Keeping your aquarium water Crystal Clear?

N.Sreefer · May 8, 2021

Water is the easy part keeping the glass crystal clean on the other hand is a pain in the ****.

A2dahlberg · May 21, 2021

What kind of UV would u recommend for a fluvo 13.5g?

Karen00 · May 25, 2021

Hyde2406 said:
Nope not clear at all to many filter feeders and sponges but not too bad considering... It's still really pretty

This might be a noob sounding question (which I am) but why do you attribute the lack of clarity to having too many filter feeders? Is it because of them or the type of food you feed or something else? I saw a documentary about the decline of the oyster reefs (ex: in the Chesapeake Bay) and they said that at one time the Bay was so clear you could see the bottom (I'm assuming they meant nearer the shore) and it was because of their filter feeding ways. Now that the reefs are endangered the water is getting cloudy although I'm sure pollution isn't helping.

RalphTech · Jun 11, 2021

zoa what said:
Hands down... filter socks will make your water column clearer

But.... the quality of your front glass has a lot to do with that as well. Betting the pic above is low-iron starfire glass

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Hi zoa. Callahan posted that low iron isn't noticeable when waters in the tank. He advises his multimillion dollar customers that there is no benefit in the glass but most opt to get it anyway. So would I if....

blasterman · Jun 11, 2021

I don't skim and don't run mechanical filtration and don't do water changes. Water is crystal clear. Lots of big zoa colonies scrub the water and I blast the tank with ozone once a week.

saltwaterpicaso · Jun 11, 2021

100 micron socks big skimmer uv rox8. i used to run ozone as well but have noticed no difference since taking it offline a year ago. changing the carbon on time really has a big impact. like another member said clear water is easy keeping the glass clean is the biggest pain.

McPuff · Jun 11, 2021

I had voted no originally... but now it's a YES. I started to run carbon about a month ago and now my water is definitely crystal clear (if the glass is clean). It's crazy what a difference it has made.

ultraArcite · Jun 11, 2021

revhtree said:
1. Would you consider your aquarium water to be "Crystal Clear?"

In the display tank? Nah... but man the water in the QT tank is perfect

revhtree said:
2. What are the best ways to keep your water consistently clear?

I think it's the chemipure blue... the QT tank water is crystal clear and that's the only difference I can find between the two.

uhgster1 · Jun 11, 2021

My refugium is packed with chaeto. It grows from top to bottom and it acts as my filter. I only harvest the top portion of it. And I haven’t done a water change in about 6 months

I believe that once the tank matures it will achieve balance.

Obviously not a show sump, but man does it do the job! All I have in the sump is a coralife skimmer, and chaeto. That’s it. I dose alk, cal, and run kalk through my ATO. The KISS principle.

Daniel · Jun 11, 2021

struggle for me to get crystal clear water, great tips here i'll have to try out!

Tamberav · Jun 11, 2021

Mine is not crystal clear at all but I suppose it’s my fault as I only change 10g every 3 months. Have a skimmer rated for half the size of what my tank actually is and rarely change socks and don’t run any reactors.

I have a robust fish population and feed heavily.

I don’t care it’s not clear, I enjoy my tank anyways and it fits my lifestyle as a almost no maintaince tank mostly powered by a fuge

Ardeus · Jun 12, 2021

Water clariry is overrated. Cloudiness allows you to see volumetric light rays.

Particles in the water also make your tank look more natural.

shanzfish · Jun 12, 2021

Just changed my vote from no to yes.....I had a Dino outbreak so I bought a UV steriliser and did a 70 hour black out. Yesterday I revealed my tank and the water is SO CLEAR! I’m very excited. I have a FW tank that is Crystal clear also so I am so happy to have both tanks looking beautiful. Today it still looks excellent even after heavy feedings

tammieh · Jun 23, 2021

Question... when trying to get crystal clear water, I'm reading that a lot of you are running UV and carbon. I heard that UV wasn't good for reef tanks and that running carbon could increase the risk of HLLE in fish. Are these two statements true? Not true? Or doesn't matter?