125 gallon setup not going so well...

[alexk3954]

I have a 55 gallon reef that has been up and running perfectly for over a year. Back in August I purchased a 125 gallon tank in hopes of moving everything from the 55 in. The problem is that the 125 just never seems ready to be ready. The water was very cloudy for a while but that was solved through adding some mechanical filtration and replacing it every few days. I went through the diatom bloom and then through a red slime algae bloom. Both of those are gone and now the cloudiness in the water seems to be coming back. It is so frustrating having it take so long to set up a tank after having such great success with the 55 gallon so hopefully you guys can help me out.

Heres some more info about the tank.

Its a 72x18x24 125 gallon tank. There are 8 36" bulbs in the canopy for lighting. Flow is created by 2 large seios and a mag drive return pump. There is good flow everywhere in the tank. Theres refugium with chaeto and live sand. The tank has a few inch deep sand bed ( I think I used arag-alive) and the rock is a mixture of fiji and just plain lace rock, probably 3:1 ratio of live rock to lace rock. Ive also got a big skimmer running, but I cant remember the brand at the moment( I live at college and the tank is at home under the care of my dad). Right now the only thing living in the tank is 3 small chromis.

I will get some test results later tonight, but everything should be at normal levels.

Basically, anyone have ideas why my water is looking so cloudy and what I can do to fix it?

Basically

[boxerzz]

get your parameters to see first. I would say try adding carbon, they can help in clearing up the water.

[zach0660]

I would say add a good protein skimmer. It is a #1 source to your problem

[seapug]

Get a PhosBan reactor and fill it with a good quality carbon. Realtively cheap and very effective water polisher that can be used to run many different kinds of media.

[alexk3954]

Ammonia- not detectable
Nitrite- not detectable
Nitrate- about 20 ppm
pH- 8.0-8.3
Alkalinity- 8.3
Calcium- 410 ppm
Temp- around 80 usually

I got those readings last night


Im running an ASM skimmer right now. I'll check out that Phosban reactor, never had one before. I do not have a phosphate test kit as Ive never really run into problems like this, could phosphate lead to cloudy water?

Also, Im considering getting a UV sterilizer, would this make a significant difference in water clarity?

[alexk3954]

bump

[alexk3954]

Anyone know why my water clarity is so bad?

[shabreeson]

it might be that your nitrates are benefiting a bacteria in the water more than normal (imbalance of bacteria usually causes a lot of problems with many things).

the way I see it, you are probably not doing anything different with your 55 gallon and you have clear water. The main difference may be certain bacteria levels. what I would do is give your 55 gallon a water change, keep the water from your 55 gallon(as much as you are willing to take out), then take just as much water out of the 125 and put the water that you kept into the 125. then(if you can) put a LR stone from your 55 into the 125 tank, not too much or else you'll put your 55 out of wack, you might be able to intoduce a beneficial bacteria to put the tank back into balance.

the fact is, there are a lot of people that don't have a Phosban reactor or a Uv sterilizer that have near perfectly clear tanks. so bacteria, or algae are the only other differences that I can think of.

another thing you can do is turn off your light for three days, I heard that it is a good refresher for a tank and you don't have much to loose by doing it.

as a last resort go ahead and get the Phosban and UV, but you might as well test the situation before you open your wallet a little bit more.

[Craig Lambert]

Which ASM skimmer?

[BodiBuilt]

What kind of light cycle are you running? Run carbon and change it once a week for quick results...

[tecoral]

Are you using RODI water?

[alexk3954]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11212012#post11212012 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shabreeson
it might be that your nitrates are benefiting a bacteria in the water more than normal (imbalance of bacteria usually causes a lot of problems with many things).

the way I see it, you are probably not doing anything different with your 55 gallon and you have clear water. The main difference may be certain bacteria levels. what I would do is give your 55 gallon a water change, keep the water from your 55 gallon(as much as you are willing to take out), then take just as much water out of the 125 and put the water that you kept into the 125. then(if you can) put a LR stone from your 55 into the 125 tank, not too much or else you'll put your 55 out of wack, you might be able to intoduce a beneficial bacteria to put the tank back into balance.

the fact is, there are a lot of people that don't have a Phosban reactor or a Uv sterilizer that have near perfectly clear tanks. so bacteria, or algae are the only other differences that I can think of.

another thing you can do is turn off your light for three days, I heard that it is a good refresher for a tank and you don't have much to loose by doing it.

as a last resort go ahead and get the Phosban and UV, but you might as well test the situation before you open your wallet a little bit more.

