Flow and water clarity

[victorcan]

So I'll continue my quest to chase the dragon perfectly pristine polished water. I just ordered a 25 square-foot surface area micron filter it's actually intended for a pool filter it's a Hayward Microstar. To power this I just ordered a eco-tech Vortech L1 return pump with variable speed. I'm trying to determine the best place for the intake and return. My first thought was to add it to the basement sump but after thinking about it I'm inclined to place it directly in the main display and have the return down at the bottom of the display tank I really have no worries for back siphoning in the event of a power outage because it would all be self-contained in a closed loop in the main display just want to get some of your thoughts. And to answer what I'm sure will be the first question there is no metal parts within the filter housing just plastic and the micron filter.

 

[victorcan]

Correction Not Vortech But Ecotech Vectra L1 Pump.. Not sure why I can't edit this post ? Sorry.

 

[nemodan]

Hi

I do not filter my water as many things are being taken by corals. Have you consider that point. Also it will depend on the microns of your filter. What is the pore size ? One more thing. Have you consider how frequently you will be cleaning or replacing the filter ? Of course, the frequency will depend on pore size.

 

[victorcan]

Hi

I do not filter my water as many things are being taken by corals. Have you consider that point. Also it will depend on the microns of your filter. What is the pore size ? One more thing. Have you consider how frequently you will be cleaning or replacing the filter ? Of course, the frequency will depend on pore size.

The actual filter filters down to 5 µm. As of right now I'm cleaning the hot mag canister once every 2 to 3 days. So I would imagine something of this size would have to be changed every other week or maybe as little as once per month I guess I will just have to watch and monitor I'll put pressure watch like I do with the hot magnum. Possibly to run it only one the water quality looks hazy? I did buy a four pack of these cartridges on the promise of having to swap them out routinely. I dose korallen products daily, amino acid, pohls, and sponge concentrate, so constantly adding to the water column which has been superb for growth but has added to my wc schedule and overall maintenance to try and get that crystal clear water

 

[victorcan]

OK its installed went a bit differently than expected, I installed the Vector L1 and decided to just use a mag 9 to power the micron filter.. I ended up adding a new overflow box to generate more turnover in the tank and was then able to install the micron filter down in my sump.. In all honesty after adding the unions and all the other plumbing it became to large for the limited space left under my display.. Ill keep has posted if it works out as planned or not, keeping my fingers crossed .....

 

[victorcan]

24 hours later and I gotta say I can see a huge difference in water clarity.
SG 1.024
no3 2.5
po4 .03
ca 440
mg 1370
DKH 8.2
only thing off is potassium was just 380 on monday now at 340 ?
but otherwise looks incredible and think I may have solved my months long problem of not being happy with water clarity.. Went from 1400 GPH to 2400 GPH in tank turnover through my socks and then the Mag nine is still pushing water quite nicely through the new Micron Filter.

 

[kevin.st]

I have been dealing with particulates in the water column forever. I envy my friends who have clear water and don't even use filter socks.

Can you post a photo of the actual contraption?

 

[rhinonm]

can you post a pic of the setup?

 

[victorcan]

So please excuse the ghetto rigging. But all I did was take that Hayward Microstar c225 Drop a mag nine on the input and output it to a third filter sock so it's not super pressurized but yet it's still probably pushing 300 gallons 400 gallons per hour. I'm going to eventually hard plummet to my back wall with my GFO reactors but did this temporarily just to see how well it worked, and I got to say I'm pretty amazed I have been trying to get my water to that crystal clear look for months and have been investigating o-zone and every other contraption known to the hobby but just did this on a whim the filters sell on Amazon and eBay from $40-$70. I also added roughly another thousand gallon p/hr turn over in my sump by adding a second return pump so I'm not sure if the Microstar alone is the trick but I do believe that it is definitely helping.

 

[victorcan]

Figured I might as well show my display as well this is my 220 and 75 gal fuge

 

[adtravels]

Get rid of the token amount of sand in your display, that will go a long way to help! Sand traps particles as soon as it is touched, as you know........more particles.

nice tank!

 

[victorcan]

Get rid of the token amount of sand in your display, that will go a long way to help! Sand traps particles as soon as it is touched, as you know........more particles.



nice tank!

There used to be a 6" sand bed, ive been pulling it over the last 2 months with each weekly water change.. almost got all of it

 

[adtravels]

I recently pulled my sandbed and it has been very particluate in the water column since. I think there will be a bit of a shedding period too. However I think there will always be stuff floating around with a BB and high flow, as every time a fish poos or a snail drops a pellet there is crap that has no where to settle.

Ha, I try not to look too hard

 

[victorcan]

1 week later and still much cleaner water all in all.. I did clean the micron filter a couple days ago just to see what it was looking like and very brown but water was passing pretty much the same through it.. Im. going to try and let it go till next weds to see the results, but this is a big improvement, I do overfeed and feel guilty starving my fish for a clear tank so guess Ill have a better long term gauge in a few weeks or so most importantly watching po4 or no3 leeching if any..