My first saltwater Tank and first problem (problem solved)

[CmtCousteau]

Hi,

 

I juste started my first saltwater tank.

 

It's a 30 Gallons. No skimmer.

 

But i have a little problem, my water was very blurry for about 1 week, after that it become clear, and now it's again blurry just after i added something like 1 gallons freshwater to compensate evaporation (i did gently). 

 

It's like i had "smoke" in the tank. 

 

I dont know if it's my sand (RED SEA Live Reef) which is very very "small".

 

I'm trying to filter the water with some "Wadding" in my filter, but it dont seems to work.

 

The tank was full the 31st August.

 

4 Days after (3 September) :

 

5 Days after (4 September) :

 

6 September :

 

7 September :

 

Just now (13 September):

 

 

Thanks in advance, and forgive my english, i speak french.

 

[Murphs_Reef]

What type of sand is that? If it's the fine stuff it might well be that. How well was it rinsed before you out it in the tank? I put mine in a bucket and let it overflow for half an hour before adding 

[MarieH]

Bonjour!  Assez beau!  I think its the fine sand, give it time and I think it will pass.  I remember it happened to me a long time ago.  After the slime coating develops, it keeps the sand from blowing around

[Murphs_Reef]

If it is the sand. It ok, bit of a pain for a while but no real issue.. don't move stuff around for a bit though as it will come right back 

[Clown79]

If the sand wasn't pre rinsed, its most likely the sand dust.

 

Best thing is to stir it through the week so the dust gets filtered out while changing the filter floss every few days. 

[WV Reefer]

6 hours ago, CmtCousteau said:

Hi,

 

I juste started my first saltwater tank.

 

It's a 30 Gallons. No skimmer.

 

But i have a little problem, my water was very blurry for about 1 week, after that it become clear, and now it's again blurry just after i added something like 1 gallons freshwater to compensate evaporation (i did gently). 

 

It's like i had "smoke" in the tank. 

 

I dont know if it's my sand (RED SEA Live Reef) which is very very "small".

 

I'm trying to filter the water with some "Wadding" in my filter, but it dont seems to work.

 

The tank was full the 31st August.

 

4 Days after (3 September) :

 

5 Days after (4 September) :

 

6 September :

 

7 September :

 

Just now (13 September):

 

 

Thanks in advance, and forgive my english, i speak french.

 

If it’s just cloudy water from sand dust it will clear up soon enough but it could also be a bacterial bloom which is common in new tanks. 

[A.m.P]

Honorable mention to calcium precipitation, if there's a large temperature difference in new water (fresh or salt) or an ongoing event.

Could quickly test Alk and Cal to see, otherwise it could be from your fine-grain deep sand bed, or a bacterial bloom as others have mentioned.

[CmtCousteau]

4 minutes ago, Amphrites said:

Honorable mention to calcium precipitation, if there's a large temperature difference in new water (fresh or salt) or an ongoing event.

Could quickly test Alk and Cal to see, otherwise it could be from your fine-grain deep sand bed, or a bacterial bloom as others have mentioned.

Thank's, i admit, the water i added was not warm, since it's was a small gallon... It could be that. If it's that, what can i do ?

 

I didn't rinsed the sand, since it's was "live" sand, i was supposed to not rince it (i should have listen to myself and did it,and F*** to the "live sand")

 

My rocks are CARIBSEA Life Rock, it's nearly impossible to get some "fresh" live rock in Switzerland.

 

I try to not move the rock, but i do some ajustement to the powerhead to have the best flow possible, no dead spot, no direct flow on the rock, no direct flow to the sand.

 

My powerhead is a Maxspect Gyre Flow Pump GF2K, maybe a bit overpower.

Thank's for all the answers.

[A.m.P]

A precipitation event wouldn't really be a big deal right now since you don't have corals, the worst you might face is some of your sand adhering together.
If it were the case, dosing magnesium, whichever element is precipitating out (calcium or ALK), alongside some phosphates and bacteria would help surfaces get coated (phosphate also acts as a buffer for calcium/ALK).
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.php#15

Your gyre may be kicking up sand in a manner that's difficult to observe, and re-arranging the rock could give it the opportunity to continue to do so without you noticing.

Meilleurs Vœux.

[CmtCousteau]

Ok thank's you,

 

I just ordered some bacteria to help the start of the cycle.

 

The tank is still blurry, no evolution, maybe worse. The last time the tank was blurry the morning and the evening the water was clear. 

 

The gyre is in random mod, max power is 40% (still 3000 Liters/hour) and the night it's 20%. The sand doesn't seem to move.

 

The way the flux is set upm one to the right on the surface, the other to the back in the middle.

 

[A.m.P]

Sounds like bacterial blooms, I wouldn't worry much about it while things are cycling, likely just part of the process.

[CmtCousteau]

I hope so, but i see something like "dust" flaoting in the tank.

