Can anyone definate 'Dirty Water'

[mnestroy]

I've heard several times that zoos like dirty water.... How can one tell if there water is dirty?

I have a 40breeder with a very oversized skimmer and ozone.

I keep my ORP around 300.

So is my water to clean?? How do I tell if its dirtier? All my key test are in check.

Should I lower my ORP, and reduce skimming?

 

[Trotter]

I dont have a good definition but if your sps is growing like crazy then you have "clean" water.

 

[DaveJ]

Typically it means nutrient rich, not cloudy with particles. I consider a dirty tank to be between 10ppm and 50ppm Nitrates.

 

[Sk8r]

about what you'll achieve relying on live rock, sand, and a low-end skimmer. Some particulates, not many.

 

[geoxman]

I think they like a stable environment with plenty of light and flow. "dirty" is kind of a slip of vernacular amongst aquarists.

I have almost nothing in the nitrate and phosphate category and mine do rather well and I am also skimmerless. I have plenty of skimmers cluttering up my ofice, I just choose not to skim. Until some well known person can prove to me that skim is bad for my corals, I will not skim. I will use other nutrient export means.

The crazed cat with the orange eyes is correct. If you cut back you will have to find other ways to remove excess nutrients that are not utilized by your corals.

Do an experiment and see what happens running your skimmer 2 days out of the week. Just give your system time to adjust.

Are your corals not doing well? Why are you skimming so much if at all and did you have a nutrient or algae problem? good luck

 

[mnestroy]

Yah,

I have an H&S A150 which is rated to handled up to 225gal.... On my 40 Breeder!

All my corals do great except my zoos...

My skimmer however works great I can fill a collection cup in 5-6days sometimes it nastier than others...

So I i'm kinda confused if I'm pulling out more than I should be... I can adjust the amount of water fed into the skimmer.. should I turn that down so less water gets processed?

BTW: I own that crazy skimmer on my 40 cause I have a dream of upgrading to a larger tank soon.

 

[geoxman]

what is in that skim and is it bad for your corals? I sent you a PM

 

[Pufferpunk]

That cat needs a treadmill.

What geoxman doesn't tell you is he has some giant clams as nature's skimmers. The crap my skimmer pulls out, I would not want in my tank!

 

[geoxman]

Jeni,
What is in that skim that is so bad for your corals? You need to give me a buzz tomorrow AM---------if you lost the # PM me yours.
PL

PS you should name that new polyp in your avatar so all of the "red gangsta" lineage is traced to you! JK
PL

 

[Pufferpunk]

Those are Pufferdeath palys! Skim is soooooo stinky--it CAN'T be good!