1 year in but water still cloudy

[emonemo25]

My system is a 1000L FOWLR tank which has been running for almost a year. Ever since the tank has been running it seems to always have a slight cloud to the water. It’s not very noticeable when looking at it from the front, however side on makes it quite apparent. It can be hard to see one end of the tank to the other when looking through the tank. The tank is 10ft long but I don’t think that’s the issue.

Temp: 26.7
Salinity: 34.9
Ammonia: <0.05
Nitrite: <0.01
Nitrate: 20-25
Oxygen: 6
KH: 11
Calcium: 520
Magnesium: 1760
Phosphate: 1.8
Silica: <0.1
PH: 8

Does any one have an ideas where I’m going wrong ? I know phosphates are high but I wouldn’t expect them to cloud like that and they are coming down with no improvement to the water. I’ve also got a very strong UV running 24/7 so don’t think bacterial bloom.

 

[emonemo25]

I had this same problem but after a year or so it went away on its own. I never changed anything. I suspect it was some kind of bacterial bloom. You can try a uv sterilizer but they can be bad for your good bacteria.

Really ? It just went away ? What do you think happened ?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for all the great info and detail ! Always appreciate it from someone who knows their stuff. I’ll start looking into what you have said and order some stuff.

I’m not sure about the ammonia spike because I’ve not seen signs of a spike. Touch wood, everything is good. I do have some inverts in the tank and I’d expect them to show some signs. I couldn’t tell you for sure, I’ve just not seen anything to suggest it.

Spike may have been a trigger but as mentioned, often undetectable

 

[0MNSH1ZLLC]

I'm in a similar situation (almost a year) with a smaller tank (230g) and heavy load.

I added the largest media reactor at the LFS and it's made some difference. I also run 2x UVs. The media reactor was only $200 with the biopellets.

I've turned off my MP40s to decrease the debris that the fish are constantly kicking up and it certainly helps.

I've also stopped dosing NoPox which seems to help. The NoPox really effected the skimmer, and I was constantly tuning it to deal with the slight haze, but you can't always run wet.

 

[emonemo25]

I'm in a similar situation (almost a year) with a smaller tank (230g) and heavy load.

I added the largest media reactor at the LFS and it's made some difference. I also run 2x UVs. The media reactor was only $200 with the biopellets.

I've turned off my MP40s to decrease the debris that the fish are constantly kicking up and it certainly helps.

I've also stopped dosing NoPox which seems to help. The NoPox really effected the skimmer, and I was constantly tuning it to deal with the slight haze, but you can't always run wet.

What’s the wattage of your UVs ?

I don’t think it’s debris in my tank. My substrate is fairly big. Don’t get me wrong there’s obviously smaller partials but I just can’t see it being the cause.

I don’t dose anything like the NoPox, I’ve heard mixed things about it, that it does work but like you said drives the skimmer crazy ! There’s a product by Blue life or Blue vet that is great for phosphate but it’s an irritant to tangs. I’d love to use it because people say it’s a miracle cure but I don’t want to take the risk at the sake of my tangs.

Let me know how you get on!

 

[Garf]

I’d make a salinity recalibration;

 

[ILikeFish!]

Really ? It just went away ? What do you think happened ?

All my fish died from a disease randomly and i think because there was no bio load it went away but i think I rember it starting to go away on its own before that. I actually just bought a uv sterilizer to fix it before the all died but I thought I better not mess with the beneficial bacteria. Also my tank was also around a year old at the time so it my have just been too new like yours so the tank just needed more time to age.

 

[emonemo25]

I’d make a salinity recalibration;

I take your point but I can only read the numbers in front of me. The Amazon reader is saying 35.1 and the Hannah is saying 34.9, it was calibrated two weeks ago. I’m more inclined to consider the Kh, Ca and Mg has been tested wrong. It’s a good test kit but it’s easy to miss count a drop or get a slightly off reading. My Hannah testers are always bang on.

 

[emonemo25]

All my fish died from a disease randomly and i think because there was no bio load it went away but i think I rember it starting to go away on its own before that. I actually just bought a uv sterilizer to fix it before the all died but I thought I better not mess with the beneficial bacteria. Also my tank was also around a year old at the time so it my have just been too new like yours so the tank just needed more time to age.

Sorry to hear about your fish you have me worrying about mine now ! I don’t think there’s any disease in the water. Everyone is swimming nicely, no scratching or breathing up at the top of the tank. Apatites are great, would eat all day if I let them. I’m hoping it’s just a case of getting phosphate down and then letting the tank sort itself

 

[0MNSH1ZLLC]

What’s the wattage of your UVs ?

I don’t think it’s debris in my tank. My substrate is fairly big. Don’t get me wrong there’s obviously smaller partials but I just can’t see it being the cause.

I don’t dose anything like the NoPox, I’ve heard mixed things about it, that it does work but like you said drives the skimmer crazy ! There’s a product by Blue life or Blue vet that is great for phosphate but it’s an irritant to tangs. I’d love to use it because people say it’s a miracle cure but I don’t want to take the risk at the sake of my tangs.

Let me know how you get on!

15w and a 24w not sure it effected the clarity but I don't have any more of a green hair algae issue. The big Sohal also helps hah but I have virtually no CUC.

I also have large crushed coral but the triggers and wrasses are always kicking up dust.

I've never had an issue with the NoPox irritating the tang (not that I noticed) but I still think it's more of a headache than anything. Even when dosing small amounts daily.

