water clarity?

[whip1]

I look at tank pic's all the time and everyones water is crystal clear how do you do it?
mine has particles floating around and is anything but clear.all params are fine.
I bought some diesel bags to help filter the water I am putting them on today after a 40 gallon water change. my small 55 gallon tank is crystal clear and it just has an hob skimmer I would think the 180 would be clear( larger water volume) also I think the MP40's are constantly kicking up debri.. any advise would be great

 

[fizhfly]

you want enough flow to keep detritus and dirt suspended in the water colom but you nedd a good sized skimmer to remove it as well and filter socks should help and even a some activated carbon will help .

 

[whip1]

you want enough flow to keep detritus and dirt suspended in the water colom but you nedd a good sized skimmer to remove it as well and filter socks should help and even a some activated carbon will help .

this is the skimmer it appears to work good.(I got it used) the MP40's keep the detritus suspended. so I will put the socks on today and run some carbon and see if that helps.can you tell by looking if this skimmer is big enough for this tank? the skimmate it pulls out is very thick and dark and stinky.I have always wondered

 

[fizhfly]

i think you could use a little bigger skimmer for that 180 gallon tank

 

[RBursek]

First I think by looking at your skimmer it is big enough unles your pump for it is not, I have heard the rule of thumb for a skimmer it should have about the same design capacity and pump rating as your return system. I would put some tank water into a white bucket and see if it looks yellow, if so let it sit for a few hours and see if the yellow has settled on the bottom if you have it settled out then you know it is suspended solids and not air bubles or organics dissolved in the water. If it is solids then more skimming or filter socks will help. If it is dissolved organics then running carbon in a reactor with carbon should help. You said all params are fine, what is your PO4? May need to run some Phosban also.

 

[SDguy]

After moving my reef, my rock started shedding again. I added filter socks (used to use them, but stopped)... they made a world of difference.

 

[whip1]

First I think by looking at your skimmer it is big enough unles your pump for it is not, I have heard the rule of thumb for a skimmer it should have about the same design capacity and pump rating as your return system. I would put some tank water into a white bucket and see if it looks yellow, if so let it sit for a few hours and see if the yellow has settled on the bottom if you have it settled out then you know it is suspended solids and not air bubles or organics dissolved in the water. If it is solids then more skimming or filter socks will help. If it is dissolved organics then running carbon in a reactor with carbon should help. You said all params are fine, what is your PO4? May need to run some Phosban also.

just did the 1st big water change 40 gallons. installed the filter socks and mega micro bubbles I also cleaned all the filters on the skimmer and the pump. the skimmer pump is 500 gph we tried upgrading it with a 1300gph and water lterally just shot thru the skimmer so we put the 500 back on .the return pump size is 1800 gph. my params are
ammonia0
trates0
trites0
phos0
cal 420
ph 8
alk havent a clue my test sucks
I am going to setup and run carbo and see what that does. I have the MP40's set to nutrient transport mode thinking maybe that will help it all get skimmed?
I thought being a new tank that this would clear up on its own but nearly 2 months later my patience is wearing thin.
Thanks for the advise.

 

[RBursek]

There are pumps out there for the skimmer between 500 and 1300, My skimmer looks smaller then yours, at least in diameter, it is a Nautilus, and I run a RIO 2500+ on it, at 1ft head it is rated for 720gph. My tank is a 120 and 30gal sump I figure I have about 100-110 gal total system.

 

[fizhfly]

yes but a sps dominated tank likes cleaner water .

 

[whip1]

There are pumps out there for the skimmer between 500 and 1300, My skimmer looks smaller then yours, at least in diameter, it is a Nautilus, and I run a RIO 2500+ on it, at 1ft head it is rated for 720gph. My tank is a 120 and 30gal sump I figure I have about 100-110 gal total system.

so do you think we should try the 1300 again? we just now opened the valves fully so maybe that will make a differance on how it skims.
I paid 25 bucks for this skimmer it had no paper work and I really don't know what its rated for or anything
ita approx 2 1/2 feet tall the cup and skimmer is 9 inch diameter.

 

[fizhfly]

try that along with the filter socks and see what it does

 

[whip1]

try that along with the filter socks and see what it does

ok thats what I will do. is it just me or does everyone have a love/hate relationship with this hobby?
if this doesn't work then I guess I will not be able to keep sps's...

 

[fizhfly]

are you having trouble with sps now?

 

[Troylee]

ok thats what I will do. is it just me or does everyone have a love/hate relationship with this hobby?
if this doesn't work then I guess I will not be able to keep sps's...

You can keep sps...
it's just alot of work if you don't have a good skimmer... Start running gfo and carbon in some reactors and your water will clear up... Filter socks I would pass on unless you wanna do maintence like cleaning them every couple days..... It's all about your water changes and equipment when it comes to sps... The better the equipment the less work... I have seen sps tanks with no sump or skimmer just plenty of water changes and all was well...

 

[whip1]

well everything we talked about has just been done. aside from putting on the 1300 pump and buying a bigger skimmer.I do have probably 30 or so acro's, montes, birdsnests and right now they are growing like weeds some better than others but doing fine. the water is already starting to clear but if I continue to have this problem I will buy a skimmer and put the bigger pump on. is there a particular skimmer you guys can reccomend for this size tank?
again Thanks

 

[fizhfly]

i like the reef octopus skimmers !

 

[EMTDIVER16]

I just got a MRC MR-2 skimmer and that thing kicks butt. I have more skimmate in 3 days than I did in 3 weeks with the other skimmer! Your close enough to me you should come down one day.

 

[whip1]

I just got a MRC MR-2 skimmer and that thing kicks butt. I have more skimmate in 3 days than I did in 3 weeks with the other skimmer! Your close enough to me you should come down one day.

well I have only been emptying my cup once a week and its only a quarter full when I do. the cup I would guess it would hold a half gallon of liquid. it doesn''t seem enough does it? but the stuff skimmer out is very thick like syrup and caked onto the inside of the cup.
mind if I ask where you bought your skimmer?

 

[EMTDIVER16]

it is used off of craigslist saved over 300 dollars that way!

 

[whip1]

good deal but I don't have that kind of luck.I pay double for everything.