gray fresh water?

[61scout80]

I'm not sure what went wrong.

I used aquarium silicone to glue in some dividers in a 29 gallon to use as a sump. everything was cleaned, rinsed and then filled. i had my return pump pushing RO water back into the "in" chamber of the sump for a day to make sure nothing will fail. it was just circulating, but i planned to mix salt in this water and use it.

Yesterday i got home from work and the water had a light gray haze, almost like a smokey room. the haze was even thoughout. no noticeable smell. did not run any tests on this water.

anyone have a clue what could cause this? i don't want to have whatever this is wipe out my tank... :confused:

[VacavilleFC3S]

is your pump ok?

[WaterKeeper]

I'm guessing it is microbubbles but it may be a bacterial bloom if there was organic material in the tank.

[61scout80]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15176839#post15176839 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by VacavilleFC3S
is your pump ok?


still moving water fine, with no heater in there the water felt cold to the touch, as did the pump. i had used this in my tank with no issue for about a week before moving it to the new sump.

[61scout80]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15176887#post15176887 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
I'm guessing it is microbubbles but it may be a bacterial bloom if there was organic material in the tank.


man i hope it isn't bubbles. if that's the case i must have messed up the bubble trap, every chamber is equally cloudy. shutting down the pump for a few hours would clear up the water if that were the case?

Everything was cleaned with vinegar then rinsed with RO prior to filling. my filters are only about 2 weeks old. the only organic material that could have gotten in there is from my dog or cat since this does have an open top. but i haven't seen either near it, they both fear moving water. maybe some fur blown in from the ceiling fan, but that is about all i could think of.

[WaterKeeper]

Your fist suggestion my be the clue to the problem. Shut the circulation down and if the cloudiness is still present after an hour or two then it must be something other than bubbles.

[saltydog316]

how old are your ro filters?

[Jerm77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15176916#post15176916 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 61scout80
man i hope it isn't bubbles. if that's the case i must have messed up the bubble trap, every chamber is equally cloudy. shutting down the pump for a few hours would clear up the water if that were the case?

Everything was cleaned with vinegar then rinsed with RO prior to filling. my filters are only about 2 weeks old. the only organic material that could have gotten in there is from my dog or cat since this does have an open top. but i haven't seen either near it, they both fear moving water. maybe some fur blown in from the ceiling fan, but that is about all i could think of.


vinegar can cause a bacteria bloom. maybe you didn't rinse it thoroughly enough?