Cloudy tank?

[Thresa]

My tank is really cloudy and I can't figure out why. I cycled it with coctail shrimp until all paramaters read 0. I then added cured live rock. My tank was crystal clear for a week and then all the sudden it got really cloudy. I have not added any fish to the aquarium yet. The only thing I can think of that my pump that was hooked up to the protein skimmer broke so I have ordered a new pump, but in the meantime I do not have the skimmer hooked up....I don't know if that would have anything to do with it since I have no fish in the aquarium right now. Can anyone tell me what the problem might be.

I have another question. I have not started my quarantine tank yet, I plan on having it up and running within the week. It will be at least a month before any fish are ready to go into my main tank. Will the main tank be OK without any fish in it until then? I wasn't sure if the live rock were dependent on fish or not.

Can I add some snails to my main tank without quarantining them first?

Thanks for your help,
Thresa

 

[saltyc]

what kind of pump was it? Rio's tend to spew oil all over when they break down-hope that is not your problem!
Other than that, I'd guess your skimmer being down is the reason why your water went cloudy-either from too much proteins in the water or maybe from not as much circulation. Sorry-don't have any direct experience with my skimmer pump dying. I just heard one of my powerheads go AAAKKK & die this a.m., so I've got to get an order off to someplace today to get a couple more!

 

[Thresa]

My husband accidentally broke the pump when he was cleaning it, but it wasn't hooked up to the aquarium at the time. The pump is a Danner Surpreme mag drive 7.