my water isnt clear enough
- Thread starter discus510
- Start date
tkeracer619
New member
Why is the water not clear?
If you do a water change does a white bucket look yellow?
If you do a water change does a white bucket look yellow?
Michael7979
New member
What are you getting at here?
tkeracer619
New member
Running a ton of carbon because there are solids or micro bubbles in the water won't do the OP any good. I'm digging for details so people can give proper answers easier instead of tossing random ideas out there.
If the OP says "no its clear" - then there is something physically causing clarity issues.
If the OP says "yes it's yellow" - run more carbon, skim better, do more water changes, maybe ozone depending on the rest of the husbandry.
If the OP says "what water changes?"... then that can be addressed.
The tank is only up for 2 months, it will have a hard time competing with Hawaii any way you slice it.
lordofthereef
One reef to rule them all
+1 carbon
+1 filter sock if the carbon alone doesn't help
+1 filter sock if the carbon alone doesn't help
Michael7979
New member
Gotcha! I see where you are heading now. I couldn't figure out what direction you were headed in. Thanks for clarifing.
Joe Pusdesris
New member
Makes perfect sense. Take a clean white bucket. Siphon tank water into it. Any solids, discoloration or cludiness will be readily apparent. It's easier to diagnose for water clarity if you know what kind of "impurity" you are dealing with...
JME.
LL
Is it just me that's missing something here? How is a UV sterilizer going to have a significant effect on water clarity? Also, I hate to be lazy, but if there's something in that 6 page thread on xenia that is supposed to enlighten us, could you please give us a quote, a page number, or something?
As for the rest of the responses, I agree. One thing I also do is use a canister filter with a 1 micron filter about once a month. It probably won't help much with severely discolored water, but it's a good way to remove a lot of fine particles from the water that can affect clarity. Paul B (probably our most experienced guy here) does basically the same thing with a diatom filter. I also run carbon, which as tkeracer pointed out, can be very effective for discolored water.
Joe Pusdesris
New member
The tank had phytoplankton and bacterial blooms after a power outage. Nothing cleared the water including a massive protein skimmer, mechanical filtration, rotifers, carbon, 2x 25%, 1x 50%, and 1x 100% water changes. The water is finally extremely clear after the use of a uv sterilizer, clearer than any tank I have owned. I will probably get a uv for all my tanks.
Joe Pusdesris
New member
I am not aware of any "wanted things" in the water column. Mostly bacteria and phytoplankton that cloud the water, probably some pathogens too.
reefergeorge
New member
A diatom filter will clear it up in a few minutes.
littlebigaj
New member
My clarity has gotten better since I started dosing vodka regularly. There are a lot of threads on that, just search it. Also, it could be microbubbles. If that's the case filter socks are a great fix, I use micron 100 in my sump and I have no bubbles.
