New tank has cloudy water for several weeks

[spiraling]

The tank is still cloudy. It looks like smoke in the water. I've read other places to wait out the cycle and it will clear, so I'm waiting.
I should note that after the shrimp totally decayed, several scallop, and biospira, that the tank was not at all cycled. Thanks @saltyfilmfolks for mentioning ammonia. I put in 2ppm. 4 days later it finally dropped and my nitrites are now high. I don't know how it doesn't cycle after a month, but its on the way now.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The tank is still cloudy. It looks like smoke in the water. I've read other places to wait out the cycle and it will clear, so I'm waiting.
I should note that after the shrimp totally decayed, several scallop, and biospira, that the tank was not at all cycled. Thanks @saltyfilmfolks for mentioning ammonia. I put in 2ppm. 4 days later it finally dropped and my nitrites are now high. I don't know how it doesn't cycle after a month, but its on the way now.

No sweat.
You still have Ammonia? Try a big bag of carbon over the return pump inlet. We gotta get that cleared up eh? Are you running reactors?

 

[spiraling]

I have a carbon reactor. The ammonia dropped to 0.25 or so, Nitrates are 2+ maybe higher, the color is all the same . No nitrates, but I expect them soon....

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Odd but hang in there..

 

[Brew12]

I have a carbon reactor. The ammonia dropped to 0.25 or so, Nitrates are 2+ maybe higher, the color is all the same . No nitrates, but I expect them soon....

Do you have the carbon tightly packed in the reactor?

 

[spiraling]

Do you have the carbon tightly packed in the reactor?

I have it between the sponges so it isn't tumbling. not "tightly packed", but not moving. The biopellets are lightly tumbling.

 

[Brew12]

I have it between the sponges so it isn't tumbling. not "tightly packed", but not moving. The biopellets are lightly tumbling.

Sounds like it shouldn't be the problem then. "Smokey water" can be caused by GAC if it isn't packed tight enough. You don't want it moving at all since even just rubbing together can cause it to turn to powder. Might try pushing the sponges a little tighter.

 

[brandon429]

merely the movement from a higher reading, to the .25 is the movement we look for along with a known submersion timeframe that all tanks comply under

whats inflexible is the timeframes and the known rampup time for bacteria when they are fed and stocked and given 30 days... the cycle sure did not stall. you could change out the water making the tank clear, refill with normal water, and begin light reefing if you have had +30 days and bottle bac and any form of ammonia. we could have cycled your tank using not a single test kit off the timeframes alone and the big water change at the end.


whats built up in the water (nitrites etc) wouldn't be there if the water was made clean and what bac are on the surfaces are still left in place. you could then refill and begin light reefing easily, not anywhere on the current ammonia scale the tank is employing.

the clouding can easily be mixed aerobic bacteria in suspension due to using degrading meat as the ammonia option. The cloudiness would be factored independently of the tanks ability to pass a light ammonia digestion test after its mixed water nutrients have been changed out.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I would turn off or empty the bio pellet reactor. At this point you don't really need to make more bacteria.

 

[brandon429]

I didn't even see that part nice call.

 

[Gage Sullivan]

FILTER FLOSS!!! I had the same problem. Just go to Walmart and get quilt batting.(just poly no additives) Attach a bottle to a little power head/pump, cut bottom off, fill with batting, put in tank. Cleared mine in a day when it stayed cloudy for a week!

 

[Gage Sullivan]

FILTER FLOSS!!! Just get quilt batting from Walmart with no additives, it costs $3.99. My tank was cloudy for a week, but when I put some batting in there it cleared right up. Just attach a bottle to a powerhead/pump, cut the other end off, and fill with the filter batting, and there you go clear water in no time.

 

[reef lover]

FILTER FLOSS!!! I had the same problem. Just go to Walmart and get quilt batting.(just poly no additives) Attach a bottle to a little power head/pump, cut bottom off, fill with batting, put in tank. Cleared mine in a day when it stayed cloudy for a week!

FILTER FLOSS!!! Just get quilt batting from Walmart with no additives, it costs $3.99. My tank was cloudy for a week, but when I put some batting in there it cleared right up. Just attach a bottle to a powerhead/pump, cut the other end off, and fill with the filter batting, and there you go clear water in no time.

Welcome to r2r!! Feel free to start a thread in the new members section so we can get to know you some...oh and we love pics!

 

[Shadows Reef]

Hi,
I'm setting up a new tank. Its had water in it for about two weeks and remains cloudy. It seems a whitish color.

In the tank I have rocks (tonga and pukuni that were cured for 4 weeks), a block of marine pure, black carib sea sand, carbon, and bio pellets. There is one dead shrimp cycling the tank. The skimmer has been on for a couple of days and pulled some gunk out, but it didn't seem to help. The socks have a little gunk, looking more like diatoms. I used red sea coral salt with RODI water. Salinity is 1.028 (yes a touch high, I plan to adjust later) I also added biospiria, but it was cloudy before adding it.

Any ideas on why the water is cloudy and remains so?

Hey man how did you end up clearing your tank? I’m running into the same exact issue :/

 

[Cflow]

I had a similar experience using dr Tim’s cycle method. My tank had turned cloudy white to cloudy green. Ammonia eventually fell to 0 followed by nitrite and nitrate. Po4 0. The tank got worse. Despite water changes, extra filtration, and carbon it never cleared up. Once one of my fish jumped out and my wrasse buried itself for days I put in a UV sterilizer. Cleared in a week. It still comes back when I add new livestock. I’ve never experienced it before. I keep a drop in uv on hand when it acts up. Super annoying but it worked for me. UV is one of those things I don’t like to run but has saved my tank over and over again.