I want clear water!!!!!

[Hutchball]

Is that too much to ask for?

How do I get rid of the tiny white 'dust' particles in my water?

Is it bad salt mix? I use red sea coral pro?

Do I have too much flow?

Any help would be appreciated.

(are all fish tank owners as picky as me?!!)

 

[joy13]

Are you running any floss in your filter to polish your water?

 

[Hutchball]

I have filter material. I'm not sure if you would call it floss. Is floss more like cotton wool?

 

[Ricksreef]

Is that too much to ask for?

How do I get rid of the tiny white 'dust' particles in my water?

Is it bad salt mix? I use red sea coral pro?

Do I have too much flow?

Any help would be appreciated.

(are all fish tank owners as picky as me?!!)

IMO The keys to clearwater are ,filter floss and activated carbon in filtration ,uv sterilizer,and proper PWc's.

 

[Hutchball]

Is filter floss different to regular filter material?

 

[melosu58]

I believe if you look hard you`ll see those little particles are really air bubbles. They are in mine anyway. I thought Rick gave a pretty good list.

 

[bavass]

find out if it air or sand stirring. try to redirect powerheads

 

[eco23]

I'm a FW guy so I'm not sure my advice 100% applies, but I use Poly-fil (pillow stuffing) in my canister filter. You can buy a huge bag for $5 at Wal-mart or a craft store and it'll last for a year. I run it in the bottom tray of my Fluval 405 and I change it weekly so it doesn't have a chance to harbor too much beneficial bacteria and cause mini-cycles when I remove it. You'll be shocked how much fine debris it collects in that week. Just make sure you don't purchase a brand which is fire retardant, because that type is treated with chemicals. The one I get from Wal-mart is Fairfield brand (I believe).

 

[Hinds04]

Are you running a sump?

 

[deepseadan]

I had white mildly cloudy water for some time. Tried every kind of mechanical filtration possible, nothing worked. Then I learned it was a bacterial bloom. Turned off my reactor and adjusted the amount of media, and 24 hours later it was crystal clear. Is your skimmer filling fast or faster than normal with not so dark water? Maybe yellowish water? If so, I bet that "not clear" look is a bacterial.

 

[Ricksreef]

I had white mildly cloudy water for some time. Tried every kind of mechanical filtration possible, nothing worked. Then I learned it was a bacterial bloom. Turned off my reactor and adjusted the amount of media, and 24 hours later it was crystal clear. Is your skimmer filling fast or faster than normal with not so dark water? Maybe yellowish water? If so, I bet that "not clear" look is a bacterial.

If it is bacterial the uv sterilizer would take care of it.

 

[deepseadan]

I went and bought a 25 watt smart uv and it did nothing. As soon as I found the source.....excessive pure carbon, it cleared up. You aren't using vodka or bio plastics are you. Those will create more bacteria than the uv can sterilize. A uv doesn't kill bacteria, just sterilizes it so they can't reproduce. If you have another source creating them extremely fast a uv won't fix it.

 

[Hutchball]

My problem is not bacterial I'm sure. The water itself is clear, it's just tiny white particles floating around. Lots of them. It may be microbubbles but I have turned the skimmer off for a bit and I guess that would be the main culprit.

I'm thinking if emailing Red Sea Coral Pro maker to see if it's a bad batch? Would they do anything?

I also bought a filter sock but it was MASSIVE!!! So no use in a 130L!

 

[bavass]

You will always have some stuff in your water and thats a good thing because thats what corals eat. If you want to clear it up some and it did help mine a lot. I still have some stuff floating around but not near as much. I bought a phosban reactor ROX 0.8

 

[Hutchball]

Knowing that that stuff is helpful to the tank is a great help, thanks.

I can't seem to get that carbon in the UK. There are a few things on eBay though, but that stuff looks good.

I have never ran carbon before.

 

[tjm80]

IMO The keys to clearwater are ,filter floss and activated carbon in filtration ,uv sterilizer,and proper PWc's.

I use none of that on a regular basis (except the proper PWC's) and my water looks like liquid crystal.

 

[Ricksreef]

I use none of that on a regular basis (except the proper PWC's) and my water looks like liquid crystal.

Then you are the exception to the rule.

 

[tlkng1]

If you can get it in the UK, Purigen will help polish the water as well if what is there is actually particulate in nature. The filter floss will also help catch the larger particles.

I think saltwater tanks by nature always have some microbubbles...the inhabitants themselse, I've seen the mussel I got on the liverock spit out a few bubbles that took forever to dissipate.