How to get crystal clear water?

[GarrDen79]

People always talk about having crystal clear water but mine never is. I've had tank up now for 5 months with LR and a few fish. Tank came with fluval hob filter that I replaced with aquamaxx hob skimmer last month thinking it would clean up the water, it didn't. I was just going to live with it but debris keeps building up on chaeto in hob refugium killing it. I have had to redo refugium because it just gets nasty. I see my lawnmower blenny kicking up debris when eating of the rocks but figured the filter or skimmer would eventually remove it, that's not happening.

Those specks are in water column and not in glass

New chaeto went in last week Thursday and already covered on water intake side. Water flowing right to left.

What can I change to fix this?

 

[Jdeleon]

Tagging in im having the same issue, im told time. my display is 8-9 months now. I do however have 2 100 micron filter socks and just today I ordered 50 micron pads to polish the water even more.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

yea thats totally weird.
what sand did you use?
Is that miracle mud in the fuge?
Id put the hob back on with floss.

 

[Joey waid]

The only true way is to get socks, filter mat that 100 micron or less. Also you can use a diatom filter to get it crystal clear. A use all of thee above. I have noticed in mine that is air. Turn your return off and see if it goes away.

 

[Harry_Y]

Some kind of sponge filter I would think

I used to run a Deltec in-tank slimmer on a 75 gallon and it
had a big sponge filter that would keep the water very clear.

Or even something like a Diatom filter (Vortex)

I'm not 100% sure I want it that clear though...
My 180 is nowhere as clear but my corals grow quite well with more food in the water.

 

[phantomreefing]

Try this...

In no time you should have crystal clear water

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/protein-skimmers/reactors/carbon-gfo-media-reactors.html

 

[Jdeleon]

Try this...

In no time you should have crystal clear water

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/protein-skimmers/reactors/carbon-gfo-media-reactors.html

Witch one of all the reactors will be a good one?

 

[Bluefish9]

If I'm reading this correct, your only forms of filtration is biological (from the LR) and a protein skimmer?

The skimmer is primarily for removing DISSOLVED organics and does that very well! However, they don't remove heavy particulates so well. You need some type of mechanical filtration... filter floss, socks, pad,.. something.

Im assuming you're not running a sump? Why not put the HOB back into service? You can load it up with the filter media I mentioned earlier to pull out the debris. While a lot of people have these elaborate sumps and filtration, there is nothing wrong with a HOB so long as you are diligent about cleaning it, since they get fouled up pretty quickly.

 

[lou dog420]

Activated carbon

 

[GarrDen79]

yea thats totally weird.
what sand did you use?
Is that miracle mud in the fuge?
Id put the hob back on with floss.

I used CaribSea live sand. That is miracle mud in fuge, but that has only been in there a month, problem has been there before that.
Had Fluval 70 Filter on there for the first 4 months with a sponge and Purigen. I always do weekly WC and filter cleaning.

 

[Squid]

Good flow and a decent skimmer does the trick for me

 

[GarrDen79]

The only true way is to get socks, filter mat that 100 micron or less. Also you can use a diatom filter to get it crystal clear. A use all of thee above. I have noticed in mine that is air. Turn your return off and see if it goes away.

I'll try the filter socks. The skimmer is still breaking in so micro bubbles are present but I can see the white specks, they are not air bubbles.
The filter goes on the return of the skimmer?

 

[GarrDen79]

Some kind of sponge filter I would think

I used to run a Deltec in-tank slimmer on a 75 gallon and it
had a big sponge filter that would keep the water very clear.

Or even something like a Diatom filter (Vortex)

I'm not 100% sure I want it that clear though...
My 180 is nowhere as clear but my corals grow quite well with more food in the water.

I have come to not mind the debris, it's just it's building up on the chaeto and messing up the refugium.

 

[Joey waid]

I have come to not mind the debris, it's just it's building up on the chaeto and messing up the refugium.

You can go on amazon and look up filter pad or pond filter pad. It's cheap and they make it all the way down to 50 micron. The micron is what maters. The skimmer is not going to get rid of
the particals.

 

[GarrDen79]

If I'm reading this correct, your only forms of filtration is biological (from the LR) and a protein skimmer?

The skimmer is primarily for removing DISSOLVED organics and does that very well! However, they don't remove heavy particulates so well. You need some type of mechanical filtration... filter floss, socks, pad,.. something.

Im assuming you're not running a sump? Why not put the HOB back into service? You can load it up with the filter media I mentioned earlier to pull out the debris. While a lot of people have these elaborate sumps and filtration, there is nothing wrong with a HOB so long as you are diligent about cleaning it, since they get fouled up pretty quickly.

I always had a sponge int the hob filter and it wasn't any clearer. I cleaned it weekly during the WC. But I think putting the hob filter back on there is a good idea. Besides the mechanical filtration, it gives me somewhere to put carbon or PhospGuard media when needed.

 

[GarrDen79]

You can go on amazon and look up filter pad or pond filter pad. It's cheap and they make it all the way down to 50 micron. The micron is what maters. The skimmer is not going to get rid of
the particals.

I'll do that. Where do I place the filter?

 

[Joey waid]

I have hang on filters and I'll cut it up and put it in there as you would the name brand stuff with plastic and charcoal. I also have hob returns and I'll cut it to size. I also will put it in my sump in and on my filters socks/ area.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

look for the blue and white floss. i put it under the sponge in a hob aqua clear. its cheap. you can also put a sponge ON the pump for the fuge, so you get just the nutrints and not the particulates.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

IME, do not try and get crystal clear water, you will starve things. The ocean is a soup of life down to the tiniest critters. All of that stuff should be in your tank.
Since ridding my tank of filter socks and sponges, I've seen the tank come to life vs having a nice clear sterile tank.

 

[David_Ewen]

People always talk about having crystal clear water but mine never is. I've had tank up now for 5 months with LR and a few fish. Tank came with fluval hob filter that I replaced with aquamaxx hob skimmer last month thinking it would clean up the water, it didn't. I was just going to live with it but debris keeps building up on chaeto in hob refugium killing it. I have had to redo refugium because it just gets nasty. I see my lawnmower blenny kicking up debris when eating of the rocks but figured the filter or skimmer would eventually remove it, that's not happening.

Those specks are in water column and not in glass

New chaeto went in last week Thursday and already covered on water intake side. Water flowing right to left.

What can I change to fix this?

I'm no expert, but here's my suggestions.

First, I would do water changes and vacuum as much waist out as possible. This may take many 10% changes. Did you clean the sand before putting it in the tank? It took me 2 weeks of soaking in R/O water and about 3 hours of flushing to get all the really fine particulate out of my sand.

Second, add extra particulate filtration as mentioned by others. More than 1 HOB is not harmful. The more flow the better. I don't use continuous mechanical filtration because I want live organisms in my water column, but until you get your detritus cleared up you may have to.

Third, try adding some of these copepods. Detritus is their food source.
https://www.algaebarn.com

Fourth, there are some great products on the market that help coagulate small particulate into large particulate to aide in mechanical removal. I use a couple products from Korrallen-zucht, Coral Snow and Zeozym that work great.
http://www.korallen-zucht.de
You can also get these products at Bulk Reef Supply.

Good luck.