Lingering bacteria bloom makes me wanna start over! (Unresolved)

This may be a stupid question, but heck I'm gonna ask it anyways since its kinda bugging me. My water has been cloudy for the last week, I'm talking I can barely see the back of the tank.

65 Gallon DT, 20 gallon sump

Parameters are:

Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 40 ppm
Ph - 8.2
Salinity - 1.024 (Getting ready to do water change and bring to 1.026)

Filtration has been only GAC and fuge with chaeto, just added ATS 48 hrs ago.

Stocking list is pair of perc clowns and foxface, with too small of a CUC. Pulsing xenia, blue shroom, red shrooms.

Now I know the nitrates are high, they have been forever. I finally got the ATS going and I'm getting ready to do a 40% water change tomorrow. All the fish and corals look great, the corals are growing and the shrooms are dropping babies. The fish are healthy and eat like pigs. The tank is about 4 months old.

My question is what is in the water making it cloudy? Obviously there is something suspended in the water column that is clouding it up, but what? I can put filter socks on and it seems to do nothing for the cloudiness, I changed the GAC and still nothing. Is this some kind of microscopic algae? Or a bacteria bloom? The fish and corals dont seem to mind the cloudiness one bit, but it looks like SH**!

 

It could be a bacteria bloom have you added anything new to the filter? this happened when I put a canister on my already running fresh water tank, It cleared after a few weeks. Other then that it could just be some small particulate thats suspended, but a filter sock should generally pick that up so if no, I'm steering towards a bloom but I could be wrong

 

No I didnt add anything new until I added the ATS. I'm not really sure what it is or what caused it.

 

whats your substrate maybe the powerheads are kicking up sand or micro bubbles from return?

 

I forgot to mention that in the OP. It's not sand stirred up and there are definitely not microbubbles from the return.

 

have you added anything new? other than that the only reasonable explanation i could think of is the bacteria bloom mentioned above

 

I just added the ATS saturday, but the water cloudiness started before that. What would cause a bacteria bloom?

 

well the nitrates could be helping, also what are your phosphate levels at?

 

I don't have a phosphate test kit. And please explain how nitrates can cause a bacteria bloom?

 

im not sure 100% what causes a bloom but that is a possible cause of cloudy water....from my understanding if that is what it is the bacteria will consume any nutrients available and die out on its own