i have a problem with my 60 gallon salt water tank. I have a CPR protien skimmer and a XP4 Rena filter. The tank is abut 3 weeks old and has sand in it. I clean the filter is always clean. About 3 days after i setup my tank the water was crystal clear. It was clear for the next 2 weeks until i bought some stuff called "Right now Bacteria" (here is the link to this crap http://www.erbio.com/?p=right-now-bacteria ) that the fish store sold me and told me i needed if i was gonna add fish in for the 1st time. (i DO NOT recommend anyone ever pour this crap into their tank) As soon as i poured this stuff into the tank the tank, it clouded the water for over a week and i cant seem to un-cloud it. Its like a white cloud. I go to other local fish stores and they say the other guy conned me and i didnt need that "right now bacteria". Ive tried everything from new carbon filter to some liquid stuff that said it would remove the cloud, and nothing seems to work, i really dont want to change the water again. i have about 6 damsels living in the water for the past week and they seem to be alive and well even in the cloud. Any idea guys on what could remove the cloud??
Cloudy salt water (Right Now bacteria)??
- Thread starter XeoNoX
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Firstly if I'm reading your post correctly your tank is only 3 weeks old and you already have six fish in it? IMO you should have waited a lot longer to add any livestock. I've never heard of that stuff but I would be running lots of carbon and do lots of water changes. I don't think your tank has even fully cycled, and that stuff probably threw it out of whack even worse. Have you done any parameter checks? If so post those so we can help you from there. Also what media are you running in your Rena filter? and what type of tank is this going to be; FOWLR, FO, or reef?
chend2
Achilles Reef Nugget
To you question, if you really want that stuff out you can run carbon, uv sterilizer, or just wait it out. I would highly suggest wandering over to Red Sea.
17716 15th Ave NE
(between 177th St & 179th St)
Seattle, WA 98155
(206) 417-2772
They are a saltwater only fish store and have excellent advice and service as well as awesome fish. Good luck.
17716 15th Ave NE
(between 177th St & 179th St)
Seattle, WA 98155
(206) 417-2772
They are a saltwater only fish store and have excellent advice and service as well as awesome fish. Good luck.
That stuff sounds like that Oxygen Deprived Bacteria in Liverock...(internally) but in super concentrated form.... White cloudyness is fromt he bacteria.
But if that bacteria is what I think it is from reading the bottle at the add...then its good bacteria
Now 3 weeks old and six fish ....wow..thats some pooping going on there.... a bit early but I dont have much room to speak...
In 1 week I had a 55 gallon up with 20lbs of rock and many softcorals <,<...
I had issues with white cloudy water... I learned its caused by bacteria or dust particles from dirty crushed corals ..(or stirring up the sand which is what I did).
It seems yours is bacteria.. put some anti bacterial medicine in the water... but this may cause a new cycle......
I dont envy your situation...you have 6 fish in there ....it's either leave it be and do a water change when the time comes...and wait it out...or add anti bacterial medicine to kill off the bacterial cloud.
Advice from a friend who passed away: Ryan Owens once said to me. " Patience" is the most important thing in all saltwater situations. Maybe waiting things out is better than adding chemicals and changing out all kinds of media.
But if that bacteria is what I think it is from reading the bottle at the add...then its good bacteria
Now 3 weeks old and six fish ....wow..thats some pooping going on there.... a bit early but I dont have much room to speak...
In 1 week I had a 55 gallon up with 20lbs of rock and many softcorals <,<...
I had issues with white cloudy water... I learned its caused by bacteria or dust particles from dirty crushed corals ..(or stirring up the sand which is what I did).
It seems yours is bacteria.. put some anti bacterial medicine in the water... but this may cause a new cycle......
I dont envy your situation...you have 6 fish in there ....it's either leave it be and do a water change when the time comes...and wait it out...or add anti bacterial medicine to kill off the bacterial cloud.