Thanks for the input. I did the 3 days with no lights and thats when the cloudy water problem actually started. Regarding your comments about nitrates benifiting any bacteria in the water column- do you think maybe because I have not added anything like coral or fish (except the chromis) that bacteria are thriving off nutrients that would normally be used by other inhabitants? TO me it seems like all the levels are good for a reef tank, (maybe the nitrates are high) , and maybe if I start to slowly stock the tank, the creatures of my choosing could actually outcompete the bacteria in the water column and the water might actually clear up?

and to the other that have commented,
The skimmer is one of the ASM G series, I am not sure of the model because I live at college and the tank is at home where my dad is taking care of it.

My lights are on for ten hours per day, run by timers so its always the same.

And yes, I am using a RODI unit.

Thanks to all of you for the replies so far

[Mental1]

I guess I don't understand your nitrates -- if your phosphates are high too -- I think both together could cause cloudy water. Whose feeding the fish? How much are they feeding? Maybe they are being overfed. Do you have a clean-up crew? If you have fish being fed then adding other stuff, IMHO, will not make a difference. But a clean-up crew would help!

[alexk3954]

I know the tank is not being overfed for sure. Haven't gotten a clean up crew yet though, maybe ill pick some stuff up this week.

[dastratt]

Did you say you are using carbon? I would at least put a bag in your sump. I haven't used a reactor but seems like a good idea.

[Mental1]

You know what -- it's all part if this hobby. No two tank set ups are going to go the same way. You scratch your head trying to figure out what is happening and sometimes you never actually figure it out. I guess the old saying that good things happen slowly and bad things happen quickly is a good thing to remember. So maybe patience is the key -- let the tank do what it is going to do -- do your normal maintenance stuff but with weekly water changes and let it settle down. I liked the suggestion someone had about using some of the rock, sand and water from your 55. I don't think there is a guaranteed process or schedule for every tank to follow. Yes -- something is causing the water quality to suffer -- but throwing a bunch of money at the tank by buying stuff doesn't get at what is causing it. I don't have carbon in my tank and my water is fine -- like you with your 55. I try to understand the cause before buying stuff to fix what it might or might not be. At least get a phosphate test -- if the tank is not being overfed it is likely to be low but still worth checking out.

[sfilingeri]

I know my reply is going to get the "you have to solve the problem first" and thats always true but when my tank was set up I had a fluval canister filter loaded with carbon and it helped TREMENDOUSLY in keeping my tank clean.

I also once a week would put poly-foam in it for a couple of hours to polish up my water. I know that everybody has there own opinion on how to maintain a reef but that worked for me.

[fishysteve]

Has the tank been set up since August? How do you know the tank isn't being overfed if you are away at school? Is there anyone else living in your dad's house that could be feeding it?

[alexk3954]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11220285#post11220285 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishysteve
Has the tank been set up since August? How do you know the tank isn't being overfed if you are away at school? Is there anyone else living in your dad's house that could be feeding it?

My dad is the only one feeding the tank, I trained him and have watched him do it. He knows that no matter what, one cube of the frozen food should last for two days so its easy to measure how much is actually going into the tank.

Thanks to all of you who replied, you all have given me lot of things to think about and try. Seems like first I'll go with a phosphate kit and some more carbon. Then if that does not work I'll try a Phosban and UV. And if all that coupled with more time and water changes doesnt work I'll come back here. Thanks for all the suggestions!

[shootist]

I think one cube of frozen every 2 days for 3 chromis is overfeeding,start feeding them less every other day and get that cleanup crew in there. The nitrates are coming from a source,if you are using ro/di and nothing is dead in there then it has to be from food.Are you using any sort of sponge material or filter pad that isnt being changed every few days?

[wrott]

I would feed 2x/ week, get a huge clean-up crew--20 turbos, 30 ceriths, 30 nerites, 20 trochus, 30 hermits.
And do 50% WC, then maintain Alk/Ca and start adding corals.
How much light do you have (watts, kind of bulbs)?
And you probably need much more flow for a 6' tank--what is your turnover rate(gph/g)?