wall suggested, something to do with the buffer or calcium added.
iReef -
must be the british humor, the writer I referred to is David Fleherty, who writes and broadcasts for golf. He's either british or irish.
I wonder who coined the phrase. She who must be obeyed...I think it's hilarious.

[A. Critter Killer]

Just want to throw something else out...I tested my tap yesterday... 105 p.p.m. t.d.s. ----Sean

[fishdoc11]

LOL!