Clear water

[rockyofhockey]

I'm sure that Internet page is more knowledgeable then me, I just go by, water test, with drops not strips and how the fish and water look, make sure you use good food. New life spectrum or equivalent, that makes a big difference,
I would do 50% weekly, not 30% like that page says, more the better

Sent from my C6906 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

I do 2, 30% water change each week

 

[libertybelle]

I'm sure that Internet page is more knowledgeable then me, I just go by, water test, with drops not strips and how the fish and water look, make sure you use good food.

Lol, I'm sure it's not It's a good place to start and mess with things and see how it changes the calculations!

Definitely though, you just have to test your water and watch the fish. That's what will really tell you if it's enough, not us!

 

[bmetz171]

Run a UV sterilizer. More on the expensive side but gives you crystal clear water and kills micro organisms in the water. My waters been crystal clear since day one with it. I'll never go without one now.

 

[Cichliddave]

Run a UV sterilizer. More on the expensive side but gives you crystal clear water and kills micro organisms in the water. My waters been crystal clear since day one with it. I'll never go without one now.

Curious, what brand and model do you have, and for what size tank, with how many fish
Sorry for 100 questions, I've been thinking of getting one for a while, but
To cheap to make the purchase

 

[threnjen]

right now the problem is that the Aqueon 30 isn't enough for the tank. I would add a filter or upgrade the filter.

 

[Mebbid]

Run a UV sterilizer. More on the expensive side but gives you crystal clear water and kills micro organisms in the water. My waters been crystal clear since day one with it. I'll never go without one now.

A uv sterilizer will do absolutely nothing for suspended debris in the water.

right now the problem is that the Aqueon 30 isn't enough for the tank. I would add a filter or upgrade the filter.

Personally, I always way overfilter my tanks. But the first route you should go is to try running filter floss in your filter. That should catch the ultra fine particles that are the most common cause of cloudiness.

On that note, there are some questions I need answered before giving you any suggestions about equipment changes.

1. What are the parameters of the tank?
2. How long has the tank been set up?
3. Is it green cloudy or white cloudy?
4. What is your water change schedule?

 

[mrvincent]

I want clear water soooo bad it's not even funny!!! How do I do this!!!!! I've got a peaks of drift wood but that's not the problem. My tanks stocked pretty good I've got a aquaclear40 filter with fluval clear water package with it. But I still can't get water

It depends why your water is not clear...

Green water: Algae in suspension
White water: New tank syndrome, bacterial bloom.
Yellow water: Driftwood releasing tans in water.
Yellow water: Lack of substrate vaccum can do this or high nitrates.
Dusty/grey water: Particles floating in the water. Common in new tanks with new substrates.

You may want to add a polywool pad to the filter, it help clearing the water. If your filter pad is dirty, it need a rinse, or it doesn't remove the new particles from water.


Any picture ?
Note that sometime green water appears white under light, so you need a white bucket full of tank water to diagnose well.

 

[Paul1792]

Assuming nothing out of the ordinary and the GPH of your filter is adequate, the secrets that assure clear, polished water are:

1) Mechanical filtration that includes media to catch larger particles followed by 100 micron polishing pads,

2) Plenty of high quality bio-media

3) Seachem Purigen

This is not the ONLY way to do it, but it's the sure fire way.

I was able to get uber clear polished water by modifying a Walmart Aqua-Tech ..... but it was a lot of work, so I replaced it with Fluval C series Filters.

If you want water that looks like this:

How to get crystal clear aquarium water - YouTube

without the mess of a canister & U/V strerilizer, I suggest you get a Fluval C4 HOB which comes out of the box to make crystal clear polished water. Just substitute Purigen for the factory carbon in the chemical chamber.

Or go ahead and get a Canister ... there are many good ones

Go here and see my post #3:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f60/fluval-c4-vs-bio-wheel-hobs-294841.html

or here to my post #3:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f60/fluval-c4-vs-bio-wheel-hobs-294841.html

[As an alternative you could get an AquaClear 70 and use high quality tightly packed floss such as serawool + Purigen in lieu of carbon. For $5 more, get the Fluval C. I have both AC & Fluval C's (both made by Hagen) and the Fluval C's are far superior.]

See the water in my "Fluval filterd" 38 gallon tank here:

Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - Paul1792's Album: Paul1792's 38 gallon - Picture

and here is a link to a "so so" practice video of my tank ....... but photobucket loses resolution in the file transfer. That being said, my tank is every bit as clear as the one in the youtube video above and you can read normal sized print through the 36 inches of water from the sideview.

http://s948.photobucket.com/user/Paul1792/media/38WonderfulWorld_zps0f8edabb.mp4.html?sort=4&o=0

Here is a link to see the mechanics of my Fluval C series filtration. Just click on the picture you want for the appropriate explanation

http://s948.photobucket.com/user/Paul1792/library/HOB Filtration?sort=6&page=1

 

[mrvincent]

I've put 2 layers of cheap polywood pads (2$) I have cut to fit the "circle form" in my Eheim 2213 Canister, and I never got a water clear like that !

If you can "compact" polywool to the filter, it will reduce the water flow but the water quality will be better.

 

[rockyofhockey]

Well I got an even better filter!!! and got purigen!!!! I saw some algae on the black glass so I got this little friend!!! NO WORRIES HE IS A BUSHY NOSE PLECO!!!!! Not a common

 

[mrvincent]

Pleco don't eat green spot algae. Only a scrub sponge or razor blade do the job...

 

[rockyofhockey]

The guy said he would eat it

 

[mrvincent]

LFS guys say a lot of things...

Just see how hard it's to remove the algae with your finger, do you think the poor suction of the mouth of the pleco will remove it ?

 

[rockyofhockey]

He showed me a pic if his full grown one munching on some of his algae tho

 

[mrvincent]

He showed me a pic if his full grown one munching on some of his algae tho

Are you talking about diatoms or green spot algae ?

 

[rockyofhockey]

The green slime that grows on driftwood and glass

 

[rockyofhockey]

here he is now munching in some driftwood

 

[mrvincent]

I tought you were talking about Green Spots Algeas, they're hard to remove.

 

[rockyofhockey]

So my pleco should eat this stuff right?

 

[mrvincent]

Green slime is more cyanobacterias than algae... I don't know if plecos eat cyanos... Post a picture of your algae, we'll ID.