Particles in tank. Help....

Darbna · Mar 20, 2017

so my 265 Gallon is up and running for about 7 months. I have 2 maxspect on both sides along with some small powerheads to move the dead spots down low in the back. None are storing up the bottom and all corals seem happy so do the fish. Unlike my 125, this tank has always had particles in the water column. I've tried everything. I run 2 seven inch filter sock and a pretty large skimmer. Also have a filter block separating the final chamber in the sump before the return. I've tried increasing Flow and decreased to next to nothing. Can't seem to stop the particles. I've even attempted weekly water changes. I'm clueless but frustrated with tiny particles floating around. Please give me some feedback

wkscott · Mar 20, 2017

What type of sand did you use and did you rinse it first?

Darbna · Mar 20, 2017

wkscott said:
What type of sand did you use and did you rinse it first?

I did not rinse. It was live sand. Think I used the grade up from Bimini Pink. Its the same sand I used in my SPS tank. There is much more flow in the 125 but never had the problem even when I was running LPS in it with lighter flow.

Miketay89 · Mar 20, 2017

This has been there for 7 months? The things that I can think of that it could be: micro-bubbles, fine sand particles, phyto or zooplankton, what else?
Do you run a skimmer?
Do you by chance have a microscope or even a magnifying glass?

wkscott · Mar 20, 2017

I used a similar sand a few years ago and didn't rinse either. I thought it would defeat the purpose of using live sand (it does.) I had the same problem for 2 months until I finally used Kent Marine Tank Clarifier. It binds the particulate matter together making it easier for your mechanical filtration to remove it.
https://www.kentmarine.com/products/marine-tank-clarifier.htm

Darbna · Mar 20, 2017

Miketay89 said:
This has been there for 7 months? The things that I can think of that it could be: micro-bubbles, fine sand particles, phyto or zooplankton, what else?
Do you run a skimmer?
Do you by chance have a microscope or even a magnifying glass?

I do run a large skimmer. Water column is total 300 gallon. I dont think its micro bubbles. The water from the intake is kinda slow even If i kill all flow its still there.