 

This morning still no progress, will see this evening.

 

[CmtCousteau]

It's getting better :

 

 

I totally changed the flow, i think it's better now.

 

I started to add "bateria" with a Red Sea’s Reef Mature Pro Kit, but i have the feeling that i'm adding juste expensive "water"...

[A.m.P]

Microbacter 7 is certainly cheaper... All the bottled bacteria are an iffy concept since keeping them shelf stable means most of the nitrifying bacteria end up dead or sterile, from my understanding at least, but something seems to be much better than nothing in most people's experience.

[Clown79]

2 hours ago, CmtCousteau said:

It's getting better :

 

 

I totally changed the flow, i think it's better now.

 

I started to add "bateria" with a Red Sea’s Reef Mature Pro Kit, but i have the feeling that i'm adding juste expensive "water"...

Are you stirring the sand because it looks like there are air bubbles trapped in it.

If you didn't wash the sand before, you want to get that dust into the filter and out.

[CmtCousteau]

On 9/18/2020 at 10:22 PM, Clown79 said:

Are you stirring the sand because it looks like there are air bubbles trapped in it.

If you didn't wash the sand before, you want to get that dust into the filter and out.

Hi,

Yes the flow was moving the sand a little. I changed that.

 

And i believe my tank is cycled :

 

And the water is totaly clear :

 

 

Po4 are at 0

Kh is 8

Ph is between 8-8.5

Salinity : 1023

[CmtCousteau]

Hi, Some news,

 

My nitrite and nitrate are skyrocketing since 3-4 Days.

 

Nitrate are above 50 mg/l, i believe i will have to do a big water changer soon, i hope i dont have some problem with my sand.

I checked again my water from my RO/DI, It's seems to have 0 nitrate, so it's a good thing.

 

And there is some life, my first algae 😱

 

 

[CmtCousteau]

Hi,

 

Some months have past, i have put some snail/hermit crab in the tank, and my first corals. For 3 Weeks, maybe 1 month everything was OK. But, since 2 weeks, my coral (especially my zoanthids), began to stay close and some cyano appear...

 

I just got a Digital PH meter yesterday, and my PH was at 7.7 yesterday evening (light on). This morning (light still off) it was at 7.4, i believe way to low.

 

I do weekly water change (between 15-20 liters).

 

I wanted to check my KH, and i f****** lost the test, it was a old one, and maybe not the best for saltwater, the new one should arrive Tuesday.

 

My others parameters are : 

 

Temp : 26°

Salinity : 1024

No2 : 0

No3 : 0 (too low too a believe)

Po4 : 0

KH ?

PH between 7.4 and 7.7 depending of the time.

 

Thank's for you help.

 

(Some photo where you can see the cyano, and th corals before they closed )

 

[Clown79]

Nitrates and phos at 0 is an issue. Corals need them and without both, it also encourages nuisance algaes like dino to develop. 

[CmtCousteau]

Hi,

 

Thank you, i knew Nitrate was not a problem to be above 0, but i didnt know until a few days they were needed. For the Phosphate, i just learned that today...

 

I began to feed more the tank since 2 days. I hope my nitrate/phosphate will rise quickly.

[CmtCousteau]

Hi,

 

After feedind the tank for 1 week, the No3 are still à 0 ( i'm using the Red Sea nitrate Pro Kit). What can i do to rise the No3 a little bit ?

 

And for my KH, it was à 8.4.

[ReefGoat]

You have a couple options. You could scale back your water changes. Or you could dose the nitrates and phosphates. Or you could increase your livestock load (depending on if your tank can handle more). Then the more feedings and more fish poop will raise your nutrients. Just whatever route you take make sure its well thought out and not brash decisions. Also pick one way and implement it with patience. Then add another way if necessary. But I wouldn't do all at once. Also, you've only increased your feedings for 2 days. Thats not a very long time. Since you've chose to feed your fish more to raise nutrients. Let that play out for a while and see what happens. 

[CmtCousteau]

Hi, thank you for your answer.

 

I didn't mention it, but i dont have fish in the tank for the moment. I only have 3 hermit crab and 7 snails (5 living in the sand).

 

I dont want to add fish until the tank is stable.

 

What can i use to dose my nitrate ? I can't find anything on my local store.

 

And, is this skimmer good https://reefbuilders.com/2015/10/14/bubble-magus-qq1-hang-nano-skimmer/ ?

 

[CmtCousteau]

Hi, some news, i believe i've resolved my problem. The corals are opening, and my sand is white again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But, i have some green stuff, i dont know what is it, it seems to be some kind of green algae : 

 

 

 

 

[Sealybomb]

On 9/13/2020 at 12:50 PM, Grimes said:

What type of sand is that? If it's the fine stuff it might well be that. How well was it rinsed before you out it in the tank? I put mine in a bucket and let it overflow for half an hour before adding 

Did you rinse in tap water?