water not crystal clear...why?

30reef · #1 06/02/2007, 07:06 PM

I have a 30 cube, 10 g sump/fuge w/chaeto and 3" sand bed, skimmer is Euroreef cs-80, Phoenix 14K250w, chiller, BB, mostly SPS frags and a couple small fish. I use RODI w/ TDS at 0 dosing w/Litermeter. I feed once daily w/frozen foods. My tanks water is never really clear. It looks as though a couple of tablespoons of milk have been added. My params are:
1.025
ph 8.0
alk 4.0
cal 425
mag 1300
nitrate 0
phosphate reads 0 w/salifert and I use GFO
temp is 80-82
Tank is 6 months old.
I cannot get the water to clear up. Have any suggestions?

Also, all of my frags with the exception of a few have browned out and since feeding more, have began to show some signs of recovery now, how long does it take to get the speedy growth seen here on RC so often?

And the last thing, how long does it take to show signs of corallin algae growth? I have none.

reefman77 · #2 06/02/2007, 07:15 PM

how long has the tank been setup?

if it is a new tank, you probably have alot of micro bubbles. put a 100 micron filter sock on the tube that runs in to your sump. that should help.

in my tank, coraline algae didnt show up for a mounth or two. now it dosent stop growing

chrisaggie · #3 06/02/2007, 07:25 PM

I second the 100 micron filter sock idea. Try a couple water changes and see what happens.

30reef · #4 06/02/2007, 08:03 PM

The tank is 6 months old. This problem is not microbubbles.
Could this be some sort of bacterial bloom that keeps reoccuring?
I have used a filter sock on occasion and it does nothing.

chrisaggie · #5 06/02/2007, 08:57 PM

What is your water change schedule?

30reef · #6 06/02/2007, 09:42 PM

I change 4-5 gallons every 2 weeks using IO/Oceanic mixed 50%.

chrisaggie · #7 06/02/2007, 09:53 PM

Are you using tep water, RO, or DI?

mile sq. reefer · #8 06/02/2007, 11:24 PM

What are you using for flow (PH, CL), and do you run carbon, or chemi pure?

carib · #9 06/03/2007, 12:11 AM

when you makeup your new saltwater for a water change,is it cristal clear? If its cloudy w/impurities you might have a bad salt.

30reef · #10 06/03/2007, 03:26 AM

I use RODI and the TDS reads 0.
For flow, I have a QO 2200 as the return and a Seio 1500 internally. I also flow water through carbon in the sump, along some GFO. I thought I might have some bad salt so I discarded the bag I was using and bought some more, this time, I am mixing IO and Oceanic to eliminate having to add so much Mag to the mix. I usually let the fresh saltwater mix for a day or so before use. This slight cloudiness has been a problem for several months now. It's really irritating.

jacob30 · #11 06/03/2007, 05:31 AM

It could be bactrial bloom. If it is ozone or UV to get rid of it.

Also make sure you thouroughly rinse all frozen food before you feed. The juices are like a power shake for bacteria and algae to grow.

Jacob

dukes707 · #12 06/03/2007, 06:12 AM

have you tried cleaning your glass really well. might not be your problem, but i know my tank gets to looking cloudy if the glass is dirty. just a thought...

wentreefgirl · #13 06/03/2007, 06:52 AM

Is your alk in meq or the norm. Also the mag needs to be up more and I would go with the filter sock. I use them. They work wonders. I have 2. When one needs cleaning the other is ready to go.

reefsahoy · #14 06/03/2007, 07:41 AM

do you have some sort of sand shifting fish, invert? it might be stirring the sand constantly and if the sand is very fine it can cause this. as far as micro bubbles i had this problem too and it was very difficult to determine the microbubbles. they are extremely fine, almost invisible, and they would fire out of the return intermittently. i fixed the problem by restricting the output of the return pump and after days it cleared up. after replumbing several times without luck, i will now replace the pump cause i believe there's probably is a defect in the origional pump.

plyle02 · #15 06/03/2007, 08:16 AM

I am personally not a big fan of filter socks, I just don't like the extra maintenance involved. However, this much I can say. Since using one on my return lines, I have noticed a remarkable difference in water clarity. If you are not using one, I would give it a try.

wentreefgirl · #16 06/03/2007, 09:10 AM

Never thought of the filter sock to go on the return. I have mine on the exhaust. Cool.

Marko9 · #17 06/03/2007, 09:58 AM

You mentioned cloudy water during the water change. I might not of read this correctly, but IMO Oceanic salt is garbage. I tried it for a month and threw the rest away. I switched salts (RC) and my tank was happier.

30reef · #18 06/03/2007, 01:17 PM

Thanks for all of the responses.

J. Montgomery · #19 06/03/2007, 02:18 PM

I'm going to throw another shout out for activated carbon.

Serioussnaps · #20 06/03/2007, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by J. Montgomery
I'm going to throw another shout out for activated carbon.

Yeah, a good bit in a reactor.

30reef · #21 06/10/2007, 02:36 AM

Could a bacteria bloom last for weeks and months? I feed as I always have fed my fish and have never seen this before. I cannot easily run a filter sock due to the configuration of the sump/fuge. The water is dumped into a 4"x4" bubble trap through a 1" hose in the corner of the fuge. It would disrupt things to put a sock in the fuge. Or is the better clarity worth the loss of fuge space? Will a filter sock remove bacterial matter from the water? This is an SPS only tank, will a filter sock remove too much of the plankton organisms from the water?

For the last week, I have had the foam filter on the standpipe in the outside portion of my Lifereef overflow. All this has done is collect large junk. Maybe the foam isn't fine enough for whatever is clouding my water?

The local reef shop recommended a small UV inline back to the tank. Will this cause a lack of plankton food for the SPS? What size of UV would be needed? I have about 40 gallon in total. The return pump is a QO2200, I estimate the flow from the pump through the chiller and 3 feet back to the tank to be roughly 200-250 GPH. I don't want to slow this down much more.

Bri Guy · #22 06/10/2007, 12:38 PM

I 2nd trying a differant salt first. Ive never tryed oceanic, but ive heard that the levels of mag are through the roof. And just not a good salt mix.

CeeGee · #23 06/10/2007, 12:42 PM

That foam filter is going to cause you more problems if it isn't kept squeaky clean.

The UV would be a good idea if your intended outcome is to put more money in your LFS pocket. LFS rarely recommend anything that doesn't involve selling a pricey piece of equipment.

I would go for the filter sock. I run them and my tank water is much clearer than before. I change them out very frequently though as they will have the same effect as that foam filter if you get lazy and don't change them.

also watch how much you feed the fish. Don't give them more than they can eat in a couple of minutes with NONE left over. Also are you feeding flake and pellets? They are loaded with phosphate from what I understand. I even rinse my frozen food in RO/DI water prior to feeding.

deep6er · #24 06/10/2007, 01:20 PM

Just a thought 30reef. But how do you add your Limewater? I know with my Kalk reactor, If the tank is toped up while the reactor is mixxing the tank water has goten a bit cloudy.

30reef · #25 06/10/2007, 03:03 PM

I don't use kalk. I just top off ro/di using a LitermeterIII. At this point, I am keeping alk and calcium up with Seachem supplements. (powdered) I have a Korallin calcium reactor but I do not use it yet due to the lack of calcium demand. When the corals get bigger and as I stock the tank more, I will put the reactor to use. I tried using it a few months ago, but it drove the alk way too high. I coudn't tune the bubble count down enough to slow it down. About 8 bubbles a min /30 drips a min is the slowest it will reliably run and that was way too much. I might be able to control it better by using a ph controller on the effluent to turn c02 on/off as needed.