Water Condition

[matman]

My water has particles floating around in it. It's by no means cloudy, still very clear, but there are just little things floating around in it. Should i probably clean the sponge in the filter?

 

[TCTFish]

What do these things look like? Best way to clean the sponge in the filter is to do so in used aquarium water. This avoids annihalating any good bacterial growth on the sponge.

 

[malkore]

Yes, in SW tanks you really wanna clean your filter sponges several times a week, to reduce nitrate levels, and to keep them working efficiently.
But don't rinse it in tap water or dechlor'd freshwater...you'll need to use SW, either old water, or mix up a tiny amount (doesn't even have to be high salinity, just something like 1.016) to rinse in.

 

[Phyl]

My tank is very clear but there is always some little particulate in the water column from the live rock spewing stuff. When looking at the reef tank at my LFS theirs was the same way. They said it was normal for a tank with LR in it. I don't even really notice it anymore.

 

[makana]

i think these particulates you are talking about are good. if your tank is well developed many may be plankton.

 

[flanque]

My prefilter pads are a wool-type disposable. Costs me $15 for a bag which lasts about 4-5 months or so.