Cant get my water clear to save my life

[supermarvin76]

I change my substrate from crushed coral to sand 3 weeks ago. Before that my water was CRYSTAL clear; even when viewing from the side you could see straight through. It was awesome!!! But.....now 3 weeks after changing to sand, I can see alright when viewing from the front, but when viewing from the side you can see through so so....but it is not like it was. Also, there are little "chunks" visible floating in the water. I have tried water changes, 2 different types of carbon, adding sponges to my power heads in the tank. (I have 2). I have no clue what else to do. I am very frustrated!!! Please help!!!

 

[EJS4]

It sounds like the material is too fine to be caught by the sponge. You could try a finer filter material.
Also the power heads are probably keeping the material suspended. Have you tried reducing circulation in the tank. In this case dead spots, would allow the material to settle out.

 

[supermarvin76]

Everyone else I talk to says to increase not decrease the circulation. I don't know for my self though. I only had one power head in there to begin with.....Besides the chunks, what can I do about the murkiness??

 

[boardsurfer]

Do you have a protein skimmer? Get an AquaC Remora Skimmer, or do a search on AA about them. That should clear things up, pun intended!

 

[IworkatPSP]

Did you rinse the sand? I made the mistake of just putting the sand in right from the bag.


Also, afterwords I used a vortex diatom filter.......made it crystal clear in about an hour.

 

[kwan]

I have a canister filter with fine filter floss in it which clears it up in a matter of hours.

 

[darb2]

With only 12 lbs of lr it will take longer for the water to clear. Especially if all of the substrate was changed at once. Don't worry, it will. Just clean out intake sponges frequently.

 

[supermarvin76]

IworkatPSP used a vortex diatom filter. What is that, and how much are they?? Hard to use??

 

[IworkatPSP]

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/vortex/Class//T1/F25+0404+0039/EDP/5281/Itemdy00.aspx

Around 70 bucks, but well worth it imo.

Basically just plug and play, we used one at work after a rigorous cleaning. Couldn't see 3 inches into the tanks, hooked one of these up and within an hour it was crystal clear.