Cloudy Marine Aquarium
Alan
before.
About 4 weeks ago I began setting up a 46 gallon marine aquarium, and for
the past couple of weeks the water has been quite cloudy. The water has a
green color to it and in the past couple of days there is a buildup of brown
algae (?) on the glass. We have a Fluval 404 filter, and a powerhead with
filter, but the cloudiness persists. I checked with the shop where we buy
our supplies from, and while a few people there have heard of green cloudy
water, none have actually seen this condition before.
The water tests fine, and the fish in the aquarium seem to be healthy
enough. But, that cloudy water is unsightly to say the least.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Alan Passmore
JuanMa
news:z3Nia.365657$na.28...@news2.calgary.shaw.ca:
Greetings.
What kinds of fish and how many do you have?
What else besides the fish do you have in your tank? invertebrates, live
rock, corals?
What do you have for media in your fluval?
The brown algae is normal in a new aquarium. Are you using carbon? a
skimmer?
Have you cleaned the glass on the inside and outside?
--
Take Care.
JuanMa
jua...@NOSPAMtechie.com
Please remove NOSPAM to reply.
Alan
"JuanMa" <pls.se...@my.sig> wrote in message
news:sKOia.29223$G6.1...@fe01.atl2.webusenet.com...
> "Alan" <zonker...@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:z3Nia.365657$na.28...@news2.calgary.shaw.ca:
>
> > I'm new to this newsgroup so apologize if this topic has been discussed
> > before.
> >
> > About 4 weeks ago I began setting up a 46 gallon marine aquarium, and
> > for the past couple of weeks the water has been quite cloudy. The water
> > has a green color to it and in the past couple of days there is a
> > buildup of brown algae (?) on the glass. We have a Fluval 404 filter,
> > and a powerhead with filter, but the cloudiness persists. I checked
> > with the shop where we buy our supplies from, and while a few people
> > there have heard of green cloudy water, none have actually seen this
> > condition before.
> >
> > The water tests fine, and the fish in the aquarium seem to be healthy
> > enough. But, that cloudy water is unsightly to say the least.
> >
> > Any suggestions?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Alan Passmore
> >
> >
> >
>
> Greetings.
>
> What kinds of fish and how many do you have?
Juvenile Picasso Trigger
Juvenile Pyramid Butterfly
Juvenile Yellow-headed sleeper goby
> What else besides the fish do you have in your tank? invertebrates, live
> rock, corals?
Purple Pipe Organ (approx. 3" in diameter)
Red Open Brain (aprrox. 4" in diameter)
2 Turban Snails
2 Scarlet-legged hermit crabs(may have been eaten by trigger)
approx. 60lbs of live rock
approx. 60lbs of crushed coral for the substrate(I can't seem to get my
hands on any oragonite)
> What do you have for media in your fluval?
Biomax
Polywool
Carbon
Sponges
eheim biological filter
> The brown algae is normal in a new aquarium. Are you using carbon? a
> skimmer?
I am not using a skimmer. I have not found a suitable skimmer for this
situation, there also isn't much protein build-up in the water, or on the
surface. Water is testing 0.1 for Ammonia, 0 for Nitrate, 0 for Nitrite, and
0 for Phosphates, pH of 8.1, and carbonate hardness of 180 mg/L. And of
course I have carbon in both of my fluvals(203 and 404).
> Have you cleaned the glass on the inside and outside?
Yes, twice, my son works in an aquarium department, and he say there is no
more algae build-up than he normally sees. He has also asked around and
found only two people who have heard of a green-algae clouded marine tank.
He tests our water every 4-5 days.
Richard Reynolds
* limit light
*limit nutrients
*total removal by means of diatom fiilter or small # micron filters like 1,2,5 but no
more.
