Please help What’s the problem that im having

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

joe2004

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
4
Hi guys how are you.

Ok so this is the problem that I have if im going to have an aquarium I want the water to be SUPER CLEAN to a point where when you look at the fish they look like they are floating in Air.

So my 1st setup I had was a 20 Gallon tank with couple of small fish in it. The filter was a Fluval 304 (260 GPH) and after setting up the tank and in about 5 days the water was CRYSTRAL CLEAR and it stayed that way for ever. I setup another tank just like it
Same thing after 4 days of it being setup the water was Crystal Clear. It stayed like that.


NOW with my 72 Gallon Bow Front tank same setup couple of small fish Sand on the bottom BUT WITH 3X Fluval 404 Filters (340 GPH) each on it Running 24/7 even after 2 Months the water was still not as clean as the 20G tank. Even with or without the protein skimmer.I mean the water is Clean but it just looks like there is a slight white haze to it. I just can’t get this tank to LOOK Crystal Clear no matter what I do.

I asked the local fish store they told me I have to let it sit for a long time which I did more then 4 months I FIND IT HARD TO BELIVE its got anything to do with it I mean one Filter alone is good for the tank I have 3 of them on it and the water never gets as clean as the 20G and its not like its pushing water in the tank and getting debris out in the water its very strange why I cant get it the way I want it to look like

Sorry for the long post but any help would be much appreciated

Thanks
 
Is the tank acrylic? Totally a guess here, but I guess it's possible that acrylic may be slightly cloudier than glass? If the tank is bowfront, it's also possible that any refraction of the light that is happening is just making it look cloudy? I'm just taking guesses here. It sounds like you are doing everything else correctly, with the proper filtration.

Welcome to AA!
 
Glass vs Acrylic is a good point. I have the same tank, mine is all glass and it is crystal clear. I don't run those kind of filters on mine though. I filter with natural filtration only..DSB LR and a 20g fuge. I'd be curious to see some pics of this too.
 
The tank is Glass tank.

I remember ONE time for like a day or two the water got so clear I was like WOW finally what I wanted then it went back to the old way. I have seen tanks like mine and they are like crystal clear
 
That is strange....I dont have that problem with my tank....are you putting addatives into the tank? What are you feeding the tank? What kind of lighting do you have on the tank? How often do you do PWCs?? Have you tested your water??
 
Have you changed your filter media? If so, what and how often? That GAC isn't real useful after about a week. I also agree with the questions above.
 
Devilishturtles said:
...If the tank is bowfront, it's also possible that any refraction of the light that is happening is just making it look cloudy?

I was wondering along this line also. Does it look cloudy from the ends also? I've got a 46g bowfront (glass) and noticed right away that when using the cleaner magnets, it's best to use them with the long sides up and down. Using it the other way makes it difficult to get a good cleaning done. Pretty sure your issue isn't just dirty glass since you've had a few aquariums, but I thought I'd just throw it out there.
 
lighting i use regular lights the same as the one thats on the 20G

water TEST is all perfect

addatives i dont put any

filter media was never changed since day one. After like 4 months i took the tank out i opened the filter they were little dirty pretty much clean. since i had 3 of them they were not dirty at all as apose to 1

and from the side View yes its just like looking from the Front.
 
That's strange. Maybe it's just the extra "thickness" of water you're looking through? I mean... you're looking through a lot more inches of water in your 72g than your 20g. Maybe the particulate count is the same (ppm), but for any given 1" square that you look through from front to back, you're looking at more volume of water, so you're technically seeing more particles - which might make it seem cloudier?

I know... I'm really stretching it here, but water "clarity" can be a really subjective thing.
 
joe2004 said:
lighting i use regular lights the same as the one thats on the 20G

water TEST is all perfect

addatives i dont put any

filter media was never changed since day one. After like 4 months i took the tank out i opened the filter they were little dirty pretty much clean. since i had 3 of them they were not dirty at all as apose to 1

and from the side View yes its just like looking from the Front.

The link I posted is not an additive.
 
I agree with your, Kurt. It doesn't make any sense otherwise. You are doing everything the same. It would have to be either something with the glass (which I highly doubt) or just the fact that your tank is much larger?

I'm joining Kurt on the proverbial limb that we are out on. :)
 
its Very strange because if it went NICE AND CRYSTAL CLEAR one time i
dont know what can cause it to be the way it is now.

i have Fake Corals in the front of the thank and when i look at them from the Front of the tank they are placed same distance as the one in the 20G and it still look no where near the 20G tank.
 
I might try running a quality GAC for a week or two, changing it every 5-7 days, to see if that has any effect. FWIW I'm not a big fan of HOB filters. They tend to produce micro-bubbles and mechanical filtration seems to cause more issues than it solves in SW-especially on larger tanks. Pads, floss etc. all trap dirt and detritus too fast. That can lead to water clarity issues as well as nitrate issues. Powerheads, LR, a skimmer, and some GAC are the way to go. Just my .02 ...
 
first of all, acrylic is clearer than glass. what you need to do is "polish" the water with a micron filter. GAC will help but you need to replace it every 2 weeks. the same thing with any mechanical filter material. good luck. post some pics.
 
I said that is strange before and I have to just say it again. Like I said before I don't use HOB or mechanical filtration on my tank and the water is just as clear as could be. I think the amount of additional water volume I have with 3 sumps helps to keep things diluted "Dilution is the solution to polution". I also think that Kurt is on to something there with the amount of water you are looking through.

Give Unda_da_sea's suggestion a try. Maybe that will help!
 
Back
Top Bottom