Tank is a tad cloudy in the last few days

In fact i havnt even fed my fish for fear that it will get worse.
All my params are fine.
Did a water change less then a week ago

I have 24 jbj nano
i have no clue how many lbs of live rock but its alot.
3 fish
lots of crabs.
few snails (need to restock on that.)
coral (7 or 8 pieces)

first chamber in the back is a sponge and a bag of active carbon about 2 months old
2nd is live rock and cheato
3ard just a pump and the heater


Do i need more stuff in my filtering system.
I haven't gotten a protein skimmer yet because i do weekly water changes and just haven't seen the need for one.Nothing collects at the surface of my water.

 

is the pump in the 3rd chamber well submerged and sucking up enough water or is it pumping bubbles too?

 

now that is a good question....I am almost sure its not.i pulled it out of there the other day to check on a noise that was coming from it and i just dropped it down in there i bet it is stuck.I will check on that.Thanks.

Other then that would you suggest anything else i might need back there

 

well in my refu/sump 1st part is a skimmer (heater could go here too but mine is to long) second is the actual refu with a live sand bed and some macro algae and the 3rd is a pump as well. never really used active carbon or a simple sponge to be honest so cant help you out much there.
could you give a little more details on how cloudy it looks. when my pump runs a little dry (when i forget to top off for example) it pump back from the 3rd chamber little air bubbles that cloud the DT

 

here is a pic

 

That carbon is way past its time. Carbon only lasts so long I change mine every two weeks. If its left in there too long it becomes colonized with bacteria. If you are seeing a cloudy water it could be a bacterial bloom. We need more info. What are the params? Is a lot of rock 10lbs? or 30lbs? Where do you get your water from? How much water do you change when you do a water change? Have you tried using a clarifier? How often do you rinse the sponge in the back?

 

That is definitely a bacteria bloom. I agree with coylee in that the carbon is way past its useful days. Change it out and it will go away quickly.

 

ok.I didnt know it needed to be changed that often. When i get home i can tell you the exact param numbers. there is about 30lbs ide say.i had to take a piece out because there was no place to put it so i think im good on my rock.I get my water from my LFS already salted. I do a i have a 24 gallon and change out 5 gallons a week.I have not used a clarifier yet because i am scared to put anything in my tank although i do have a bottle handy.Was just trying to solve this the natural way.and i rinse the sponge every week with water changes

 

I think it's just a bacterial bloom and agree with reefbruh, change out the carbon and keep on top of it and it should clear itself up in a week or so.

I just went through a bloom myself. It's annoying but it'll clear up.

 

Is that image of the tank taken with all pumps turned off? If the pumps are on in that image you need to add some flow to the tank.

I would not add any product except some MB7 or equiv to the tank.

And as other stated get some new carbon, try to get something of quality like chemipure elite.