cwilliams Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Hey all! My name is Chris Williams, and I moved to Austin about 2 months ago. I absolutely love it here (moved from Kansas, so go figure), but still haven't been able to meet a ton of people yet. Was hoping you guys have meetings every once in awhile to get to know people that are just as obsessed as I am about marine life .. I do have a couple of questions concerning my tank that I had previously set up back home in Kansas. I can't seem to get rid of the cloudy water.. It looks like dust just continually being pushed down starting from the top of the tank. I run chemical media as well as a sump/refuigium.. Any help would be more than appreciated and I'm really looking forward to meeting each and every one of you! Thanks in advance, C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Are you using ro/di water ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 welcome! glad to have you. Are you sure it was not micro bubbles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 as the above said, is it rodi water being used and are you sure it isnt micro bubbles? What type of sand/substrate do you have? Any mechanical filtration in the system? might sound odd but do you have any power heads aimed towards the bottom? I found with a cloduy tank, aiming the PH towards the ground actually helps atleast during first introducing sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilliams Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 Using Ro/di water from fishy business. Running a AC 30. Substrate is crushed coral, so not fine at all. The sump is a micro-reefs s.o.s. sump if that helps. I wouldn't rule out micro bubbles, but then again, what could be creating them? Appreciate the feedback fellas.. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilliams Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 Sorry guys forgot to mention..using a bubble magnus qq skimmer in the sump as well.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 HOB's have a tendency to dump bubbles back into the tank in my experience. If you leave the HOB off for a bit, do the bubbles disappear? Do you have a bubble trap inbetween the skimmer and the return pump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 if your skimmer is sending bubbles into the return chamber, or there is low water level in the return chamber, or splashing in the return chamber there are bubbles created and sucked into the return pump that are then thrashed into thousands of smaller micro bubbles...run a filter sock and make sure bubbles are not getting into your return section Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilliams Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 Good point on the skimmer sending mico bubbles to the return...I didn't know they could get that small... Would you consider running the sump in the tank instead then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 do you have something that looks like this between your skimmer and your return pump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilliams Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 No sir...just a plain 5 gal tank...Not very handy on the DIY projects.. are there any websites I could hit up that would have this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 yeah, sounds like your issue is microbubbles. you need to separate the skimmer from the return pump via baffles. google DIY bubble trap or DIY baffle for sump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Gott Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Welcome to Austin and the ARC! I joined for the purpose of making friends too. Since it looks like you've got plenty of advice re: micro-bubbles, I've got to ask the social question: What brought you to Austin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilliams Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 yeah, sounds like your issue is microbubbles. you need to separate the skimmer from the return pump via baffles. google DIY bubble trap or DIY baffle for sump. It's gotta be that.. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of your help. I think I'm gonna disconnect the sump and run it freely by itself, and go get a 10 gal. and have shane from fishy business put baffles in it for me. Again, thx to all that chimed in on this. Welcome to Austin and the ARC! I joined for the purpose of making friends too. Since it looks like you've got plenty of advice re: micro-bubbles, I've got to ask the social question: What brought you to Austin? My gf and I decided to move down here b/c we both have enjoyed austin in the past, and just felt it was the right move for the both of us. I can't tell you how happy I am to be down here and out of boring Kansas.. Don't get me wrong, I miss my friends/family very dearly, but in my heart I knew it was the best decision for myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 No problem, that is what we are here for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Welcome. How long has the tank been setup? Also, is the AC30 or sump running mechanical filtration like floss, a sock, or something else? If the cloud-stuff is floating upward, it's probably microbubbles. Generally, you can still see the tiny bubbles if that's the problem. If it's truly cloudy, I would look to other causes but it should clear up with time and mechanical filtration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilliams Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 Welcome. How long has the tank been setup? Also, is the AC30 or sump running mechanical filtration like floss, a sock, or something else? If the cloud-stuff is floating upward, it's probably microbubbles. Generally, you can still see the tiny bubbles if that's the problem. If it's truly cloudy, I would look to other causes but it should clear up with time and mechanical filtration. the ac30 is running carbon.. the cloudy stuff looks like fog and is floating in a downward direction. If it is micro bubbles, it's by far the most fine particles I have ever seen, bc you can't make out the bubbles at all.. Have talked with a bunch of LFS and they all seem pretty perplexed at my situation.. Kind of frustrating to be honest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Gott Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 What about calcium precipitation or a bacterial bloom? The downward floating almost makes it sound like the former, but a bacterial bloom can also cause a fine fog or cloudiness to form, which could look like suspended sedimentary particles caught in the currents. What are your water parameters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Welcome! Seems like you're getting good advice on the cloudy water issue so I'll answer the question you asked about meetings. Yes, the club meets monthly on the 3rd Saturday of each month, with the exception of some summer months when we try to plan alternate activities. You can watch the calendar here, and we try to put out reminders a few weeks before each meetings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 do you have mechanical filtration? i havent seen a response on that yet, carbon wont pull out fine dust, try either getting a filter sock or filter floss or throw urs in the washer for a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 i had a similar issue with some live rock that was giving off a cloudy smoke like substance for the first week of its introduction to the tank. After which, it slowed down and eventually subsided. Someone told me once that this could be ammonia or the rock going through its final curing phase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Glad you're in Austin and welcome. I've experienced cloudy water for two reasons: 1) microbubbles caused by the carbon sock I drape over my return pump inlet (that's from Shane at FB, too). 2) abiotic precipitation when I got alkalinity too high and I didn't realize how much magnesium had dropped. I hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilliams Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to get back with you! I greatly appreciate everyone chiming in on their experiences/knowledge/ect... all parameters were fine, and I thought it was micro bubbles too...or so I did. What I eventually did was breakdown my 28 into my 5 gal(that I used as a sump/refug) to really maximize space and alleviate the problem at hand. Also, I did this b/c I thought it might be a single cell bacteria boom and I wanted to condense the water volume and make sure it wasn't micro bubbles. Surely enough guys, I bought a UV sterilizer and overnight...my tank is crystal clear. I had talked to a few LFS stores around Austin and none of them were fans of a sterilizer for some reason?? But now I have a perfectly healthy(albeit a little smaller than I want) tank. I hope this can help people in the future that come across these same situations.. Again, cannot thank you enough for all the feedback. Super excited to attend meetings as well. Where are they usually held? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I like my UV sterilizer. Mainly it's a convenience as without it I have to clean the DT glass every few days but with it I have to clean the DT glass every few weeks. Numerous knowledgeable sources state that the good bacteria live in the substrate and LR and not in the water column, so I doubt the sterilizer hurts that stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilliams Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 I like my UV sterilizer. Mainly it's a convenience as without it I have to clean the DT glass every few days but with it I have to clean the DT glass every few weeks. Numerous knowledgeable sources state that the good bacteria live in the substrate and LR and not in the water column, so I doubt the sterilizer hurts that stuff. That's good to know.. I always wondered why there was so much "hate" towards UV's... Totally off topic, but I seriously live less than a mile from ya. I'm off of 620 and amber glen blvd. Would love to come check out your tank sometime if you're free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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