Question about detritus and overall dust in tank.

[namsupak]

I am just curious what you guys do about dust and general dirt in the tank. I have a 90 gal reef that has been up for about 2 years now. Usually I just use a turkey baster and try to "dust off" the live rock and corals. Then try to get the dust to go into the overflow down to be filtered by the sump. I don't think I overfeed and my tank parameters are stable. Just something that kind of gets on my nerves when I am watching the tank and notice this "dust" on stuff. I have been considering that Eheim Sludge extractor or maybe a canister type filter to polish the water. If you have any ideas or experience with this please tell me. Thanks

 

[rbtwo4]

i have 5 powerheads in my 30 gallon tank i think thats enough movement in the tank to not leave any detritus in the tank or on the sandbed

 

[namsupak]

I am running 3 tunze nanostreams for the display and then an eheim 1260 for the return from the sump to the display. I think the water movement is gentle but good. I didnt want to really make things too swift for the residents in the tank. Should I be looking for more water flow if things seem to be going well?

 

[rbtwo4]

if u have no issues why fix something thats not broke? as long as u have no nitrates KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

 

[namsupak]

Thanks I appreciate the encouragement. I guess the dust is just something that comes with the tank since my flow is more gentle. Just curious if there was an option out there I had missed.

 

[Thunk]

Could it be one of the residents in your tank? Some blennies and sand sifting gobies will make a tank "dusty"

 

[Zoophile]

Increasing your flow will move the crud into the water column so you can siphon it out of the sump. You said your water parameters were good, so this stuff isn't giving you a nitrate problem? If not, keep blowing it around with the baster and get some free coral food out of it

If you really want to keep the low flow and it's not affecting the health of the system, I guess just learn to love the dust. You could also try a filter sock and clean it out often, but it won't do much if the dust isn't moving into your overflow.

 

[Vinnie71975]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11647457#post11647457 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by namsupak
I am running 3 tunze nanostreams for the display and then an eheim 1260 for the return from the sump to the display. I think the water movement is gentle but good. I didnt want to really make things too swift for the residents in the tank. Should I be looking for more water flow if things seem to be going well?

You could always add like 4 or 5 Hydor Korelia Nano's Or a couple number 2 or 3's just for extra flow. that would keep things stirred up.