[philolsen]

I have had a issue with my water becoming cloudy, I even bought my water from a fish store uv sterilized and mixed with salt but the water would not clear up. I cleaned the tank very well getting under all the decorative pieces, the fish store recommended I get a UV filter and that this shoud resolve my issue. I did I got a jebco UV-H11, but I need to know if it should always be left running or not. I dont know if this will help with my clarity issue but I am out of ideas. Any advice would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!

[jiggly75]

I leave mine on all the time. When you say your water is cloudy do you mean milky or greenish?

[philolsen]

Milky

[leebca]

What the UV does is kill micro-organisms suspended in the water. It will also break-down' organic molecules by disrupting them. If the cloudiness is caused by micro-organisms, the UV left on 24/7 will keep them under control.

But if the cloudiness is in fact because of a bacterial population, then the tank has other problems that need correcting -- the UV is just a band-aid in this kind of scenario.

What other equipment do you have on the system? Skimmer? How old is the system? What kind of substrate do you have and where did it come from? Are you using live rock?

The above questions relate to other causes of cloudy water -- die off from live rock that hadn't properly cured; build up of organics in the water; an immature or just started system; a fine substrate material or one that wasn't washed well before initial use; etc.

Then there's a group of chemical conditions that can cause cloudy water because a chemical is precipitating out of solution. So also we'd be interested in knowing: salinity, calcium content, alkalinity, magnesium, and pH of the water.

[philolsen]

The tank has been set up and running for over a year, The substrate is crushed coral and it is fish only. The UV has almost cleared it up completely in 24 hours. Salinity is .020 and I do not have test kits for the rest I bring samples to the fish store and they test it for me and have told me all is good but no specifics I keep the temp at 79 degrees. The fish (a picasso, yellow tang, 3 striped damsel and a yellow tail damsel) are all active and eat normally. I feed a combo of brine shrimp and bloodworms and occasionally seaweed, I have a carnivorious tang, he seldom eats anything but the brine shrimp. It has a ramora skimmer, sump filter, 2 MJ 1200's and now the 11 w UV with a 1500 powerhead.

[leebca]

Thanks for the additional information.

It seems like your first approach (cleaning) is on the right track, since it seems to be likely this is a bacterial bloom. Keep in mind that the UV might be fixing the symptom, but you'd still like to discover the cause. Is there any livestock missing (possibly dead)?

Bloodworms are an unnatural food to marine fishes. I suggest you read this long thread and print out the table attached to that thread, and start modifying their diet to improve their nutrition:
Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition

Offering macro algae daily to the tangs is important, even if they tend to ignore it, to get them on the right foods.

I have meant to ask earlier. . .When you make up fresh marine water to perform a water exchange, is that water totally clear?

You might take some of the cloudy water out of the display system to fill a glass, and let it sit in a clear glass, drinking glass. See if the cloudiness settles out or remains suspended after 30 minutes; then 1 hour.

[philolsen]

The water I get from the fish stor is completely clear, and there is no missing livestock. I have a Picasso Trigger, a Yellow Tang, A 3 striped Damsel and a yellow Tail Damsel and all are well and accounted for. As for the water it is now ccompletely clear, the UV has been on for about 2 days and it cleared it up quickly so I can not do the water in the galss test as ther is no longer any visable cloudiness. As for the Tang what food do you recommend? I will eliminate bloodworms from their diet, is there anything other than Brine you recommend to vary their diet?

[leebca]

Glad to hear that your water appearance has improved so well.

My feeding recommendations is in that reference I put in my previous post above. Medium to older tangs need almost all vegetables in their diet. Very young tangs need vegetables and pods. If you print out or review the table to the above reference, follow the recommendations under "Herbivores" for your tangs.

[philolsen]

I started adding live rock to my tank. I currently have 15 lbs with 40 lbs being added next week, how will this improve the quality and what is the best way to keep the rock healthy. 2 of the current pieces have polyps about 70 total, green and red.

[leebca]

Live rock has many functions. See: What is Live Rock, Anyway?

Adding LR to an established aquarium runs the risk of sending the tank through another ammonia/nitrogen cycle. Either the rock must be properly cured with no decaying matter in or on it when it is added, or all marine fishes and most marine corals should be removed from the tank the coral is going into.

The best way to keep LR 'healthy' is to treat it like you would a coral. Provide proper amounts of calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium in additional to controlling the 'regular' water parameters and poisons within recommended ranges, providing light, circulation, etc.

[philolsen]

How do I set up a refugium? I would rather get a 10 or 15 gal tank for that than take a chance with my fish. The two pieces I added already are fully cured thay have lots of coralin and polyps in various colors on them, the lcl told me that I could tell by the smell if it was fully cured, if it smells like saltwater it is if it smells "funky" it is not is that correct?

[leebca]

Live rock is more than just what you see on the surface; it is more than just Coraline and polyps. Some marine life takes time to die. Some marine life takes time to decay. It all depends on many factors. A 'nice smelling' live rock could release poisons as marine life on and in the rock dies over time. Then, there is some lifeforms on/in the rock (including the polyps) that depend upon light. In your display if those lifeforms don't acclimate to your display, or if they don't like the light or the rock is turned in such a way that a part of the rock that had light before is now in shade, some lifeforms may die off. There are few absolutes in this hobby.

It depends upon how conservative you want to be and how much you want to protect the lifeforms that is in your display tank now, as to your approach to adding more live rock to an established aquarium.

If you take your 10 or 15 gallon tank and put the live rock in there, using display tank water to make water changes in the 10-15 tank, you can observe the rock in there and measure ammonia and nitrites to be sure the rock hasn't got any dead or dying lifeforms in or on it. Holding it like that, with or without any substrate in the 10-15, with good circulation in the little tank, and lighting, for six weeks should be long enough to tell you if the rock will cause any problems.

This quarantine will also prevent any hitchhikers from getting into your aquarium (such as flat worms, red bugs, etc.) by giving you a chance to truly see what the live rock is harboring. This quarantine will also prevent any fish obligate parasites from finding their way into your display tank. In quarantine without fish, the obligate parasites on the rock or coming in with the live rock water will die off before they can get into your display tank.

There are, you see, many good reasons to go slow, be patient, and to be conservative.

[philolsen]

Thanks, I will get a 10 gal tank or two and set it up for the new rock, I will also pick up a power head for the circulation and I have 2 24" light strips with 10,000 k bulbs. should I also add a filter? Thanks for all your help by the way, I have had my tank set up for over a year now with fake decorative pieces and my fish are all happy and healthy, I dont want to blow it now.

[leebca]

Hopefully the LR will be able to do the biological filtration. I would recommend a skimmer, especially if the rock is going to have die-off. Other than this option, changing water (using old display tank water) would be good enough to keep up with organic pollution.

You're welcome.