Frothy,Cloudy Water. help

Just thought the same thing

 

Yes sorry i meant Nitrate is 10, Ammonia is 0.05 my bad, i have removed the pellets and will re-add them around 3 months, i also increased surface agitation with a powerhead,


Should i remove the filter sock, or is it a good idea to leave it as to collect the detritus?

Karma to all,

 

I don't think removing the sock would improve anything so you might as well leave it on.How long were your biopellets running?

 

Bio pellets were running for approximately 36 hours, i thought it took a while for the bacteria to flourish, but i know it was the pellets because the water within the reactor was even cloudier

 

Wow,that is amazing.I have read that it's posssible to get a bacteria bloom for a few days that might cloud the water a little but yours sounds like a heavy one since there is actually froth in your sump.As Corailline suggested might be good to let the tank become more stable.I also wonder about the amount of tumble in your modded reactor,maybe it's too agressive.If you can control the flow somehow maybe a little less along with fewer pellets to start would be better.You should read Jon Warners official Ecobac thread,it's a very long thread but alot of good info if you are going to run pellets.

 

Thanks Sailorguy, will defo give that a read, yes i'm very shocked and suprised to have a bacterial bloom caused by 36hrs of running pellets, i could not turn the flow down but next time i rig it up i will be sure to mod it with a inline valve if possible to reduce flow, is the cloudy water caused by too much Bacteria at any 1 time, more then the tank can handle, im doing my first water change tomorrow also 25litres, hopefully i got this early.

Thanks again...

 

I believe it's a sudden overpopulation of bacteria that are feeding on nutrients found in the water column that causes the cloudiness.It should pass in a couple days as they run out of food.A problem that could occur is that as they begin to die off they could feed the remaining ones by decomposing thus creating more nutrients.Hopefully your skimmer can turn the tide by removing them before this can happen so keep an eye on it and try to make sure it's working well.

 

Do you have a protein skimmer and did you happen to use tap water or treat the water with chemicals like Prime, Stresscoat or other dechlorinating chemicals? This could be an issue as they make skimmers go crazy.

Bacteria grow to their surroundings, I have never heard of too much bacteria?

 

Hey, fellow Brit reefer here, turn your lights off.
If the filter sock dirty ? If so remove, clean and replace it, can you take the foam off the top of the water ? I used a catch net ( fine as I could find) and gently removed the top scum from the water.

I think you will be ok in a few days, metal halides for 8 hours a day on a new tank is a bit much IMHO

Is your skimmer, skimming or simply making micro bubbles ? Do you have anything in the collection cup ?