Can someone PLEASE help with this saltwater tank???

[ajstephens]

I am new at saltwater and am having a problem with my new tank. I bought live rock ( already cured) live sand, garf grunge, and have a skimmer, 2 powerheads, a new fluval 405 filter, and its been running about a month and a half now and the water looks so clowdy. You cant even see from one side to the other. Is because of the sand? Does having sand make the water merkey? Would it be better to have no sand at all? Thanks.. AJ

[rluix]

I am new at saltwater and am having a problem with my new tank. I bought live rock ( already cured) live sand, garf grunge, and have a skimmer, 2 powerheads, a new fluval 405 filter, and its been running about a month and a half now and the water looks so clowdy. You cant even see from one side to the other. Is because of the sand? Does having sand make the water merkey? Would it be better to have no sand at all? Thanks.. AJ

How big is the tank? whats the light type? Test kit results? how long did you waited before geting the rock in? Answer those first, and then we can help you more than we alredy can with that info.

[ToddTT]

How big is the tank?

What sort of protein skimmer?

A canister filter may not be the best choice. They must be cleaned frequently, and cleaning them can be a bit of a chore as well.

Do you have a sump to work with?

What are your water levels? Amonnia, nitrite, nitrate, PH, temp, etc.

Having sand is fine, many would recommend having it.

Any pics?

[metalhead]

I vote that garf grunge + powerheads = cloudy water.

[ajstephens]

125g four 34" GLO Lights 39W each and factory light that came with the tank. (factory has blue light)
Temp is 78
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Amo Looks to be 0
PH 8.4
And also I do see air bubbles comming from the sand bed. I dont know if you should have air there but there is. And I cant seem to grow coraline. All I ever get is the blooms on the sand that look brown..
Thanks..AJ

[ajstephens]

It has been running for about a month and a half. The live rock was cured (cycled) at a LFS for about two weeks. Not sure what type of rock it is.. The sand is Ocean Direct crib sea, added with garf grunge. The powerheads are 2 hydor koralia 4. One on each side. The skimmer is a hang on the back of the tank, reef octopus. The filter is a fluval 405. The lights are 2 Dual Glo on each side and the factory light for blue.
Thanks..AJ

[ToddTT]

I vote that garf grunge + powerheads = cloudy water.

That might be right. And those aren't weak powerheads.

Never heard of garf grunge. It just sounds filthy.

Still, is your skimmer producing output? What kind of mechanical filtration have you used? Sponges, pads, etc?

How old is the tank? I'm sure several of us cringed when we saw fish in your tank.

Have you contacted the grunge people?

[ToddTT]

A month and a half? Sounds early for fish, but maybe the grunge helped expedite things.

When did the fish go in?

[rluix]

It has been running for about a month and a half. The live rock was cured (cycled) at a LFS for about two weeks. Not sure what type of rock it is.. The sand is Ocean Direct crib sea, added with garf grunge. The powerheads are 2 hydor koralia 4. One on each side. The skimmer is a hang on the back of the tank, reef octopus. The filter is a fluval 405. The lights are 2 Dual Glo on each side and the factory light for blue.
Thanks..AJ

I Don't think that a month and a half the tank is matue enought to add corals ( i think thats a hammer coral you have there ), wen exactly, did you put the fish and coral in the tank,a fter you had setted it up?

[rluix]

125g four 34" GLO Lights 39W each and factory light that came with the tank. (factory has blue light)
Temp is 78
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Amo Looks to be 0
PH 8.4
And also I do see air bubbles comming from the sand bed. I dont know if you should have air there but there is. And I cant seem to grow coraline. All I ever get is the blooms on the sand that look brown..
Thanks..AJ

Also, i don't think those light's are enougth for corals and anemones, wich would explain why you can't grow coralline algea.

