Added co2. Now cloudy

Hey folks,
My 110 was doing pretty good with Excel dosing. Since putting my co2 set up on last weekend my rank had gone cloudy. I though that tying my co2 reactor in with my ehiem pro canister filter was the issue. So I tossed a secondary 110 aquaclear hob filter last night. It's still really cloudy this morning. I'll do a large water change when I get home from work tonight. However I still wonder why it did this and what I need to do to correct it.

Can you post some pictures?

When you set your co2 to your filter, did you do any maintenance on the canister as well?

Do you have the parameters of the water? What is the stock?

I'd be curious about the pH of your water and other parameters as well I guess. How long has this tank been running? I've had bacterial blooms pop up after I thought for sure that the tank had cycled. Could be the last bloom before things settle, who knows. If you fish are healthy and water parameters ok I wouldn't worry, it will likely clear up with time and water changes. Could be a readjustment of the homeostasis of your system due to the Co2.

Yeah I haven't really been doing water test since it was doing so well. I'll do test prior to water change. I am sure my pH dropped. Fish aren't looking stressed or gasping at surface.

I was fighting a hair algea problem prior to excel dosing(prior to christmas) . Got that under control with Excel. Then had a mini outbreak as I tried using a surface skimmer for a pick up which wasn't allowing enough filtration flow in combination with that fact I tried cutting back on excel due to burning my vals. I had hair algea under control again using excel. Going to co2 hasn't brought back algea, just cloudy water.

I'll post finding tonight

Good news that fish are healthy. If fish are eating well, swimming well, and look good (good coloration, no majorly nipped fins or major tears since some fish nipping is bound to happen, and no signs or external stuff like ich or infection) I almost never check my water parameters. Our fish can tell us a lot... and so can the color and amount of algae.

Well my reactor must not be functioning like I had hoped. My pH has increased from 7.3 to 8.2 over last month. My kh is 8.96 indicating my co2 is only about 1.7 ppm.

I currently have my reactor mounted horizontally and water level is only at half within reactor. Air or co2 on top. I wonder if the second one way check valve I have inlet of reactor is a problem. Or the way I have it mounted. Maybe a vertical mount is ideal.

So I moved reactor vertically and my pump flow in creased and a see more co2 bubble flow. I totally have green algea causing the cloudiness

what kind of reactor are you using ? In my experience with big tanks the best way to go is with an inline (rex type) reactor. For a tank that size i would have a dedicatated cannister filter just to act as a reactor and secondary filtration...but give us a bit more info and some pics and we can try to help

Okay a little more information about my tank first. 110 gallon. I used organic potting soil as a substrate. Fish-tetras (cardinals, glow lights, black neons, serpeas), Danios, Harlequin rasboras,  Chinese algae eaters.
Plants- Cambombas, Rotala, Cyperus Helferi, Vals, money wort, labelia cardinalis, melon sword.
Lights - 7 four foot sunblasters 54w (5 with 6400K 2 with 18000k) Approximately 10 hours a day.
See photo below.

[url=]My tank prior to Co2 (excel dosing)[/url]

Like I said it was doing really well til  I hooked my co2 reactor in vertically (no photo).

Yesterday I built a plumbing stand for reactor to sit vertically. It too larger to fit under the tank currently. So I have it temporarily plumbed in to see if I can solve my cloudy problem prior to modifying my design again. I plan to shorten the clear piping in order to reduce the height. See photos below.

[url=]Reactor[/url]

[url=]Reactor[/url]

That's a smart idea, but beware, all those bends will reduce your filter flow.

hello_rockview12 wrote:That's a smart idea, but beware, all those bends will reduce your filter flow.

I agree...even a less elaborate rex reactor without the PVC will reduce the flow.....it is nice that it can stand up like that though.....which end of the reactor is the output, top or bottom?

Top is output.

sorry my bad, i wasn't looking closely....These are without a doubt the best way to diffuse CO2 into your tank...Although usually you have the CO2 at the top but in your setup it wouldnt' be an issue..

My pump isn't air locking or making noise from co2. Nor is my pump drawing my reactor dry. I don't believe I have a flow issue now. I have it on the auction side

Yesterday I modified my reactor to fit under the aquarium, as well as plumb it in on the return/pressure side of the filter. I don't imagine I was doing any good putting co2 into my filter media.

Still battling an algae bloom issue even with 1 and 2- 25 to 50% water changes per week. This past weekend I maintained my filter in my ehiem professional I noticed my bottom basket was warped and the stand pipe from basket to basket not seating to each other. I managed to get them to seat properly with a few trick but decided to replace the filter canister. Last night I bought a Fluval FX6 due to a 50% sale on the unit. Also I did a 50% water change then used garbage bags to block tank. I am going to do a 4 day black out to see if i can beat this green monster. I will mention I have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates, and 0 phosphates. If my research is correct then the algae is devouring my nitrates and phosphates.

I read a random article about algea loving blue lighting. I did change two of my seven bulbs from 6400k to 18000k bulbs. Any truth to this?