Origami December 9, 2015 December 9, 2015 Sounds good. Just keep it up and things should stabilize soon. You can slightly speed up the cycling process by turning the heater up a few degrees to speed up bacterial division/replication.
GOSKN5 December 10, 2015 Author December 10, 2015 Sounds good. Just keep it up and things should stabilize soon. You can slightly speed up the cycling process by turning the heater up a few degrees to speed up bacterial division/replication.I sure hope so.. I'm not impatient.. and really not planning to add a fish until after Christmas anyway (6 weeks into cycle)... I will say I'm OCD about water quality and cleanliness of a tank... so the cloudiness is driving me NUTS...
GOSKN5 December 12, 2015 Author December 12, 2015 You think it's normal to be cloudy for over a week? I'm talking really cloudy.. like can't see the powerhead on back glass... driving me nuts haha... I am a little OCD about clear water and and cleanliness haha
Origami December 12, 2015 December 12, 2015 It's unusual for it to be that cloudy. It could be a bacteria bloom. If it is, then cut back or discontinue ghost feeding to remove some of the nutrients from the water column. It could be that you're feeding the tank too much. Are you running the tank with lights on? (You don't need to at this point.) If so, it could also be a single-celled algal bloom. Get a 2-gallon white pail (from Lowe's or HD) and fill it with your tank water. If it has a greenish hue, it may be algae and cutting the lights off will help. It could also be particulate. The most obvious source would be unwashed sand, but it looks like you're running the tank bare-bottom. Is that correct? Assuming that you're using freshly mixed salt mix, your calcium, alkalinity and magnesium parameters should be good enough to avoid abiotic precipitation. (What are your calcium, alkalinity and magnesium levels anyway?)
SandJ December 12, 2015 December 12, 2015 If you are using an API test kit it may give a false reading of .25 for ammonia, when it is actually zero. They are know for that.
GOSKN5 December 12, 2015 Author December 12, 2015 It's unusual for it to be that cloudy. It could be a bacteria bloom. If it is, then cut back or discontinue ghost feeding to remove some of the nutrients from the water column. It could be that you're feeding the tank too much. Are you running the tank with lights on? (You don't need to at this point.) If so, it could also be a single-celled algal bloom. Get a 2-gallon white pail (from Lowe's or HD) and fill it with your tank water. If it has a greenish hue, it may be algae and cutting the lights off will help. It could also be particulate. The most obvious source would be unwashed sand, but it looks like you're running the tank bare-bottom. Is that correct? Assuming that you're using freshly mixed salt mix, your calcium, alkalinity and magnesium parameters should be good enough to avoid abiotic precipitation. (What are your calcium, alkalinity and magnesium levels anyway?) Don't think the feeding is it.. I literally have added 4 NLS pellets every other day.. and it actually was cloudy prior to that.. I do have the lights going.. but the water isn't an algae color at all... Barebottom I'm going to take some water to my LFS today and get a few tests verified and checked...
GOSKN5 December 14, 2015 Author December 14, 2015 Changed carbon and GFO today.. along with about 45 gallons of water... will test nitrite again tomorrow and look at cloudiness... thinking the cloudiness may be unrelated to the cycle...
GOSKN5 December 14, 2015 Author December 14, 2015 Nitrite didn't budge... cloudiness is a little better.. but still bothersome..
GOSKN5 December 15, 2015 Author December 15, 2015 Do you think adding some well established bio balls from a friends tank would help/hurt? Any concerns with this introducing anything negative? I don't have an LFS closer than an hour... my friend has been running bio balls for years in his tank... and could give me some.. any thoughts??
GOSKN5 December 18, 2015 Author December 18, 2015 Cleared up a bunch and nitrites were finally lower... not zero but lower... After last water change they didn't drop.. so hopefully this is progress and we are moving along haha.. Planning one more WC to clear water up more.. probably sunday to let settle some...
YHSublime December 18, 2015 December 18, 2015 Glad to hear. I would just continue to let it ride. You're nitrites will eventually turn into nitrates. The patience is strong with you.
GOSKN5 December 19, 2015 Author December 19, 2015 Nitrites finally blue!!! Dropped overnight... Told yall just needed to be patient
YHSublime December 20, 2015 December 20, 2015 Nitrites finally blue!!! Dropped overnight... Told yall just needed to be patient Haha, glad you could teach us something!
GOSKN5 December 26, 2015 Author December 26, 2015 Soo cloudiness is back... all levels still good... nitrites 0 ammonia 0 nitrates 5ppm or so... I can see a "powder" moving around in the water column.. I put a sock on my return (couldn't run on drain) and this is what it looked like after about 2 hours.. (was clean) also had a smell to it... fishy algae like smell... Any thoughts? Bacterial make sock turn brown? I did a water change about a week ago and it was much clearer.. then about 3 days later cloudy overnight...
GOSKN5 December 27, 2015 Author December 27, 2015 Cloudiness from the bottom looking up.. can see some of the particles...it's smoky looking.. but I also can see some larger particles... Pods have exploded and are all over glass and rocks... diatoms covering rocks and bottom as well... the cloudiness is confusing to me...
WheresTheReef December 28, 2015 December 28, 2015 Long shot... I've read about air freshers, sprays, etc causing bacterial blooms in aquariums. Any being used in or around that room? What about lotions or hand soaps you are using?
GOSKN5 December 28, 2015 Author December 28, 2015 Long shot... I've read about air freshers, sprays, etc causing bacterial blooms in aquariums. Any being used in or around that room? What about lotions or hand soaps you are using?Nah nothing close by.. (wife knows better haha)... no lotion or soap... Im fairly sure it's either particle matter from my rocks that were drilled.. or bacterial.. Driving me nuts haha
GOSKN5 January 1, 2016 Author January 1, 2016 Tank finally clearing up some... Changed out carbon and added more.. filter sock... 2 small water changes.. still cloudy but definitely better...
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