water polishing/clarity?

[gsumner2]

I'm getting lots of floaters/debris in my reef 180g /100g sump system. Water parameters are good, running a denitrifier from MWaquatics to bring down nitrates (running about 20).
I have a large Euro skimmer in the sump and an OM 4way CL in main tank plus the overflow/return on one entire end that dumps and is returned by my Hammerhead main pump. Tank is two months old with about 15 fish, quite a few corals and two shrimp, one emerald crab and a few snails,hermits and green brittle star.

I do feed fairly heavily because fish seem hungry all the time - they look and act very healthy except for the lemon peel tang. He acts totally healthy but has had brown/black discoloration on him for over a month. Purple tang and hippo look fat and happy.

I soak most food in freshly grated garlic and ginger because the first week, the hippo had ich. Cleared it up and rest escaped it - it's been a month since I've seen any spots!

What do you think of a diatom filter by Vortex that I could put under my stand? All other plumbing runs under my crawl space to the garage. I have already put a micro filter bag in the sump from the overflow, but that hasn't helped enough---still have lots of floaters.

Would appreciate any and all suggestions!:mixed:

 

[72olds455]

That would help, have you considered UV or Ozone?

 

[Craig Lambert]

A filter sock on the end of your drain line, as well as running a high quality activated carbon (either passively in a mesh bag in your sump, or in a phosban reactor) would help alot.

 

[gsumner2]

I have a filter sock on the drain line plus the passive carbon bag in sump. I do have a UV unit from my old 55g but haven't set it up, but could. How does OZone work to clear the tank?

I make up a little container of a mixture of frozen foods, Rod's reef food, mysis, brine, algae, nori, oyster eggs, krill, etc. Selcon, grated ginger and garlic for the week. I feed approx. 1 teaspoon of this morning and night and add a little formula 1 flake and pellet food maybe 1/2 teaspoon.
FISH:
1 - 4" Hippo Tang
1- 3" Lemon Peel Tang
1- 5" Purple Tang
1- 6" Diamond Spotted Goby
1- 2" Valentini Puffer
1- 1" purple firefish
2 - 1 & 1/2 " Mandarin Gobies
1- 4" Maroon Clown
1 -2" African Flameback Angel
1- 2" Flame Angel
1- 2" longnose hawkfish
1-2" Cardinal fish

Is this a reasonable amount to feed them?

 

[gsumner2]

Whoops, forgot the 3" Koran Angel and one small blenny.

 

[bag151]

Hmm does your lemon peel eat much of the Nori or algae in the tank? I wonder if his coloration might be do to a high protein diet. I have seen the same thing happen to Gobies.

As for the floaters are they making it up into the water column and into the overflow or are they settling out somewhere in the tank? Even with a close loop you can end up with low flow zones behind rock work and such. If they don't make it to your sump remote mechanical filtration won't do you any good.

As for polish what are you looking for? Do you have yellowing water? and do you have issues with nitrates/nitrites? If your looking for pure water clarity in my opinion the best way to go is with Ozone. Get yourself a nice controlled unit with a Ozone reactor and run it back through carbon. You can buy a cheap skimmer and run ozone through it but its not a very efficient way to utilize Ozone.

 

[Kent E]

ozone has made a big difference for me. I recommend it.

 

[gsumner2]

water clarity

water clarity

Look, nitrates running 20, ammonia between 0and .25, nitrites 0, iodide .08, PO4 05 (running Phosban since 1 week ago) Also have Sulfur Denitrifier running 3 wks. Tank has only been running 2 mo., still having diatom bloom, brown, but that seems to be getting better although still a lot of brown algae on bare bottom, lower LR and glass sides - I have to clean it every few days with magnet. How long does it take before purple coraline starts? (I do have a few rocks that had it when I put them in, but it doesn't seem to be spreading at all even though I use Purple Up.

I've seen the Lemon Peel eating the algae off the bottom also the goby but especially the blenny until he disappeared a week ago. LP eats everything from what I can tell. Some of the algae is starting to turn green - Is this a good sign? The brown stuff sticks to the LR, clam shell, etc. and I'm trying to blow it off with a turkey baster. The LPeel seemed to have black ich but he hasn't acted sick and no one else has it, so I don't know what to think of it. When the lunar lights are on he looks very mottled and discolored - not so much in the day. I have the new G4 Solaris light.

My water isn't yellow or discolored, just floaters everywhere throughout the column -looks like white little hairs/specks- I think maybe it's food, perhaps uneaten ginger/ garlic. I do have some long seaweed type plant growing on a flat piece of rock that I bought at the local fish store. They said it was some type of algae, it was long (12" or so) and flowing but it seems to be slowly dying, maybe a lot of the debris is coming from it.

Like I said, I have a huge Euro Skimmer (3 pumps) in the sump that's pulling out alot of skim mate. As for the Ozonator, what is a good one to buy?

 

[bag151]

Well I would say you rushed it a bit on adding all of those fish in just a months time, Your biological system hasn't caught up and that is why you are getting the algae and diatom blooms.

I don't know if I missed it or not but if you don't have a refugium that is the first place to start. It is excellent at nutrient export and will hopefully will knock your nitrates to 0. IMOP the Sulfur denitrifier is a semi band aid solution to the nitrate problem.

Its good to blow off the algae to keep it from building up. It won't grow in high flow so hit it with a power head if you can.

Your tang is most likely stressed from water quality or from his tank mates. Ich is ever present in your tank, your fish only break out when their immune systems are not as strong which typically relates to stress. The seaweed possibly is just being consumed by your tangs which is good, seaweed can spread like crazy in your tank.

As for Ozone go with a unit that has a built in ORP controler and a dryer. I suggest reading the article below. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-04/rhf/index.php

 

[Elliott]

ozone is easy and really polishes the water crystal clear

 

[gsumner2]

I changed over from a 55g with 20g refugium. The tank is now 180g with 100g sump and 20 refugium all linked together. And a seperate OM4way so lots of flow. I do have a heavy bio load with all the fish, but today when I tested my nitrates were down to 10, and for the first time PO4 was O. Trites and Ammonia 0
Cal 440, ph 8.2 salinity 1.25
The Lemon Peel is looking much better, and never has acted sick, Purple & Hippo Tang look great. I did have a cardinal fish that died with a white film over it - 3 days later my maroon clown (3 inches) got it - I tried catching him to put in quarantine tank but couldn't - next morning he was dead. I now know it was brooklynella (sp) disease.
Everyone else looks good after 5 days - do fish other than clowns and cardinals get that?

I'm looking into Ozone. Thanks for the comments.