How to Achieve Crystal Clear Water

[spykes]

what size is your tank?

 

[janey]

wheres a good place to get them ...??
Filter sock bags

 

[kimoyo]

For those of you with really clear water, do you run halides?

I just got my tank running again but i wasn't using my halides before. Now that I've turn on the halides I'm seeing all these little specks (very very small) that I didn't see before. I'm not sure if they are bubbles or organics. My deltec ap600 is direct-fed and I just put a filter sock over the outlet.

Im going to be running carbon next week but I'm not sure if that will help if the sock doesn't.

 

[kimoyo]

I should say that I'm talking about particles or bubbles not the color of my water.

 

[jawwad2004]

what size is your tank?

My tank is a 90gallon with a 20gallon sump.

 

[jawwad2004]

For those of you with really clear water, do you run halides?

I just got my tank running again but i wasn't using my halides before. Now that I've turn on the halides I'm seeing all these little specks (very very small) that I didn't see before. I'm not sure if they are bubbles or organics. My deltec ap600 is direct-fed and I just put a filter sock over the outlet.

Im going to be running carbon next week but I'm not sure if that will help if the sock doesn't.

Same thing, I think the halides start showing a bunch of stuff that wasnt there before. Does carbon really help?

 

[kimoyo]

Same thing, I think the halides start showing a bunch of stuff that wasnt there before. Does carbon really help?

Carbon just binds organics. So if your skimmer doesn't skim it out maybe the carbon can bind it. But I'm still not sure if its very tiny particulate organics or very tiny bubbles. Either way I'm not sure of the best way to get rid of it.

I decided to increase my tank to sump flow and put a sock on the tee I have entering the sump (usually most of the water goes thru the skimmer). But while I was putting the sock on I realized that I got a lot of dirt in my sump while setting it up this week. So I have to clean that out because it might be contributing also.

 

[jawwad2004]

I am going to totally overhaul my filtration setup during the break. I am going to be using that SCWD wave maker in my return now.

 

[jawwad2004]

Here are a few pics to show you how bad the algae problem is and water clarity not being the best at the same time

 

[jawwad2004]

For some reason the diatoms are flourishing more towards the left side of the tank, and the flow is pretty equal in both sides, so I dont know what seems to be the problem.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Old bulbs??? just a guess

I see the angels still with ya ...

 

[jawwad2004]

Well I got the bulbs used, with the MH setup I bought. The seller told me he installed the bulbs in June, brand new and ran them for about 8 hours a day until I purchased it in August, and on average I run them from 6 -7 hours a day.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Hmmmppphhhhh its to late...shut the brain off a while agoo...

 

[alrha]

Well I got the bulbs used, with the MH setup I bought. The seller told me he installed the bulbs in June, brand new and ran them for about 8 hours a day until I purchased it in August, and on average I run them from 6 -7 hours a day.

is this the fixture you got from me (the Aqua Spacelight)?

bulbs (with about 10 months of use at ~8 hrs/day).

note that the bulbs had 10 months of use before you got them.
that said, both sides bulbs have equal usage (unless you took one out) as they are on one plug. if you notice a difference between your sides and your center, it may be due to the fact that the side bulbs are 10k and the center is 20k (10k would encourage algae more than 20k would).
that said, there must be nutrients in the water for the algae to grow, you will need lighting in your tank regardless for the corals, it may just be your nutrient levels.
how do you like the fixture so far by the way?

 

[jawwad2004]

is this the fixture you got from me (the Aqua Spacelight)?

note that the bulbs had 10 months of use before you got them.
that said, both sides bulbs have equal usage (unless you took one out) as they are on one plug. if you notice a difference between your sides and your center, it may be due to the fact that the side bulbs are 10k and the center is 20k (10k would encourage algae more than 20k would).
that said, there must be nutrients in the water for the algae to grow, you will need lighting in your tank regardless for the corals, it may just be your nutrient levels.
how do you like the fixture so far by the way?

Hey, I think you might be mistaken, I got this retro kit from a friend of my. Its an EVC tech ballast with EVC bulbs. lol. But I am going to change the bulbs regardless in January or early Feb. I rather change them every 8 -9 months instead of every year.

 

[alrha]

Hey, I think you might be mistaken, I got this retro kit from a friend of my. Its an EVC tech ballast with EVC bulbs. lol. But I am going to change the bulbs regardless in January or early Feb. I rather change them every 8 -9 months instead of every year.

oops, sorry.
someone got them from me on RC (an MR member) forgot who.
sorry for the confusion.