Cloudy Macro tank

[Skabooya]

alright so i have a 28gal Long Macro algae display tank. To make a long story short I added prazi pro to the tank (it is reef safe) to heal a fish with flukes. It worked. Now after the treatment my tank went super cloudy and turned green. Ok so I had green water. I did 2 WC of 4 gals each. Then i could see halfway into the tank and i noticed my entire pod population or at least most of it was gone. Today my tank is still cloudy and i still cannot see to the back of the tank. It is going on 2 months now.
Mornings the tank is less cloudy than in the evenings meaning it gets worse as the day goes on. This leads me to believe that it is floating algae esp since the water has a green/yellow tinge to it.
My macroalgaes and coral are suffering from lack of light and nutrients. I have not been feeding as much and i have stopped dosing Kno3 to try and get the cloudywater to go away. It hasent helped much.

I did another 4 gal WC yesterday. All my water params are good and in check except my nitrate is at 0. It should be higher for a macro tank but its not.
My red algaes have gone pale and my grape calpura is dying off because there are no trates for it to grow off of.

I was doing some more reading on here and came across a thread about Ca and Mg being very important for macroalgaes. So, I started dosing again to try and get it up to 400. Its currently at 360. I also just started dosing Kno3 again because I recieved a shipment of more macroalgae and the macros i had have started melting because of the lack of dosing.

Before the cloudy tank I had 2 perc clownfish, 1 coral beauty, 2 hermit crabs, 1 peppermint shrimp. I overfed with pellets and coral frenzy and reef roids. My tank was crystal clear until i added the prazi pro.

My dosing schedule was:
Weekly: 1 1/2 capfulls of Seachems Trace Elements and Amino Acids as well as 8 drops of Iron, and 1/4 tsp Kno3
Every 2 weeks: 1 tsp Baking soda

As for the calcium I was using it almost daily to bring my calcium up until i had to treat my tank. I stopped for that and I have just recently started dosing calcium again.

Any suggestions on what I can do to clear my water to allow for light penetration to my macroalgaes? Also, My macros have stopped growing and some have started to melt (grape calpura) im assuming because my trates are at 0.

I did dose Kno3 last night but im afraid it will also fuel the micro algaes and i will get "pea soup" again.
Please help

[Biollante]

Hi,

I can think of no reason Praziquantel should cause green water. :confused:

Sounds like an ammonia spike, did some critter die in an out of the way place? Another way of asking, is everyone accounted for?

Could you have had a colony worms/flatworms in the tank?

I would certainly dose nitrates at normal or even slightly elevated rates.

If you have :cool:, can borrow :), rent :rolleyes: or steal :eek: a UV-sterilizer, using it now with maximum dwell time would be a good idea.

Consider using sodium thiosulfate or sodium bisulfate as flocculent and a sub 50-micron filter, followed by ChemiPure or at least activated charcoal and perhaps zeolite if you have it.

Good luck.

Biollante

[Skabooya]

Yes everyone is accounted for... Other than the pods dieoff. No ammonia spike. I tested and its undetectable. Mind you I tested when i had green water and not before. I may have had an ammonia spike and never knew it. I tested again during my last WC and things were still reading 0.
I have tried activated carbon and it did nothing.
I dont know anyone with a UV sterilizer and that includes the lfs which im tight with lol. I would need to order whatever i needed at a shipping rate of $40-60 from the nearest place that sells saltwater equiptment and the like.
I will dose KNO3 and do my regular dosing schedule again before all this went screwey. Hopefully the macro algae will outcompete the micro algae and i will have clear water again and my macros will look pretty.

[Biollante]

Hi,

My best guess is that the green water is a response to an ammonia spike caused by the pod die-off.

The activated charcoal suggestion is to take care of DOC's, but with green water, activated charcoal, ChemiPure, Purigen and such like will not be effective unless you put a sub 50-micron filter in front. :gw

Should you be fresh out of 50-micron filter material, if you have a fabric store around, they may have fine mesh wedding veil material that is cheap and effective. :rolleyes:

The addition of flocculent is simply to make the filter more efficient.

If you do not have sodium thiosulfate or sodium bisulfate, alum works.

The idea here is to break the cycle (10-21 days) that is supporting the green water.

Biollante

[Skabooya]

Thanks. I will try this