Murky Water

[allanfranklin]

A week or so ago, I noticed that the water in my tank was murky. Sort of looked like what happens when a lot of sand gets churned up. Thinking it was the sand, I turned my power heads off and after a couple of days saw no improvement. My local fish store stated that it might be microbubbles caused by my return pump. It is entirely submerged, so I figured it just needed a good cleaning but after doing so still saw no improvement. I know tt isn't a rise in alkalinity because I haven't been dosing it.

Does anyone have experiance or an idea as to what is going on?

[bertoni]

There's a number of possibilites, but most often the issue is either a bacterial bloom or a precipitation event. Since the tank isn't getting any alkalinity, my first guess would be a bacterial bloom. You might try collecting a glass of tank water and seeing whether the cloud settles.

Any fish been digging in the sand?

[allanfranklin]

No fish digging in the sand. I only have a clownfish and a couple damsils.

What would cause a bacterial bloom? How do I clean it up?

Thanks for your help.

[rick rottet]

i experienced a few in the greenhouse. i used to clear them up with a UV. it would take a full 3 or 4 days to clear a 210 gallon tank with a 40 watt UV running 24/7. be prepared for the skimmers to overflow some thick stinky white froth

[bertoni]

A bacterial bloom often will fade on its own, too. Some water changes might help.

[kenargo]

Do you have PH and Alk measurements; it could be precipitation. Knowing these would help narrow down which issue you may be seeing.

Hmm, might want to report magnesium if you have that available.