*uv steralizers will do it but are usually slow and never really get the job done, however
if used in combination with another removal method bonus. see if you can rent or borrow
one, as they are overpriced for there real useability
*purchase of fine filter feeding orginisms like feather dusters and be happy:)
*change of food fead to liveitems
*limiting the amount of food fead to live items
> > > I'm new to this newsgroup so apologize if this topic has been discussed
> > > before.
FYI groups.google.com will allow you to search this and other rec.aquaria groups
> > > About 4 weeks ago I began setting up a 46 gallon marine aquarium, and
> > > for the past couple of weeks the water has been quite cloudy. The water
> > > has a green color to it and in the past couple of days there is a
> > > buildup of brown algae (?) on the glass. We have a Fluval 404 filter,
> > > and a powerhead with filter, but the cloudiness persists. I checked
> > > with the shop where we buy our supplies from, and while a few people
> > > there have heard of green cloudy water, none have actually seen this
> > > condition before.
none of the filters you have described will remove this, but others will . no one at a
fish shop has seen green water, damn. the brown algae is normal pat yourself on the back
> > > The water tests fine, and the fish in the aquarium seem to be healthy
> > > enough. But, that cloudy water is unsightly to say the least.
i really hate this statement even i make it every now and then, but everything tests fine
doesnt mean squat to me, my FO tank has had nitrates as high as 150 many times this is
fine, what are yours?? what about ammonia, nitrite?? ph other good to know numbers??
> > > Any suggestions?
keep reading ?
> >
> > What kinds of fish and how many do you have?
> Juvenile Scopas Tang
> Juvenile Picasso Trigger
> Juvenile Pyramid Butterfly
> Juvenile Yellow-headed sleeper goby
fun fun, the picasso is going to be a lot of fun
> > What else besides the fish do you have in your tank? invertebrates, live
> > rock, corals?
> Purple Pipe Organ (approx. 3" in diameter)
> Red Open Brain (aprrox. 4" in diameter)
nice to see picasso food, well not right away, and they may be just fine.
> 2 Turban Snails
more picasso food
> 2 Scarlet-legged hermit crabs(may have been eaten by trigger)
what a shock, but they shed there exoskeliton every now and then, so if you dont find them
alive, its harder to tell if they have become dinner, being a juv picasso ill say he is
doing fine on the food you feed.
> approx. 60lbs of live rock
> approx. 60lbs of crushed coral for the substrate(I can't seem to get my
> hands on any oragonite)
i cant picture 60lbs of crushed coral how thick is that bed ??? couple inches ?? if that
is the case, consider reducing it slowly as to not stop the continuing cycle of your tank.
silica based sand is better than crushed coral, and its not to late to switch over now.
> > What do you have for media in your fluval?
> Biomax
gotcha flip a coin there, you do have plenty of rock so its not needed, but gotcha anyways
> Polywool
huh??? whatsa that, is it bio filter or mechanical either way remove it.
> Carbon
consider removal of this too.
> Sponges
kinda the same here as it is for the biomax some use em some dont.
> eheim biological filter
i dont know what this is either ??? but i dont like it remove it anyways. you have LR let
it do your bio filtration its better at it than anything any company makes nature is
better its had billions of years to practice
> > The brown algae is normal in a new aquarium. Are you using carbon? a
> > skimmer?
> I am not using a skimmer. I have not found a suitable skimmer for this
> situation, there also isn't much protein build-up in the water, or on the
> surface.
how do you know there is little protein build up in the water, and as far as the surface
goes there had better not be any buildup, IMO even a crappy skimmer is better than none.
either give detales as to what you need from a skimmer or keep looking, if you can see
protein on the water top you have many problems including low water circulation, lack of
export methods, probibly over feeding, not enuf water changes the list goes on.
>Water is testing 0.1 for Ammonia, 0 for Nitrate, 0 for Nitrite, and
> 0 for Phosphates, pH of 8.1, and carbonate hardness of 180 mg/L.
sounds like the tank is somewhere mixed around in the cycle, before i do anything rash i
would wait 2 or 3 more weeks see if the ammonia has gone away, and if nitrite peaks, what
test kits are they using, are they those quick dip tests or do they have to add chemicals
to a vial?
