How to increase general clarity of tankwater?

Xirxes23

New member
I use RO/DI, have large venturi skimmer(can look up what type if needed), sump and total 3100 GPH on 90G system. I see particles in the water, a lot of which are pods, because only fish are two very young clowns, but how do i keep the water more clear of debris? Will the addition of fish cut down on the amount of floating debris? Color is fine, just a lot of particulate. Have filter over downpipe, sock filter after downpipe, and mesh filter on baffle in sump as well.

Will Activated carbon help?

Cartridge filter time?

Any tips/tricks will be appreciated.
 
carbon and ozone are great ways to improve clarity. If you havent used carbon for some time I would recommend that you add alitle at a time so that your corals dont bleach.
Same goes for ozone.
Paul
 
are you sure it's particles and not tiny bubbles? what fish do you have? are they burrowing and stirring up the sand? Since you have a plenum it would be ok to get a gravel cleaner and vaccum the sand bed. (actually part of the maint. of one) I don't like reccomending filter socks since if not maintained properly they can cause problems. try putting one on for a day or 2 and see if it clears things up.
 
sock is already on... only have two baby clowns, so no sand digging... i heard taht with peleium there is NO sand vacuuming (why i got one :))...i have no air incident on any of my inputs to tank, so i dont think its microbubbles... the flows out of botht eh powerhead and return line are clear.

I think i will try carbon, small amount at a time.
 
alright, so upon closer inspection, theyare probably micro-bubbles. What can i do? I have a mesh filter over the downpipe, a sock over inlet to sump, at opposite end of sump from the return pump, i have a mesh filter on the skimmer return-feed, as well as a filter in a baffle between skimmer compartment and return pump!!!

Help please! my tank used to be so clear. my mesh is pretty loose, aka not a foam mesh, more like ac-filter type mesh. My dad thinks it is just bio-load, but i dont think it can just be pods and leftover food, since we dont feed that much.

I notice bubbles coming from under the return area into sump, also small amount of bubbles from return of skimmer into sump, but after baffle can see NO MICROBUBBLES in return pump area, nor in the return sea-swirl into tank, yet my tank is still filled with tiny particles.

Anyone have a way for me to tell if its bubbles or pods?

ANy help appreciated!
 
you did say the water itself is clear, correct? that it is only "floating particulate matter" that is in the water column that is making it "unclear", correct?

if so, carbon wont help. you need to filter out the particles from the water. carbon is for the water chemistry. it will act as somesort of filter media, akin to gravel. but its not meant to trap and hold matter. that is the purpose of filter floss and the like. they capture it, and you toss it when its full or done its job.

try using some 100 or 50 micron filter pads. they will get the very fine matter that is in the water column and "polish" the water, but can clog up rather quickly, depending on how much matter is present.

good luck
 
a buddy of mine had sea swirls on his tank. had a bubble problem took the swirls off and the problem was solved....
it's worth a try.
 
how can a motor that moves back and forth have anything to do with bubbles? the sea swirl does not control flow, just direction.

I think that the problem may be that i dont have a "bubble trap" as illustrated by melev's site. Only an over/under for a filter media
 
I would suggest turning off all your pumps and see if the "particles" in question float to the surface or wether they fall to the bottom or linger in the water column. Bubbles would all eventually surface of course. At least you'd know what you were dealing with.
 
beefcake, you rock, sometimes i wonder how i dress myself in the morning!

I seemed to have solved the sporadic air blowing by thesea swirl by disasembling, re-taping and re-assembling the plumbing snugly, (while installing a ball valve near the seaswirl to stop backup after pump turn off)

And when i turned the pump off, the debris stayed! however upon closer inspection, almost every last speck in there was MOVING! These arent bubbles migrating towards surface, they are little buggers hopping, swooping, curling and flittering. I just have a swarm of pods, copepods amphipods, you name it, they are thriving in there! and that is a good thing.

Once again, thanks for the help all, im ok with cloudiness, as long as its pods!
 
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