Advice from a friend who passed away: Ryan Owens once said to me. " Patience" is the most important thing in all saltwater situations. Maybe waiting things out is better than adding chemicals and changing out all kinds of media.
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DonW
R.I.P.
What happens is when you add that stuff in a high nutrient tank it explodes into a bloom like you are experiencing. It will continue to thrive as long as its fed. The only real way to get rid of it is to do water changes at a faster rate than it can multiply. This means lots of water changes large and one right after the other.
Don
Don
Just to learn more on my end... In fresh water that was killer on fresh water ... I am assuming it would be the same on a salt tank but im new to this game...its a little more different and I dont want to let my assumptions cause me to make mistakes.
These large changes wouldnt they impact the biology of the tank too much? And ive seen this happen in freshwater more than once...a total new cycle start cause of the volume of change happening....at the same time it creates a huge amount of stress on pets.
if salt is more sensitive than fresh...this could be a dangerous procedure then....right?
SO his options are:
1. Dons idea of constant water changing to out do the breeding of the bacteria till its under control...but that wouldn't rid the tank of the bacteria...its like pulling weeds and leaving the roots to me....you will still have to deal with the weeds ..in this case the bacteria thats still in the water.
2. Anti-Biotics...which more than likely cause a new cycle in your tank cause it will affect your live rock,sand also...but it is a sure way of destroying that over abundance of that crap you put in that tank.
Dude you are in a rock and hard place on this issue.
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DonW
R.I.P.
First we could care less about bacteria in the water column. We want denitrifying bacteria and its not in the column. We want a balance between waste and bacterial population. Antibiotics are non selective and should NOT be used.
No large water changes done properly will not hurt anything. You can do 100% water changes if you so choose. I change at least a 100% every week and have done so for a long time. This is a very simple thing to fix but you have to invest the time and of course the money to get it done.
Don
No large water changes done properly will not hurt anything. You can do 100% water changes if you so choose. I change at least a 100% every week and have done so for a long time. This is a very simple thing to fix but you have to invest the time and of course the money to get it done.
Don
burning2nd
Well-known member
i change 100% on weekends.... my suggestion is that you stop everything shy of toping off with fresh water... and do some reading...
your tank is new and something is going on.... you should not have fish yet... 6 for sure...
Id say slow down... read up..
or you will be wasteing money.
your tank is new and something is going on.... you should not have fish yet... 6 for sure...
Id say slow down... read up..
or you will be wasteing money.
i fixed it, i stirred up the sand, i guess alot of that stuff was stuck to the sand, after a whole day of stirring the sand about once every three hours and i did it maybe 4 times, the water finally cleared up. I waited about 2 days after and i changed about 30% of the water. Next week i will change another 30%. So far though the water is crystal clear once again and i have added some 60lbs of live rocks. all damsels are still doing fine. i went to the LFS and did a water test, they said everything was fine, PH is at 7.8 (i guess it should be 8.2), and the calcium is around 700(kinda high). thanks guys for all the help and advice.
DonW
R.I.P.
They said everything was fine with ca being 700??
You need a new lfs or need to buy some test kits.Don
DonW
R.I.P.
It is that bad. Any LFS that deals in SW should know full well that it is nearly impossible to have a ca of 700. Then to tell you its 700 and all is fine just shows that they either are ignorant or just dont care.
You are much better of doing some basic research and learning a little about reef chemisty on your own. This will require that you also purchase some test kits. You can always ask any chemistry related questions here and get the right answers.
Don
DonW
R.I.P.
You did not read the fine print. This stuff is suggest to be used with Carbon in canister fileter. Also Your cal is high and your ph is low is because the bateria is producing co2 and it drive down you ph and then leaching cal from your sand and rock. I am surprise that you did not kill your fish becasue that type of bacteria consume large quantity of oxygen.
In this hobby you need patient and read read read learn learn learn before you try it....
It is not just like having a dog or a cat. This is a large bio chemistry set you are playing with.
