CLOUDY WATER

a good LFS can a will test the water for you, some have a small charge for doing it.

 

Good suggestion Scuba!

 

Just wondering if this tank is in a room with windows and doors?
Any ourside door near by?

 

Ok I finall tested the ALKof the water.  I got a reading of 11.9dKH
Now here is the wierd part:
I have two books The New Marine Aquarium and The Natural Reef Aquarium.
The New Marine Aquarium gives a target reading of
7-10dKH
The Natural reef Aquarium says 7-14dKH
My LFS says 9-11dKH
The Test Kit said if should be ~7dKH (which they said is what natural seawater is)
Who do you guys suggest I follow? And if need be what should I do to correct this?
P.S. Its in a room w/ windows but I tried to keep the tank away from direct sunlight.  I live on the 2nd floor so there is one door that goes to a stairway that goes to an outside door but the room that the tank is in is shaped like an L and the tank and that door are on opposite ends. Just curious why about the door????????

 

OK so this is my theory. It is only speculation.
an ALK reading of 11.9 dKH isn;t that high. But the water has been in the tank now for two weeks. I know there is nothing that could deplete the Alk but I believe when it was first mixed the Alk was a lot higher. Over the last two weeks it has dropped to 11.9dKH.
Now we still have the cloudy water problem. This could be do to a CA or PH imbalance with a high Alk?
You could mess around with CA additives until the cows come home. But that would be throwing good money after bad. I strongly recommend you purchase a cheap water filter, like the one below and mix new water with new salt.

To answer your question on the Correct dKH. People will argue this point for ever but I would go with between 7-14. I do know people that run higher. But ALK, CA, and PH all have a relationship and must be in balance in order to achieve a healthy reef

 

I measured the pH at about 8.2 and I did use DI water when I filled the tank. Do you think the water will be better from a tap water purifier? If I make new water should I switch to another brand of salt, I used IO?

 

My theory is that is was that salt that caused this problem.
Were did you get the DI Water?
The reason I went with the Tap Water Purifier and different salt was to eliminate both variables.
Was the water cloudy before you added Salt?
How did you add the salt?
Did you get the water up to temp then put a Power head in to aerate the water then add salt?

Jason

 

I got the water from a LFS.   The water was cloudy before I added the salt but I figured it would go away in a couple of days (thats what they said when I asked).   I heated the tank to 75 and I let the tank run for a couple of days w/ freshwater (overflow powerhead protein skimmer) at 75 degrees then I shut everthing off added the salt dissolved the salt and then put the system back on and let it run for a day, checked  the salinity and added salt accordingly. I just dont want to change the water unless I have to the water was 90 dollars (1 dollar a gal) and the salt was 60 dollars for a 200gal mix.  So that would be almost 120dollars down the drain literally.  I dont think the LFS will replace my salt and water they seemed pretty confident that the water should be alittle cloudy for awhile (they said 4months until it is crytal clear, "until you cant tell there is water in the tank&quot.  And they think there should be no problem adding the rock and sand.  im just alittle apprehensive due to the price of the sand and rock.  And frankly I trust everyone here more then the LFS, they could just be out to make a buck and probably could really care less

 

Could you take a pic of your tank?
Do you have a Digital Camera?

 

unfortunatly I dont have digital camera but as best as I can explain it when the light are off it looks clear except when I look from the side then I can see that its not clear. When I put the lights on it looks transpenent put whitish. a small airbubble hear and there but not many. And if I look up at the tank w/ the lights on it looks like a thin cloud of smoke swirling around the tank