Bacterial Bloom

[dave_gray2077]

OK over the past week i have had a major bacterial bloom develop.

The water looks currently looks like milk i did a 20% water change yesterday and that didn't dent it.

I cant do any larger water change at a time as it lowers the temp of the tank to much.

Should i stop IE dosing and cut the CO2 until this mess clears its self?

Current googeling says i should just leave it for a week and it will resolve its self. Its just in the meantime im worried about the fishes health.

Stats are

450l tank

Ph 6.6
GH 14
KH 16
NH3 0
No2 0
N03 20ppm

Fish look fine. I only have 12 cardinals 6 "Serper" (not sure of spelling) tetras and 15 juvenial cherry shrimp. So its not like i am overstocked.

Although the tank is new all the filter media was transferred from my old tank along with 1/2 the gravel. New = 2 months old.

Just want to know your opinions.

 

[Themuleous]

It should clear given time. If it were me I wouldn't change a thing, continue with the CO2 and EI. The fish should be fine.

If you want an instant solution, get a UV steriliser, you can get them built into internal filters now, just run it whenever you need to clear cloudy water or green water for that matter

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aquarium-UV-Steriliz...1QQcmdZViewItem

Sam

 

[dave_gray2077]

Thanks for the link. My be worth the investment. And £20 ain't going to break the bank.

My previous 125l tank did this when it was set up but it was only noticeable when looking down the length of the tank.

This is a whole new scale. I can see about 3 inches into the tank . I relay wanted to check if the fish would be fine.

 

[Underwurlde]

Fish should be OK.

I would however worry when you start using the UV. The algae will die and as a result, rot down and release a large amount of ammonia.

Keep a VERY close eye on your NH3/4 levels then!

Andy

PS, why can't you match your tank temp? Use the H/W tap, no?

 

[dave_gray2077]

Because I have know easy way of heating up 200liters of water for a 50% or larger water change.

Hot water tap comes from a copper boiler and I have never used this as i have inverts in the tank. Iv heard that the water can pick up some copper which can be deadly to my shrimps. Is this true? If its not i will give the tank a huge water change at once.

My hot water taps are them large square type mixer tap so its hard to get a hosepipe fitting as well but may be worth a try to rid my self of thsi mess.

I don't empty my tanks with buckets. I just use my garden hose. First as a syphon then to fill back up. This comes through my patio doors easily.

the 2 20% water changes are more about labour saving and letting gravity do the work than me with buckets

 

[Themuleous]

I use hot water from my tap and I've got invests. No problems that I know of, but I'll keep an eye on my shrimp just in case.

Sam

 

[Underwurlde]

^ Me too. My H/W tap is barely on to get the water luke warm. I also have many shrimp.

200L... you've got a point there mate!

There would be no way I could keep a large tank with it's own plumbing!

 

[dave_gray2077]

Ill give using the HW tap a go if it does not affect your inverts Themuleous.

If i fill just a few buckets with hot water while the hose fills the tank.

 

[tropicaltink81]

hi i had this problem milky water they told me it was algi bloom and gave me crystal clear med's

it never worked u went a little drastic and dome a 70% water change leaving just a few inch for the fish to swim and not be touching the gravel this worked i cleaned every thing then put it baack luckily i never lost any fish im shosked to say as this was a stressfull procedure. ne way yesterday i looked at my fry tank(28L) and its exactly the same as my main tank(160L) was i thik its the liquid fry im using for my young that done it to mine the crystal clear does work but not for that,

not that its got out to do with your problem i just thaught id share this with you

 

[Themuleous]

hi i had this problem milky water they told me it was algi bloom and gave me crystal clear med's

it never worked u went a little drastic and dome a 70% water change leaving just a few inch for the fish to swim and not be touching the gravel this worked i cleaned every thing then put it baack luckily i never lost any fish im shosked to say as this was a stressfull procedure. ne way yesterday i looked at my fry tank(28L) and its exactly the same as my main tank(160L) was i thik its the liquid fry im using for my young that done it to mine the crystal clear does work but not for that,

not that its got out to do with your problem i just thaught id share this with you

Always good

White cloudy water cant be algae, if it is was algae it would be green -> I.e. green water

Sam

PS - I must be getting old, but could you reduce the txt speak a bit? I had to read that a few times before I worked out what you were saying!

 

[dave_gray2077]

Well as my readings what they should be what exactly is this bacteria's food source?

Just raw mulm that has not been decomposed yet.

 

[Underwurlde]

Algae are quite capabable of gobbling up Ammonia & Nitrites / Nitrates at far lower levels than the levels that our poxy test kits can measure to...

Andy

 

[Maximumbob]

PS - I must be getting old, but could you reduce the txt speak a bit? I had to read that a few times before I worked out what you were saying!

I think I could understand the text if you used some punctuation!!! I felt my brain hurting reading it Without spaces it was like reading a galloping horse!

 

[dave_gray2077]

Well the cloudy white water has now gone green. So its time for the UV. hanks for the link Themuleous.

Its a lot cheeper than inline sterilisers.

 

[Themuleous]

No probs you can actually get external filters with built in UVs, although they aren't cheap

http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue...ers-with-uv.asp

Sam