foggy water

phils514

my water is foggy, I did a 10% water change but still no change. any suggestion?

Chitown1

Sounds like a diatom bloom.
are you using RO/DI water?

Overfeeding?

How old are you bulbs?

phils514

I use bottled water. (poland spring), been using it since i started and had no problem. I dont over feed, takes may fish and inverts about 3 mins or less to eat everything. My bulbs are about 1 month old. Just bought a whole light set up last month.

Chitown1

Does it say RO or RO/DI filtered on the label for the water? You can have no issues for months then it builds to a point where there is a problem, I would also check your nitrate level, I bet it is high, my guess is it will be 20-30+ as for feeding, there could be additional food that falls to the bottom behind rocks etc. that you may not be aware is accumilating, how much do you feed and how often? Another factor may be your photo period, how long do you run the lights?

phils514

It doesnt say RO, my nitrate is around 10ppm. I feed 2x a day. My lights are on from 10-9 and a night light 23-7 (dark blue, about 4 watts.) the water looks foggy green. idk what to do. I did another 10% water change today

Chitown1

I would cut the photo period to 8-9 hours and switch water, if it does not say RO or RO/DI, it is not filtered to the level neneded for a salt tank. A bloom is not something that would happen right away but will almost certainly happen usually between 6-8 months after continued use of non RO/DI water. I recommend you stay away from chemicals that claim to "clear the water" but use new charcoal every 2 weeks after switching water source to speed up the clearing process. If you want to clear it up quicker you can pick up a UV sterilizer which will eliminate the cloudiness within 2-3 days, but the cause still needs to be addressed. It will lear up without a UV over time just by switching water and cutting the light duration a bit.

phils514

I bought a 9w uv sterilizer from petsmart, where should I put it, in the refugium or in the tank? and how long should I leave it on?

Chitown1

I would put it on the tank for now, I cant remember if you have a undertank or HOB fuge. If you have a under tank, I would move it there after it clears up, if not just leave it on the tank. What kind of powerhead do you have for it? You need to follow the instructions that came with your unit on proper flow to be fully effective. I only run mine during the day, there are life forms that only come out in the dark and they will be killed by the UV if run all night long.

Reefbabe

Might also want to pick up a phosphate test kit to test your tank water and the jug water you are buying. If phosphate is high in the jug water...you know it's the water causing the bloom (you want 0 )...if it's not the jug water and your tank water is high...you're probably feeding too much. Also, never reach into the tank right after you've washed your hands with soap. Soap=phosphates....always rinse your hands in plain ol' warm water.

phils514

OK so I put the UV sterilizer today, 9w from petsmart, my question is, how long does it usually take for it to clear the water?