Cloudy Water

Good After noon.

KENT Marine SAlt and Yes RO/DI Water

Aloha Robb,

That pH level is a little low. Does the tank have an open top and is the water flow rippling the water surface?

Where is the Alkalinity level? Alkalinity should always be tested along with Calcium. It's one of the four most important parameters. (Alk, Ca, Salinity and Temp)

The cloudiness you describe is usually due to a bacteria bloom in the water. If you stop feeding the tank, add some Macroalgae and leave the lights on at least 12 hours/day it usually clears up within a week when the suspended bacteria population crashes. The coral can handle it and fish can go a week without food. To speed up the recovery, a UV Sterilizer is a useful piece of equipment

Click here and check out the Reefkeeping Tip discussion about eliminating Cyanobacteria: http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244

May we see a pic of the tank?

Mahalo,
Mark


Edited by Mark Peterson - November 08 2013 at 9:14pm

Aloha Robb,

What I meant is to put a lot of light on the entire system. The main display should receive 12 hours of light, just as in a tropical environment. Lighting the Refugium algae for 16 hours a day is good.
I have a few more questions, if you don't mind.
Is it on a Reverse Daylight Photoperiod
What kind of light is over the Refugium and how old is that light bulb/tube

There are two bacteria blooms going on in this tank. One is the Cyanobacteria and the other is the bacteria suspended in the water. The idea is to compete with those two blooms. We have found that any kind of change will affect Cyanobacteria. I believe the increased light will increase the growth of beneficial algae in the entire system, to compete with and win over the bacteria bloom. Let the algae grow on the glass. Don't scrape it off. This algae will make increased competition for the Cyanobacteria and other bacteria.

Please let us know as soon as you have an Alkalinity test result. It should be above 8 dKH and preferably closer to 10 dKH. Raising Alk is easy. A little Baking Soda is the answer.

I believe that water changes are actually feeding the bacteria. I would hold off on water changes.
What supplements have you been using I would hold off on those too.

May we see a pic of the tank  A pic can tell us a lot about what is going on in the tank. A cell phone pic sent to my cell phone below would be okay. Today is a good day for a visit. Call/text if you would like me to come see the tank and give advice in person.

Aloha,
Mark
808-345-1049 call/text anytime


Edited by Mark Peterson - November 09 2013 at 9:02am

I re adjusted my power heads again last night and the the Cloudy water is gone. I adjust my reef keeper lite to allow 12 hours of lighting now..

This is what you really need to know about dosing and making your own homemade supplements. By following a proven recipe, there's no need to try to calculate your own recipe's potency. I would recommend following Randy's Recipe #1 to help with your alk & pH.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/

Once you make your own supplements, go here to calculate how much to add.

http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html

And, if you want a really basic version step-by-step, here's my blog on the topic:

http://www.reefdup.com/2012/12/16/how-to-make-2-part-dosing-solutions/

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

is an awesome online calculator that allows you to put in your tank volume, and what your parameters are, what you want and it iwll tell you how much to add based on a ton of solutions.  Like Mg, it tells you how much of the solution to put in, or how many ounces of epson salt to add.  I find it very handy.  Especially for people who do not have an auto doser.  OR, just to manually bring up levels.  Remember to NOT change any level too fast.

I keep my baked baking soda in a sealed container with no problems, and I know I had some over a year old. Theoretically, it could probably reasborb some CO2, but then you'd just have a pH that didn't climb quite as high as with the baked baking soda. So, you're probably fine indefinitely.

If your alk is at 8.4 after a nice water change, then that's probably about where your salt is (I'd check your salt mix just to double-check). You could either dose to make up for the salt or you can buy a more expensive (i.e. reef-friendly) salt. Usually buying a more expensive salt is easier, but it's a little more costly. Sorry if you already posted, but what salt are you using?

Those links are great for learning about and calculating Alk, Ca and Mg. I am more of a cowboy reefer.

Interesting that the water change bumped Alk from a low reading of 6.3 to its latest 8.4.
I would check Ca because with Alk going up that much the Ca level may have fallen (though probably not by much since the water change also added more Ca). I always check Alk and Ca together because their balance is inversely connected.

Test results being "off by a tad" is something I don't worry about but a jump of 2 dKH is of concern. I would check Alk (and ca) again in the next day or two. It would not surprise me to see Alk drop quickly. Dosing Alk and Ca would then be seen as a regular (weekly or bi-weekly) necessity.

I like how baked baking soda in liquid solution makes a temporary white cloud. Just plain baking soda solution is clear and no fun to watch. I once used a home-made dual powder that had sat sealed for years. The baked baking soda was still good.
I prefer to dissolve the homemade Alk powder into RO water to make the liquid solution, enough to last a week or two. Be sure to mark/label the Alk and Ca bottles so they don't get mixed up. Mixing them together makes an unusable solid.

Aloha,
Mark


Edited by Mark Peterson - November 11 2013 at 11:36am