Still have cloudy water

[Mikef1]

Its been about 2 weeks since my ammonia spiked for no apparent reason. I have done several 30 gallon water changes and ran bags of carbon. The tank water finally clearing up and was actually completely back to normal yesterday. Well today it is coudy again and I cant figure out why. There is no ammonia showing yet and I am going to do another water change tonight. So far I have down 3 30 gal changes and this will be the fourth. Cant seem to understand what is going on. Any ideas?

 

[ChrisRD]

Any chance you've had some sort of pH or temp swings, or maybe something is spawning?

 

[Mikef1]

I know I dont have any ph or temp swings but I guess it is possible that something is spawning. Not sure what it would be though. I just did another 30 gal water change. I havnt noticed anything spawning that I know of.

 

[Mikef1]

So I did my water change and it cleared up a little but today it is milky and cloudy. I am making another 30 gal of water right now to attempt another water change. I just dont understand why this is happening. Ive never seen something like this before.

 

[trido]

Could it possibly that something is stirring your sand bed if you have one? Do you run carbon 24/7?

 

[Mikef1]

No nothing is stiring my sand bed up and I dont run carbon 24/7. I only run it after water changes.

 

[ChrisRD]

Have you switched salts lately or started a new bag/bucket?

 

[Mikef1]

No, I havnt switched salts and the water was cloudy before I started my new bucket. Last night I did a 30 gallon water change and added a bag of carbon. It seemed to be clearing up but once the lights came on it seemed to get cloudy quick. Could this be some sort of bacterial infection that needs an additive to get rid of. Im really stumped on this one because normally there isnt anything large water changes cant fix. Something is seriously wrong here.

 

[trido]

It seemed to be clearing up but once the lights came on it seemed to get cloudy quick.

Could be some "Gulf " algea bloom fueled by the lights. Honestly, Im at a loss. I hope matters dont go from strange to bad for you.

 

[Mikef1]

Trido, me too!! I have tried everything and in all my years of reefing have never seen a cloudy water problem like this. I am going to stop the water changes because they apparently haven’t done anything to help. I am hoping that it decreases with time. Thanks

 

[Mikef1]

If anyone has any ideas please feel free to throw in your 2 cents. Thanks

 

[Mikef1]

So I tested for ammonia again and now there is a little showing between 0 and .25ppm. I preparing for another water change.

 

[ChrisRD]

Any livestock missing? Sounds like something died.

If it's bacterial, a UV might help.

Weird...

 

[Mikef1]

The only thing that died was a turbo snail which was quickly eaten by my crew of hermits. I wouldnt think that would cause a problem.

 

[ChrisRD]

I agree - it shouldn't.

Actually, assuming the skimmer is working well and considering the amount of water changes you're doing, it's incredible that you have any ammonia readings at all right now (unless it's coming from the freshly mixed saltwater)...

Provided your source water and new saltwater are testing OK, I think you're on the right track (carbon, water changes, etc.)

 

[Mikef1]

After the water change I did it started clearing up and today it was actually almost back to normal until about 4 hours of lighting. After the lights come on the tank slowly gets cloudy and milky. I just cant seem to stop this problem. I have done close to 6 30 gallon water chnges on a 90 gal tank within the last month. Does anyone no of any bacterial blooms like this and if there is an additive that can stop this problem? Thanks