Brand new, first fill with very cloudy water, do I need to start over?

[Rick's Reef]

Hello,

Thanks in advance for your help! I have a 150g tank, 5'x2'x2'. After months of plumbing and setup prep, I finally filled the tank on Thursday and I am thinking I made a big mistake .

I filled the tank completely with fresh RO/DI water and verified multiple times during the fill that there was 0 TDS on the product water. I got the water up to temp (77F) and all of the pumps were running and then I...wait for it...added salt directly to the tank. I added the required amount of Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, spread out over a 3 hour period.

However the tank is extremely cloudy and has remained so over 48 hours. I added a micron filter to the drip tray in my sump and it seems to have helped some (it is a light brown color! ). But I should add this is the second fill on this tank. Previously, I filled and had a problem with my overflow leaking and had to drain and make some changes. On the first fill, I used Red Sea salt and there was no cloudiness whatsoever.

So what should I do now? Did I mess up my setup enough that I should just flush it all and refill anew with Red Sea? Or is there any reason to expect that the ReefCrystals wouldn't have the same result if mixed first and then added to the tank? (Because it is not settling out in the tank, I don't see why it would in a Brute trashcan).

I was planning to order my Tampa Bay rock this week but am holding off until I get some advice. See pictures.

Thanks,
Rick

Sorry for the heavy blue - this is with 4 T5's, 3 are blue and 1 purple. I don't have my Kessil's mounted yet. And the fish decals were my wife's doing (she said they were reef safe and ich free)...

 

[elisa h]

I think you should be fine. I made the same mistake except I added fresh water to the tank after I put sand and dry rock in. Then I added salt. Lol don't know what I was thinking. It all cleared up within a couple days, including the sand. I don't see how adding salt to just water in a tank would even be a problem just make sure you have a power head in there to mix the salt. The water I probably a little cloudy cause the salt is still mixing. Adding salt to a tank with just water and mixing it is the same as mixing salt in a bucket would be.

 

[Coralfuture]

Your fine I did that exact same thing when I started out! Except it was my reefer friend helping me out and using a hydrometer to test my water.....I later got a refractometer and found the salinity to be at 1.041.......I began to dilute and stopped trusting some of his advice; however everything cleared up and went great after that hiccup!

Your salt just isn't fully dissolved there isn't enough flow on the bottom to break up those large chunks. If you can bring that pump to the bottom and blow that stuff around should clear up pretty quickly then. Good luck tho!

 

[Rick's Reef]

Thanks for the fast responses. I only have about 3.5x turnover in the tank with the sump (~550gph, measured by a flowmeter on the main drain), but I do have 2 Vortech MP40s that have been running since I started adding salt. I am getting lots of flow as I can see the cloudiness swirl in the tank.

I will *try* to be patient .

 

[EriksOasis]

Not a problem or mistake at all. The salt mix is just mixing. When I set up my tanks I just mix the salt right in the tank as well not a problem when there is no livestock In the tank. Obviously once it’s up and running with fish you want to mix the alt prior.

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

Your going to need a bigger pump or you will have issues with filtration.

 

[spiraling]

go ahead and order your rock. You will have lots of biology going on, and the rock will help kick start that. Don't worry about cloudiness now, or even later. Its the salt and/or bacteria coming into equilibrium.

 

[Rick's Reef]

@Shaddow_wolf169 you think 3.5x-4x turnover through the sump is not enough? The only thing in my sump is the skimmer and fuge with probes, etc.

I have 2 MP40s for flow within the tank itself.

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

I ran a 600gph in my 125 nitrates were through the roof always. Jumped up to a 2,250gph and nitrates dropped that day. Just get a DCT 12,000 learn from my mistakes.

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

You should be turning over your display atleast 10 to 15x per hour.

 

[mfinn]

@Shaddow_wolf169 you think 3.5x-4x turnover through the sump is not enough? The only thing in my sump is the skimmer and fuge with probes, etc.

I have 2 MP40s for flow within the tank itself.

You will be fine with that amount of flow through the sump.

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

Watch "How to Choose a Properly Sized Return Pump for Your Saltwater Aquarium" on YouTube


Good video

 

[mfinn]

@Shaddow_wolf169 you think 3.5x-4x turnover through the sump is not enough? The only thing in my sump is the skimmer and fuge with probes, etc.

I have 2 MP40s for flow within the tank itself.

Like I said you will be fine with the current flow through the sump. No need to panic and go buy another pump.
I know many who run 3x to 5x, and I know people who like the 10x or more. Either way is going to work.
I have 4x to 5x going through my 233 and my 50.
Check out the tanks in my signature.