Water Clarity

[SAAVE853]

My 55 seems to be having a few issues with water clarity...

Here is what my water test show:
PH-8.2
Nitrite- 0 ppm
Nitrate- 0 ppm
Ammonia- 0-.25 ppm

My LFS recommended ChemiPure I've been running that for about a month now and i haven't seen much improvement...any advice would be great!!

 

[melosu58]

How often are you doing PWC`s. What fish are in it? Your tank info says predator tank. Usually they are sloppy eaters and can foul up water quality. Might want to take a water sample to the LFS for a double check.

 

[pat8you]

Ammonia will make your water a bit cloudy. If your tank is cycled you shouldn't be seeing any ammonia. If it is just particulate matter in the water a filter sock or sponge will help clear up the water as well. Activated carbon may help as well depending on what is causing it and helps with your water quality as well. I would not recommend adding any more chemicals to the tank like chemipure. How long has the tank been set up? Can you think of any reasons you might be seeing the ammonia spike?

 

[SAAVE853]

The original idea was to go predators with the 55 but then my g/f stepped in and changed my idea!!

Doing PWC 10-15 gal every 10 days

STOCK
Fish:
4 damsels
2 perculas

Anemone:
1 Bubble tip
1 Hatian

Coral:
Small GSP colony
Small Hammer
Med Pulsating Xenia

 

[SAAVE853]

The tank finished cycling I'd say about 6 weeks ago and I've slowly been adding live stock.

The ammonia has never really been an issue I test weekly and I've always seen it at 0 just yesterday i saw it a lil different.

The only thing i can think of is that I added the xenias and the hammer just yesterday morning

 

[Fishguy2727]

It will be hard to keep the water quality high enough to keep those anemones alive (not to mention all the corals).

What kind of damsels are they? Many get HUGE, ugly, and VERY aggressive. Because of their size they will create a lot of waste. Their aggression could lead to the end of the clownfish and prevent you from adding almost any of the usual reef fish (including some that can be very useful in a reef tank).

When I was running a LFS we wouldn't even carry damsels because of how aggressive they are.

 

[kimsmarkin]

Clean water is essential for underwater bay grasses. The amount of light reaching underwater plants that grow in shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay is the most important factor determining growth and survival.

 

[SAAVE853]

It will be hard to keep the water quality high enough to keep those anemones alive (not to mention all the corals).

What kind of damsels are they? Many get HUGE, ugly, and VERY aggressive. Because of their size they will create a lot of waste. Their aggression could lead to the end of the clownfish and prevent you from adding almost any of the usual reef fish (including some that can be very useful in a reef tank).

When I was running a LFS we wouldn't even carry damsels because of how aggressive they are.

Why is this????

 

[Fishguy2727]

Why what?

 

[SAAVE853]

It will be hard to keep the water quality high enough to keep those anemones alive (not to mention all the corals).

??????

 

[Fishguy2727]

All of those damsels will create massive amounts of waste. Corals need high water quality, anemones are even more demanding. As the damsels grow they will get worse with both waste production and aggression, possibly killing the clownfish.

The tank is not cycled if there is any ammonia, or it has been thrown off balance by stocking too fast. If the tank was cycled a month ago I am assuming you have added all of this since then, in which case you stocked way too much too fast.

Up the water changes to twice a week and consider ditching the damsels.