water cloudy for over three weeks

[outprowllin]

hi there. ivebounced this problem around the reef discussions forum but have not had any luck with a possable solution . maybe the people of this forum will have some info that may help. my tank has been cloudy for over three weeks now and in at a loss as to what may be causing this problem....here is some info about the tank and situation.....50 gallon reef over 4 years old...has been housed in this tank for a year now. i per form regular week ly water changes at a sum of 5% sometimes alittle more. all water used is ro water ,tested and known good. i use instant ocean salt as i have since the early 1970's. water parameters are as follows ammonia, nitrite, nitrate ...zero. alk 11.7....phoshate....0.01. calcium..between 420 and 440... ph has been low at 7.9 at the peak lighting period. i assume the ph is low due to a co2 level bouncing around from 2.6 to 3.4. co2 levals are high due to the cloudyness im sure. i run (2) 3 inch airstones in the sump and also one in the skimmer besides the venturi valve. there is plenty of surface water movment for additional gas exchange, yet co2 does not seem vent well at all. the system itself is simple. it is a 50 gallon tank with 70 - 75 lbs rock. a hang on the back overflow channels water down to a 15 gallon sump. which houses a red sea berlin classic powered by a rio 3100. water is returned to the tank by a little giant 4 mq somthing or other. the modle escapes me now. it pushes 1100 gph but is trottled back some. i have cleaned the pump, overflow,all hoses and skimmer. i have run carbon, chemipure, filter floss. and changed out nearly 60 gallons of water over the last month in an attempt to remove this cloudyness. no matter what i do the cloud returns. it is a light cloud but you can see it rolling around in the current. i feel it is a bacterial bloom but i figured it would subside by now. yet it just keeps on coming. im at a loss for an answer now as ive tried everything i know. i now call on the experts for help. if anyone has had a similer problem and has corrected it please write back and let me know what you have found.....oh by the way, lighting is provides by vho's and has been since day one....thank you for any futer input check out my web site for other possable info...or write to me and i wil answer any question .......jaime

[outprowllin]

and one other thing i forgot to mention, i hardly ever feed the tank. only every week or two for the fish and once a week for the corals. there are only three fish. a percula,whom has been in the tank for 4 years. a hippo tang that has been in there for about 6 months and a psuedocromis that has been in there for 2 years. no other fish . probably 30 hermits, 7-10 snails and about 30 pieces of coral, softies lps and sps. also a banded coral shrimp. all doing well but some are not happy about the cloud........jaime

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

i assume the ph is low due to a co2 level bouncing around from 2.6 to 3.4. co2 levals are high due to the cloudyness im sure.

Because of the pH, I don't doubt that the CO2 in the water is elevated (assuming that you have normal alkalinity), but measuring CO2 in seawater is mostly useless/inaccurate.

Here's an article on that topic:

http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/library/articleview2.asp?Section=&RecordNo=279

Can you see the cloudiness in a glass of water? If so, does it settle out? To the top or the bottom?

What do you add to the tank in the way of foods? Any vinegar? Any calcium complexed to organics?

[outprowllin]

hi there i just thought id throw out an update on the cloudy water. it was still cloudy as of 4:00 pm today (sunday). at that time i installed a 15 watt uv sterilizer. it is now three hours later and my tank is crystal clear!!!!!! looking from side to side there still is a very slight cloud but thats looking into it 36". i exspect that will be gone within the hour. i am very impressed with the effectiveness of this sterilizer. i have never had the need for one before but i will keep this baby handy now. i bought it from a frind for the pric3e of a 40 dollor piece of coral and i replaced the bulb before i hooked it up. am running it with a rio 2100 and was a little conserned that the flow would be to fast. i guess not concidering the uv did in 3 hours what i couldnt do in a month. and as stated before i had tried everything> well just an up date for the thread. thanx to all who gave thier replys. i may have not answered them all but, i did read them all and take all advice into concideration........Happy..Happy..Joy..Joy.......you have ( or at least i hope) you have no idea what steering at a cloudy tank for 4 weeks will do to your hobby moral. i was about to pack it in and just break down the tank clean everything and set it up in a bigger tank.......now i still am gonna do that with a bigger tank and all but ill do it the right way and plan it out.......thanks again.......jaime

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Well, that certainly makes it sound like a bacterial bloom. I'm glad it is gone. It may be worth your while to try to determine what caused it to prevent it from happening again.

Also, all those dead bacteria may well provide nutrients for an algae outbreak, so watch for that possibility.

[outprowllin]

Thanks for the advice both before and now Randy. as for finding out what caused it, i wouldnt know where to start. if i had figured out that i may have been able to control it before now. as for the dead bacteria in the tank i have 10 gallons of fresh salt water stablizing as we speak. i will change it tomorrow and add some carbon for a few days....funny my skimmer has been working double time since the water clouded up.. as soon as the cloud cleared up about 50% of what it was today the skimmer shut down and has not foamed since.........jaime

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Just watch for any unusual additions or organic materials, which is what drives bacteria growth normally. That could be anything from a liquid food additive, to a kids ice cream cone falling into the tank.:D