Another Clear Water Thread: How to keep water crystal clear?

Radman73 · Jun 22, 2018

Curious about the ultimate goal as well. I have what I consider to be very clear water. But I do have particulate floating about, including 2-3 sheds from pods/shrimp at any one time. I'm pretty happy with mine as is. I run a small bag of purigen, a small bag of carbon, filter socks most of the time, and a remote refugium.

AnakinReefWalker · Jun 22, 2018

mdbannister said:
I've never actually used coral snow. Ordering some rn.

WAIT, I hope you didn't order it yet, because I have a DIY that could save you a ton of money (not my DIY, just sharing)

I currently use a DIY coral snow from a thread I found here on R2R, you can purchase a ton of it from Amazon (1 pound for 8 bucks, or 5 pounds for 12 bucks), this stuff is WAY more cost effective than KZ Coral Snow and is essentially the same thing.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-kz-coral-snow-with-97-purity.211722/

All the information you need is in this thread if you're interested

Kamden Uelton · Jun 22, 2018

Lol I don't use ANYTHING that isn't natural, Waterchanges and filterpads is all I use and my water is crystal clear.

CoralFan1776 · Jun 22, 2018

tripdad said:
Can I get a little clarity, no pun intended, on what we are talking about here? Are you specifically talking about polished water that still has particulate in it or just dead pure water? I ask because while my water is clear, non yellow from organics, I in no way try to remove all the particulates. I just feel they are there in nature so maybe the corals can eat some of them? I even create sandstorms once a week for this reason. Thoughts? I have seen Vibrant clear it up almost completely before but do not try and keep it this way. I run no socks for the most part, only occasionally. Just wondering, not being contrary. It's always interesting to see how others approach this hobby. P.S. I am able to maintain and grow bivalves and tunicates in my tank. I like weird stuff, LOL.

Many people consider particulates in the water a good thing. I do.
I use no mechanical filtration for this reason but do run some GAC to keep the actual water clear.

nfrench2100 · Jun 22, 2018

I run one mesh filter sock and rinse it once a week in tap water. Other than cleaning the glass, and running slimmer 24/7, that’s it. No additives or any other equipment

Oberst Oswald · Jun 22, 2018

This is what worked for me when I had an ongoing battle with dinos and had very clear water as a side result. Don't think the clear water helped with the dino issue but below made me see them better to really get me mad...

UV Sterilizer... big one
10 micron filter socks... http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/blue-life-usa-10-micron-filter-socks.html
Vibrant... once a week per instructions
Charcoal in a reactor

sprouseod · Jun 22, 2018

Put ozone on my system the last few weeks and I can't believe how clear it is.

Fudsey · Jun 22, 2018

I use a Marineland water polisher with DE to really clear my water fast, but only occasionally if needed. Other than that, ROX and filter socks.

GoVols · Jun 22, 2018

FWIW:
I don't want totally crystal clear water, in my reef.

I like it clear, but the goal is to keep the nutrients and organics up too.

JMO...

Sunny Goold · Jun 23, 2018

AnakinReefWalker said:
WAIT, I hope you didn't order it yet, because I have a DIY that could save you a ton of money (not my DIY, just sharing)

I currently use a DIY coral snow from a thread I found here on R2R, you can purchase a ton of it from Amazon (1 pound for 8 bucks, or 5 pounds for 12 bucks), this stuff is WAY more cost effective than KZ Coral Snow and is essentially the same thing.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-kz-coral-snow-with-97-purity.211722/

All the information you need is in this thread if you're interested

The DIY Coral Snow post is great.

Does anyone consider bubble scrubbing a method for cleaning up the water? Is it a similar / less effective process than the snow?

Also are there any negative effects of Bubble Scrubbing on corals / clams?

I think the DIY Snow just went to the top of my list. Cheap - no extra equipment needed and you can just do it whenever you need to. If I am understanding it right I can't see any downsides

hybridazn · Jun 23, 2018

Sunny Goold said:
The DIY Coral Snow post is great.

Does anyone consider bubble scrubbing a method for cleaning up the water? Is it a similar / less effective process than the snow?

Also are there any negative effects of Bubble Scrubbing on corals / clams?

I think the DIY Snow just went to the top of my list. Cheap - no extra equipment needed and you can just do it whenever you need to. If I am understanding it right I can't see any downsides

I tried bubble scrubbing, the added salt creep everywhere after day 2 was enough for me to throw in the towel

AnakinReefWalker · Jun 23, 2018

Sunny Goold said:
The DIY Coral Snow post is great.

Does anyone consider bubble scrubbing a method for cleaning up the water? Is it a similar / less effective process than the snow?

Also are there any negative effects of Bubble Scrubbing on corals / clams?

I think the DIY Snow just went to the top of my list. Cheap - no extra equipment needed and you can just do it whenever you need to. If I am understanding it right I can't see any downsides

As far as I know, there are no drawbacks to dosing Coral Snow, can be dosed as much as you'd like. And yes bubble scrubbing is similar to dosing DIY Coral Snow some even use both simultaneously, the microbubbles will pick up small pieces of debris and dirt as they move through the tank, however I do prefer dosing DIY Coral Snow as it is easier, no implementation required, the less equipment on my tank, the happier I am

RCS82 · Jun 23, 2018

Lots of flow. Keeps things up and moving towards your corals and skimmer. I don't run filter socks and tend to think my water is pretty clear. Let the corals and the skimmer do the work.
Also clean glass obviously and use a good quality carbon.

van7271 · Jun 23, 2018

Purigen, GAC and keep the glass clean

ca1ore · Jun 23, 2018

I've long been of the view that a properly run, biologically balanced tank is naturally clear. Most of the things mentioned in this thread I'd view as band aids.

jtl · Jun 24, 2018

I dose Vibrant for algae control. I just started a couple of weeks ago so far I think it helps a little. It is also supposed to be an clean up the water but I have always had very clear water albeit with some particulates and pods. I use a filter sock when cleaning the DT and run GAC. If the issue is particulate matter and think the solution is running a filter sock 24/7 which I don't want to do.

Flippers4pups · Jun 24, 2018

Me personally I use filter socks daily, I swore I would discontinue using them, but it definitely helps water clarity. I also use a UV unit from time to time. It is the single best tool for water clarity i have. I rarely use any GFO or GAC, but will if my numbers dictate using it.

Servillius · Jun 24, 2018

I’ve been using a 40w sterilizer for a few months now (against KZs recommendation) and love the results.

As for particulates, they don’t really bother me if the water itself is clear, but I’ve found if you have enough flow to keep things from settling, the total particulates actually go down over time.

Ento-Reefer · Jun 24, 2018

Ozone running at night for 3 hours and 3 hours in the middle of the day when everyone is at work. Tank is so clear the fish look like they are floating on air

Cory · Jun 24, 2018

For micron sized particles i use a diatom filter.

For yellowing nothing beats ozone and activated carbon combo.

The problem with ozone is it destroys all plastics. The problem with diatom filter is its messy to get started.