lights making water cloudy?

[saggese820]

I have a jbj nano cube original, its been set up for more than 2 months now, all params are good and tank is stable, but when i have the lights run for 8 hrs a day, the water gets cloudy and gets worse each day. Any ideas? i run stock filtration plus filter floss. When i keep the lights off, the tank stays clear as could be. Have 2 clowns, a hammer frag and a zoa frag.

[disaster999]

are you running any carbon or filter floss to filter out the water?

 

what kind of water are you using? distilled, ro/di, tap?

 

what do you have in the tank?

[saggese820]

i run stock filtration plus filter floss. When i keep the lights off, the tank stays clear as could be. Have 2 clowns, a hammer frag and a zoa frag.

 

stock filtration has carbon, and I am using ro water.

[StevieT]

What nano cube model do you have?

Edited September 30, 2010 by StevieT

[glazer]

Do you notice a tint to the cloudiness?? White, green, brown, yellow? When did you change out the carbon and filter floss last?

Are you dosing anything? How often and how much are you feeding the clowns? Lots of things can play into having cloudy water... especially on new tanks. You say water params are good... what kind of numbers? Have you had any of your tests confirmed using another test kit or at an LFS?

 

Without a direct light source shining in the tank the water is going to always look cleaner/clearer. So you think the water looks crystal clear right when the lights pop on but as the light cycle progresses the water starts clouding up?

 

Steve

[1fishmonger]

Pretty sure the lights aren't 'making the water cloudy' .. They just make it noticeable. How often do you change the water?

[danthenewreefman]

Pretty sure the lights aren't 'making the water cloudy' .. They just make it noticeable. How often do you change the water?

 

my phosphates got really high up there, and it's been causing the tank water to turn brown-cloudy 15minutes after lights turn on...

 

what tint is the cloudiness?

[saggese820]

i dont dose, i do weekly water changes. its the jbj 12 gallon original, not deluxe. the water is a white cloudy after the light has been on for 8 hours a day after a few days. It goes away after i do a water change, and if i leave the lights off the water doesnt get cloudy for the few mins when i turn them on, but as soon as i start a light cycle, the tank gets progressively cloudier.

[evilc66]

Sounds like a bacterial bloom, but you need to find out what is causing it. What are your water parameters?

[saggese820]

0 nitrite

0 ammonia

5 ppm nitrate

ph 8.2

salinity 1.025

 

would changing out the carbon affect this?

[paneubert]

0 nitrite

0 ammonia

5 ppm nitrate

ph 8.2

salinity 1.025

 

would changing out the carbon affect this?

 

Changing the carbon would help since carbon that has been in there more than a few days is probably not working anywhere near as well as when you first added it. Carbon saturates quickly and needs to be changed more frequently than any other filter media in my opinion.

[blasterman]

The light is either causing a bacterial or algae bloom. Just part of new tank syndrome. It's very common in freshwater, especially when tap water is used given all the silicates and phosphates are in it.

 

Assuming you are using RO water, the cycle should slowly work itself through as your tank ecology learns to out-compete the critters in the water table. Massive water changes are only making the LFS store rich from you buying salt off them. I would go back to your regular water change schedule and husbandry. Filter changes won't do much either because the cloudiness is caused by stuff smaller than a micron. Reducing your light frequency might help in the short term.

 

One thing to watch for is your fish don't start stressing. Bacteria blooms like this can deplete your water of oxygen for a short term.

[evilc66]

Good points. OP, you will want to test phosphates, as they will be more telling for bacterial blooms.

[Kev72]

I have the same problem with my water going cloudy white. I switched the light off and didn't bother with the tank for about 6 months because I got fed up of the tank looking like this. I only had a plec in there. The water went back to being crystal clear. Last week I switched it back on and did a water test and everything was great except my pH was low. I put PH up in and it was perfect. Now my water is gone back cloudy after a week. People say the light can't be the reason but I can't see any other reason. BTW  my plec is happy as Larry 

 

[FishGirl77]

From what I’ve read, the algae or bacteria in your water is reflecting the light that’s why you’re seeing the cloudiness and when you turn it off you can’t see it anymore. For algae I’d suggest turning your light off a few hrs earlier than usual and clean all surfaces to remove the algae, algae loves light and for bacteria blooms I’d just let it run its course, don’t clean your filter out at the same time as you do a vacuum and also alternate between water changes (one week you suck only water then the next week you do a filter or gravel clean up with your water change) Your filter will eventually stabilize.