[ajstephens]

I have not called them. I am sure that they would say that its my problem now. The skimmer does work well, but only when there is a mess. It has seemed to slow down a little but I empty the cup once every week. Its never full. The corals went in about two weeks ago. The garf people said that by adding the grunge it would speed up the process and it would be ready to add just about anything.
If you think that this is the problem it would not be hard to remove it all and start over. I would rather tear it down and start over than have it looking like this. I have seen so many tanks that have clear water. If i knew it was going to look like this I would have went with freshwater. At least then you can see through the water. I have always wanted saltwater but its harder than I thought it would be. I have spent 4 years deployed to Iraq, just got back and wanted to look at water for a change.. Thanks for the help...AJ

[rluix]

I have not called them. I am sure that they would say that its my problem now. The skimmer does work well, but only when there is a mess. It has seemed to slow down a little but I empty the cup once every week. Its never full. The corals went in about two weeks ago. The garf people said that by adding the grunge it would speed up the process and it would be ready to add just about anything.
If you think that this is the problem it would not be hard to remove it all and start over. I would rather tear it down and start over than have it looking like this. I have seen so many tanks that have clear water. If i knew it was going to look like this I would have went with freshwater. At least then you can see through the water. I have always wanted saltwater but its harder than I thought it would be. I have spent 4 years deployed to Iraq, just got back and wanted to look at water for a change.. Thanks for the help...AJ

Its not hard, you just need to get the right equipment and be patient, i have a 10 gallon nano reef and its super easy to keep, my corals grow and my only fish, a clownfish, swims, and my water its also clear.
Some people use UV sterilizers to clear blooms in they're tank.
Also, don't make anything the fish store guys say, they only wan't to sell, even if that means giving you fake info.

[Parrothead]

after reading all the post and looking at the pics and test results, here's my Humble thouhts,

1. it is a bit early for the bubble corals, or any coral for that matter.
2. I'm betting your cloudy water is a result of an algea bloom, probably caused by inadequate lighting, you have no where near enough light for anything but a fish only with live rock tank. If you plan on keeping corals upgrade your lighting, look in to the Nova Extreme Pro 72" fixture,
3. Your sand is fine, the bubbles are a mystery.

If I where you, I would remove what ever filter media you have in the fluval, use it for stuff like carbon, get some carbon running in there know, your liverock and sand are your biological filter.

Also you do not mention your water source, if you are not using RO/DI water, start now while its early, to aid in clearing up your tank, in addition to the carbon, get some saltwater mixed up using the ro/di water, let it mix for about 48 hours and do about a 20% water change.

Other than what I mentioned it looks good.

And, Welcome to Reeflands

[ajstephens]

after reading all the post and looking at the pics and test results, here's my Humble thouhts,

1. it is a bit early for the bubble corals, or any coral for that matter.
2. I'm betting your cloudy water is a result of an algea bloom, probably caused by inadequate lighting, you have no where near enough light for anything but a fish only with live rock tank. If you plan on keeping corals upgrade your lighting, look in to the Nova Extreme Pro 72" fixture,
3. Your sand is fine, the bubbles are a mystery.

If I where you, I would remove what ever filter media you have in the fluval, use it for stuff like carbon, get some carbon running in there know, your liverock and sand are your biological filter.

Also you do not mention your water source, if you are not using RO/DI water, start now while its early, to aid in clearing up your tank, in addition to the carbon, get some saltwater mixed up using the ro/di water, let it mix for about 48 hours and do about a 20% water change.

Other than what I mentioned it looks good.

And, Welcome to Reeflands

I am using the RO water. Not only did I get one for my kitchen sink, I also use the ones that are at the store by my house. I have done a test on the water and it looks great for this.. My sink one does not make enough water to do a water change the same day. It would take a week to make 125 Gallon.
I will look for new lights, but in the mean time should I take out the sand or leave it in. Do you think it will clear by doing a 20% and use more carbon.. What I have in the filter now, there are 4 trays. Each tray have two cups (side by side) The bottom cup has carbon. The second cup has pre filter or the little white round things that hold bacteria. The third cup has carbon. The last cup has water polish filters. Should I change this? I have more carbon, and more polish filters.. Thanks..AJ