> And of
> course I have carbon in both of my fluvals(203 and 404).
poor thing as carbon isnt going to help either significantly or perminently, i run carbon
in my culture containers where i intentionally grow the algae that is making your
tankwater green, or one of the ones that will do that.
> > Have you cleaned the glass on the inside and outside?
> Yes, twice, my son works in an aquarium department, and he say there is no
> more algae build-up than he normally sees. He has also asked around and
> found only two people who have heard of a green-algae clouded marine tank.
> He tests our water every 4-5 days.
a little often IMO for a 46 that is only 4 weeks old. consider testing more like 7-10
days. other items id like to know, what kind of lighting, how long is it on, what do you
feed, how often, how much, after a 10% waterchange how long does it take to grow back, how
thick is it, how green is the green water, is it green or is it kinda a yellowish green,
or brownish green, specific gravity of water. im sure there are more usefull tidbits but i
cant think of them now. plus i think thats enuf for now.
--
Richard Reynolds
Richard....@usa.net
JuanMa
news:mp9ja.628723$Yo4.47...@news1.calgary.shaw.ca:
How big are the Juvenile Scopas Tang, Juvenile Picasso Trigger, Juvenile
Pyramid Butterfly?
The tang and the trigger can be very messy.
What are you feeding the entire tank with?
I'm a little concerned of the ammonia and the Ph. Are you using any
additives?
How often are the water changes? Do you siphon the crushed coral? The CC
tends to acummulate too much waste and needs to be siphoned with a gravel
vacumm. If you can't find aragonite at your LFS, most people buy southdown
sand at Home Depot.
How often the media in the filters is cleaned/replaced?
Since you have LR, you should eliminate the polywool, the sponges and the
eheim biological filter, they can become a nitrate factory if not cleaned
often and cause other problems. If you tend to feed heavily you may need to
keep at least the sponges and clean them often.
I used to have my 46gal without a skimmer and used carbon a lot. I thought
that my water was "clear", but when I bought an AquaC Remora with the Maxi-
Jet 1200 upgrade there was a big difference in clarity of the water. If you
have the means buy one, it may help remove your green cloudy water and
minimize the algae. When you get an algae bloom, usually means there is too
many nutrients in the water and can also be too much food related.
dkamicolo
Alan,
This has been a recurring problem in my fathers' tank. First there is
excessive "cloudiness" of the water and then it starts to shade into
green and finally culminating in totally hideous opaque green water.
I inserted a micron cartridge in my dad's HOT Magnum 250 to help with
this but the problem is too far advanced that I had to do a massive
water change. Of course the problem will still re-occur.
What I did was the moment the tank started clouding up and hinting to
green I inserted a clean micron cartridge..but the particulate
organics and algae cells were too small for even the micron to handle.
So while browsing the fish store I happened on a product called
"Clear-Away". Basically, all such products do is "clump" up the fine
particulates so that it enables your filter to finally filter it out.
Now the water in my dad's tank looks very clear and polished. I took
out the micron cartridge and it was simply covered with dark brown
debris. I have installed a simple carbon cannister with blue sleeve
and I'll see how it goes from here.
dkamicolo
Alan
shops to get a consensus on the best approach to eleiminating the "Green
Cloud From Planet X".
Being new to the aquarium scene, I will most likely be back with more
questions. Again, thank you all for yur help.
Alan Passmore
Alan
shop where my son works. After a couple of days there is a marked
improvement, and the water is a gazillion percent clearer. We switched the
UV sterilizer off after letting it do its thing for a few days, and into the
second day the notorious green cloud hasn't re-appeared. We'll let it go a
few more days to see what happens. Fingers, toes, and eyes are all crossed,
hoping the problem is gone.
Alan
"Alan" <zonker...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Ld0ka.659020$Yo4.50...@news1.calgary.shaw.ca...