Help me clarify something...

[ACBlinky]

Okay, sorry for the pun, but I have a water clarity issue and can't wrap my head around a solution.

I've got three Koralia powerheads moving the water around, and the flow in my tank is strong enough that I have to take care not to mount LPS in certain spots because they get irritated and won't expand. Sand/rubble stays put, but if I look closely I can see the current moving detritus/food/etc. over the surface and up into the water column again.

So from what I can tell, I have enough random flow to keep detritus suspended, and it should then be filtered out... I use 200 micron filter socks and they do a good job (I change the sock every 2 days) but the water is nowhere near clear. From a few feet away or across the room, the tank looks great. Up close, it reminds me of the dust you see swirling around when a sunbeam comes through your window.

What I'm having trouble grasping is this: how do people have CLEAR water when their powerheads are keeping detritus suspended in the water so it can be filtered out? Presumably there is always going to be some gunk floating around... so how do they get that super-clear water I can only dream about? My tank is barely populated, and this has been an issue from the start, not just recently (I've been feeding like crazy since getting dendros and a new sun coral that doesn't want to open up yet).

I know detritus is an issue, because I have more munnid isopods and feather dusters than I've ever seen, and I'm starting to notice some BIG bristleworms coming out to play at feeding time. Help me clear my water so I can look at the tank up close without going cross-eyed!

 

[Steve Wright2]

Hi ACBlinky

I had this issue for a long while on my sumpless reef system, exactky the same situation
when viewed from the front the tank looked clear, but when viewed down the 5ft lenght it was cloudy
I tried jury rigging a temporary sump, filter sock combo using a 100 micron sock, this did help improve matters as some of the larger suspended particles got collected by that sock
a lot of the particles that are suspended in the water column are a lot smaller than 100 microns, hence with your sock, many are just going round and round in your system
when the sock starts to clog, then some of those much smaller particles would also get trapped ( other particles in their way so they cant get through) but as you are changing and cleaning the sock every 2nd day, my guess is that these smaller particles are never getting removed from your system

one good suggestion for removing the issue is a Diatomaceous Earth filter ( sorry English is my 1st language, but I am not that great with it, so please excuse the spelling)
the diatom filters will remove particles as small as 1 micron, which will certainly help clarify your set up
these are not used 24/7 on a reef set up, as they would create conditions so clear that the corals may suffer from continued use
but as a tool that you can use for 24 hours a week/ fortnight/ month depending on needs, they will certainly remove the problem you have

you may find you need to use it once a week to start with in order to catch up with the back log of very small particles - thereafter using it as and when needed would be fine

use one of the power heads to blast the rockwork, when using the diatom filter, in order to get the water as cloudy as possible and thus reap the full benefit of the filters use

these are not cheap- and a decent / athough not as good alternative is a cannister filter packed with filter wool/ filter floss - again using power head to make the tank dirty whilst the cannister clears the water for you, run it for a couple of days over the weekend or so, power blasting the rockwork every so often to keep particles on the move, and then discard or clean the dirty floss when finished

you could also try and source a lower micron sock, there are available in the food industry and I have seen socks with a 5 micron rating available

hopefully one of the above suggestions works
or someone comes along with an even better one for you

Steve

 

[ACBlinky]

Thanks so much for the detailed response! I actually own a diatom filter, they're brilliant things to have around

I think adding a once-weekly 'water polishing' session is a great idea, why didn't I think of that? I could easily put the filter on one evening, leave it running until morning, and then remove it and have clearer water all week.

The water isn't at all cloudy, it just looks like a dust storm. I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing this, and thankful to have an easy possible solution!

 

[Steve Wright2]

You are Welcome ACBlinky

I think a crystal clear aquarium is something you can very soon achieve

Steve