The reactor took up the last bit of real estate in my sump but I think it's worth it. I was even considering adding another skimmer before researching the reactors.

 

[PeterEde]

You said 2x canister filters.
It it possible that one filter is pumping bacteria.
I'd try cleaning both at the same time.
Basically cannisters are bacteria farms

 

[ILikeFish!]

Sorry to hear about your fish you have me worrying about mine now ! I don’t think there’s any disease in the water. Everyone is swimming nicely, no scratching or breathing up at the top of the tank. Apatites are great, would eat all day if I let them. I’m hoping it’s just a case of getting phosphate down and then letting the tank sort itself

Dont worry the cloudy water had nothing to do with the disease, i put a sick coral beauty in there and whatever it had killed everything. if your phosphates are high then it’s for sure that because i started bringing my phosphates down and that seemed to help the cloudiness.

 

[Roatan Reef]

Run:

Chemi Pure Elite
Seachem Matrix Carbon
Poly Filter Pads
Filter Floss
And possibly a bio ball bag or mix in one of your Cannister Filters.

Add more Nitrifying Bacteria, like Dr. Tim's etc, do water Changes.

You simply can not run a basic Cannister Filter setup without the the things I mentioned above.

 

[Roatan Reef]

You said 2x canister filters.
It it possible that one filter is pumping bacteria.
I'd try cleaning both at the same time.
Basically cannisters are bacteria farms

Posts like this is why people like you @PeterEde jump in to Pour Haterade on Cannister Filters. OP is using basic crap for a Freshwater Tank in his Cannister Filter for saltwater.

If he does as I said, he will be Gucci!
Back up Terry@@

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

Cal & mag high.alk 11 in a fowlr is

My system is a 1000L FOWLR tank which has been running for almost a year. Ever since the tank has been running it seems to always have a slight cloud to the water. It’s not very noticeable when looking at it from the front, however side on makes it quite apparent. It can be hard to see one end of the tank to the other when looking through the tank. The tank is 10ft long but I don’t think that’s the issue.

Temp: 26.7
Salinity: 34.9
Ammonia: <0.05
Nitrite: <0.01
Nitrate: 20-25
Oxygen: 6
KH: 11
Calcium: 520
Magnesium: 1760
Phosphate: 1.8
Silica: <0.1
PH: 8

Does any one have an ideas where I’m going wrong ? I know phosphates are high but I wouldn’t expect them to cloud like that and they are coming down with no improvement to the water. I’ve also got a very strong UV running 24/7 so don’t think bacterial bloom.

Calcium, mag & KH are all very high.what made you run a fowlr at such high alk just out of interest?

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

What’s the wattage of your UVs ?

I don’t think it’s debris in my tank. My substrate is fairly big. Don’t get me wrong there’s obviously smaller partials but I just can’t see it being the cause.

I don’t dose anything like the NoPox, I’ve heard mixed things about it, that it does work but like you said drives the skimmer crazy ! There’s a product by Blue life or Blue vet that is great for phosphate but it’s an irritant to tangs. I’d love to use it because people say it’s a miracle cure but I don’t want to take the risk at the sake of my tangs.

Let me know how you get on!

Nopox certainly works on nitrate in time with tweaking.neglible affect on phos.it does drive skimmer mad though & wet skimming constantly is a pain.ive dialled down my dosing now

 

[Kyan]

You can also try water clarifier like seachem clarity. it will help IF the cloudiness is particulate related problem.

 

[Nano_Man]

Poly filter pads are good but not cheap but it might help clear it . Imo your water becomes crystal clear after using it . There’s plenty of well experienced reefers above my post so you should get it sorted . Also you don’t need much sand getting disturbed for haze in your tank what I had to do was gravel clean all my sand when doing a water change it was like milk when siphoned out just my experience

 

[Icryhard]

It’s hard to get a pic to show it. My phone isn’t great with the reef lights

I’ve tried carbon, I’ve got Seachem matrix carbon in at the moment.

I use phosguard, purigen and JBL Bio nitrate X. Carbon on and off but I’ve never actually seen it make a difference.

I’ve increased surface movement. No help.

My female Maroon clown does swat the sand with her tail before she lays but I don’t think it’s enough to cloud the whole tank like that

Do you use floss as filtration material? Basically you want to go from rough, to less rough, even less rough, floss (to rather take out small debries particles and not really fish poop) Don't be cheap with the floss either. Put in a good amount. That solved my cloudy water.

 

[0MNSH1ZLLC]

Poly filter pads are good but not cheap but it might help clear it . Imo your water becomes crystal clear after using it . There’s plenty of well experienced reefers above my post so you should get it sorted . Also you don’t need much sand getting disturbed for haze in your tank what I had to do was gravel clean all my sand when doing a water change it was like milk when siphoned out just my experience

Where do you place the pads in the sump...? I'm running out of room

 

[nothing_fancy]

Amazing thanks! Yeah you could be right with the instant ocean. I’ve heard that’s low calcium. I don’t know if I would be better getting the phosphate down and then getting some coral in to start using up all these excess minerals, or is it too high that the coral will sulk anyway ?

I would wait on coral until you have some balance and stability. A few frags or small colonies are not* going to make a dent in that for a while. I would do a few water changes with regular instant ocean. My thought is that you might have some element build up elsewhere, an ATI Test sent out would be revealing. Basically you have no uptake for all the stuff thats being added every time you do a water change with your current salt mix. The fish probably don't care so much about this. Id do a few 10-20% changes and give it a month being conservative, again fish shouldn't care much so long as salinity and temp is well matched.