White clowdy water

[bonzai]

Hi there

Ive been in the marine aquarium hobby for 4 months now. I started everything as I should, let my tank cycle for a couple of weeks, the added 2 x percular clowns and waited and 3 weeks after that added some other fish, for example : 1x Regal Tang, 1x Flame Goby, 1x Valentine Puffer, 1x Yellow Sailfin. I also added a few starfish and a hermit crab. 3 weeks after that I added 1x Dragon Wrasse, and 1x Cow/Box Fish and 1x Spider Crab. Unfortunately, despit of my covered tank, somehow my puffer jumped out and died.

My tank went throught lovely colours and some disgusting cycles. It passed the Neon Green Algae stage which was my favourite. But after that everything turned maroon/purple/brown. It looked disgusting... I have managed to clear some of it up, after consulting with my friend.

The problem I have is the following. With the disgusting last cycle my water started to become clowdy/white. There are small creatures swimming in the tank and crawiling along the glass.

Is this good?
What are they?

How do I get the water clear again?

My pump that pumps the water from the sump back to my tank, is just just below the water. I do a water change every 2 weeks. And I do change the filter wool then. My lights are on for 10 - 12 hours, and at night I only switch off my day light and leave my blue moon light on for 24 hours, 7 days a week.

I can only see through about half of the tank then it becomes unclear.

It's a 32 Gallon tank.

 

[Bifferwine]

Welcome to the site. Your tank is very overstocked with fish that are inappropriate for that size tank.

In saltwater, you are limited to approximately 1 fish per 10 gallons. So 3 fish for your tank.

Tangs (all tangs) need a minimum of 75 gallons or 4 feet of swimming space. The goby and clowns are fine for your tank, but the puffer, wrasse and box fish also need much larger tanks.

The cloudy water is usually an indication of a bacterial bloom, meaning there is a build up of waste in the tank (due to overstocking or overfeeding), and the bacteria population has taken off and is taking advantage of the massive food source. Your tank is so overstocked that you literally can't see through the water.

The bug like things are likely amphipods and copedpods, which are a live food source for your animals and are nothing to worry about.

I strongly suggest getting rid of the fish that need more space. Fish kept in a small tank like that will stress to death, and when they stress, they can make the other fish ill as well. Narrow it down to 3 fish that you want -- the clowns and the goby would be fine. The others are being kept in what is equivalent to locking you up in a closet for your whole life.

Have you been testing your water? What are your ammonia/nitrites/nitrates reading?

 

[bonzai]

Hi

I did test the water, and everything was fine. At this stage I know it's overstocked. I'm waiting for my 100 gallon tank which would be ready in about 2 weeks time. Then my fish will have enough room.

Would it be a good idea to cut down on the daylight to 4 hours a day for a week, and feeding once a day? And maybe a water change?

 

[sen5241b]

Once you go to a 100G you should be fine. If you have no corals then you can cut way back on light. If you have a FOWLR tank you really don't need any light at all. Corals need a minimum of 8 hours a day.

 

[yote]

First off,welcome to the site.
NOW
If you put all those fish in a new 100 gallon right off the bat,your gonna have the same problems.I didnt even keep that many fish in my estabilished 125.
I'd suggest to pick no more than 3 or 4 fish that you just gotta have and stick with that.You'll have a lot less head aches and algae problems.

 

[Bifferwine]

Hi

I did test the water, and everything was fine. At this stage I know it's overstocked. I'm waiting for my 100 gallon tank which would be ready in about 2 weeks time. Then my fish will have enough room.

Would it be a good idea to cut down on the daylight to 4 hours a day for a week, and feeding once a day? And maybe a water change?

It's good that you are upgrading tank size! That should help a lot.

If you don't have corals, you can cut back the light, and feeding less will help. I'd also bump up the water changes to twice a week or so.

 

[little_fish]

You also should be adding one or two fish at most every time. When you add that many fish at once the bacteria population cant handle all the new waste.

Also be aware that if the box fish dies it will release toxins that can kill everything else, and i also believe that they release this toxin when they are stressed. IMO you should remove that fish.