Hands down, the way to best make a nano clear is to deep clean it, sand and all. Full water change, then it’s 100% clear. Regardless of any concern about the recommend we have ten years of example threads with outcomes etc, it’s a well practiced recommend. The number one thing you are hesitant to do is the undisputed best way to make a nano reef outlive other tanks cared for normally. The recommend comes from practice in a very, very old nano reef.
There is a special way to clean rocks so the junk with in is dislodged. No water doser can do that
There is a separate way we clean sandbeds to total cloudless state.
A full water change is self explanatory, the method is also the cheapest and simplest option. You’d reacclimate fish back in like day one of bringing them home, fish are held elsewhere as you take down the system for cleaning.
Anything shy of cleaning leaves a filthy sandbed that clouds up every time it’s disturbed
Or rocks that have clear mess in them if you shake them midwater to see what casts off/has built up
Consider thinking about your nano not in parts of approach, like one change to a filter component or just a doser, but consider it as a whole system you have a way to make instantly clear, if you want to. Not in steps, all at once.
Remember it’s not life shortening, it’s life lengthening. It’s the opposite of what the masses think. The number one way to earn a no lifespan limit nano is to simply clean it vs not clean it ever.
B