[Parrothead]

I am using the RO water. Not only did I get one for my kitchen sink, I also use the ones that are at the store by my house. I have done a test on the water and it looks great for this.. My sink one does not make enough water to do a water change the same day. It would take a week to make 125 Gallon.
I will look for new lights, but in the mean time should I take out the sand or leave it in. Do you think it will clear by doing a 20% and use more carbon.. What I have in the filter now, there are 4 trays. Each tray have two cups (side by side) The bottom cup has carbon. The second cup has pre filter or the little white round things that hold bacteria. The third cup has carbon. The last cup has water polish filters. Should I change this? I have more carbon, and more polish filters.. Thanks..AJ

Get rid of the "little white round things" the will become a nitrate factory, you don't want that, as I said your sand and rock are your biological fitleration. You will need to do several water changes, leave the sand as it is, and make sure any type of filter pad you have in that fluval is clean. A little more carbon won't hurt. It will take some time to get this right, but the only thing that happens fast in this wonderful hobby is usually bad. Take your time, study, read, ask questions. Thats what we are all here for

[ajstephens]

Get rid of the "little white round things" the will become a nitrate factory, you don't want that, as I said your sand and rock are your biological fitleration. You will need to do several water changes, leave the sand as it is, and make sure any type of filter pad you have in that fluval is clean. A little more carbon won't hurt. It will take some time to get this right, but the only thing that happens fast in this wonderful hobby is usually bad. Take your time, study, read, ask questions. Thats what we are all here for

Got it.. Thanks for the help... AJ

[Doodaa]

What does your tank smell like? I don't think your sand would make your tank stay murky for that long. I'm wondering if you don't have a bacterial bloom of some sort. I'd get rid of any mechanical filters...floss, mesh, whatever along with those white rings as mentioned before...or at least clean them really good (if you have any) every other day.

[ajstephens]

What does your tank smell like? I don't think your sand would make your tank stay murky for that long. I'm wondering if you don't have a bacterial bloom of some sort. I'd get rid of any mechanical filters...floss, mesh, whatever along with those white rings as mentioned before...or at least clean them really good (if you have any) every other day.

There is really no smell. I am pretty sure the rock and sand has gone through the process because there is no smell. It did sit at the LFS for about two weeks before adding them.. I did rinse them off in saltwater before adding them.. One thing that I have been looking into is that I am not running a sump or refugium. I was told that this could be the problem. But I have seen many saltwater tanks that dont run them. All the levels are good this far. But its still hard to see through.. Thanks..AJ

[ToddTT]

There is really no smell. I am pretty sure the rock and sand has gone through the process because there is no smell. It did sit at the LFS for about two weeks before adding them.. I did rinse them off in saltwater before adding them.. One thing that I have been looking into is that I am not running a sump or refugium. I was told that this could be the problem. But I have seen many saltwater tanks that dont run them. All the levels are good this far. But its still hard to see through.. Thanks..AJ

A refugium is a nice-to-have, but not needed for crystal clear water.

The PURA pads are a fantastic product, and if nothing else is working, I'd be tempted to cut these to fit in your canister... a few layers' worth. See if anything happens over the course of a few days.

Plus, these pads are also great to have on hand for emergencies.

PURA Filtration Pad




Sumps are nice to have because they help hide equipment, and provide lots of options and flexibility.

[gregr]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Two things to add to all the sound advice you just got. First is about the coralline algae- that takes time. I think a few months from now you should see it taking off but now it's still early in your tanks life, plus you already heard about the need for better lighting. At some point you'll want to learn about how alkalinty and calcium work in your tank (if you don't know already). To really get that coralliine to take off (and corals to be happy) you have to keep the alkalinity and calcium balanced at healthy levels.
The second thing- if there's any way you can get a sump plumbed into that tank you will be oh so much happier in the long run. Since there's no built-in overflow you'll need the hang-on-the-back kind. I think Lifereef makes one of the best if not the best on the market. They call them "prefilter boxes".