Fog?

rashr · 02-02-2007, 08:33 PM

Hello all....I have a problem I don't know what to do about....Yesterday I changed out my filter sock and went to work with a crystal clear tank.....when I get home it is foggy. Foggy you say? Well what I mean is that the particulate or whatever is making the tank cloudy looks like a fog in teh tank....when the powerheads or returns move the water is rolls like fog coming off of water on a cool fall night. I have run the tank for two days hoping this would settle out...in the mean time I checked my parameters and all are at "0", pH is 8.2, Temp. is 77, Calcium is a little high at 440. I don't know what to do. For background sake I converted this tank (90 gal) from my old 55 with all of the water I could salvage and all of my liverock replaced, plus about 3 or 4 dead aragonite pieces. I thought it looked like a cylcling tank, but this sholdn't be happening to me with all of my sand and water and rock from my old tank....should it? My filter sock is 100 micron and it isn't touching this. Any ideas or suggestions....inhabitants seem fine and doing great, but I just can't get over how a tank can go from crystal clear to foggy in 10 hours with no apparent signs of trouble....Oh yeah....I don't know if this helps....but I clean my filter socks with water then bleach them in 10% clorox water then rinse them, then let them dry over a couple of days for any of the bleach that stayed on it to evapoate off. I have been doing this for a while and no issues, but it may have caught up with me if this is an issue...please give me some ideas so I can go back to crystal clear and happy water!

inwall75 · 02-03-2007, 05:28 AM

Sounds like a bacterial bloom. If it was a precipitation event, it would have ended by now.

You can cure this a number of different ways. The most effective is a UV sterilizer. You can also use a flocullant like this Clarity FAQ and use a 1 micron filter bag. You can also borrow or buy a diatom filter. Diatom Filters for Aquariums and Ponds

Basically, what you have is an explosion of bacteria. Normally they reside in biofilms on surfaces in your tank. In this case, there was enough food (phosphates, rotting food, etc) that the population grew beyond the surface area provided and as a result, they are floating around in the water column.

If you don't add any food to the tank, this will go away naturally but will take a bit of time.

rashr · 02-03-2007, 09:09 AM

Thanks.....I will back down on the food, the water seems to be getting better today. On a second note......I am not totally convinced my method of cleaning the sock filter is the best way.....what do you guys do to clean your sock filters? Thanks again!

Jason McKenzie · 02-03-2007, 10:35 AM

I just put it in the wash with some baking soda

I make sure my wife doesn't see them go in and I run the wash through again without anything after.

J

a1amap · 02-03-2007, 03:46 PM

Do you test for ammonia? I had a simular problem and found that my ammonia levels were high every time the fog was arround. A major contributer to high ammonia is excess food.
AL

rashr · 02-03-2007, 08:40 PM

Yes.....I tested for it all and all of parameters were "0"....Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. I guess it was a bacterial bloom like INWALL said. It went away today and is almost back to crystal clear.....I hope it stays away, pretty scary!

inwall75 · 02-03-2007, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a1amap

Do you test for ammonia? I had a simular problem and found that my ammonia levels were high every time the fog was arround. A major contributer to high ammonia is excess food.
AL

Quote:

Originally Posted by rashr

Yes.....I tested for it all and all of parameters were "0"....Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. I guess it was a bacterial bloom like INWALL said. It went away today and is almost back to crystal clear.....I hope it stays away, pretty scary!

It depends how long a condition has existed. Nitrifying bacteria can reproduce so fast that they put bunnies on crack to shame. Test it while the "cloud" is forming and you'll register high Ammonia. Test for Ammonia several hours later and you'll get a zero reading (but cloudier water).

Bacteria blooms can happen in many ways. Have waaaay too much waste sitting around or remove too much bacteria at one time. That's why if you are shifting away from bioballs, biowheels, etc., you are best off doing it slowly. Apparently, there was a lot of waste in the sock and a big bacterial colony that disappeared all at once. Yet there were still plenty of nutrients in the system to feed a reproduction event but they hadn't yet built biofilms. That's why the water got foggy.