Polishing my water

[ckusnierek]

Since I set my tank up I have always had a problem with water clarity. It's not that the water is cloudy but there are always a TON of particles floating in the water. A few weeks ago I converted to BB thinking is was sand getting stirred up. Well it got a little better but still cloudy. I vaccume the bottom every week during WC. It's a 75g 125 wet/dry 150 skimmer. The only particle filtration is the pre-filter in my overflow. I was told to remove the filter pad in my wet/dry BC it would trap nitrates. I was thinking about buying a "freshwater" HOB filter and fill it with carbon and use the filter pads that come with it. I only have about 10x turnover and am considering a 40x CLS. I fear this will only make it worse.
Any other ideas?

[salt-rookie]

Two things immediately come to mind...carbon and a UV sterilizer.

[ckusnierek]

carbon yes, I'm gonna add but UV doesn't remove anything right? doesn't it just kill bacteria, parisites and alge spores?

[crvz]

That is correct (about the UV). I'd recommend getting a phosban reactor and running carbon through that. You could easily put it in the sump, and you just need a small powerhead to run water through it. Active use of carbon is a bit more effective than just passive use, but a HOB filter would force carbon through it.

[motorslave]

Filter sock with carbon placed in a high flow area of the sump/wet dry/ all water will go through it and particles will be removed. I would evaluate the skimmer placement and effectiveness also.

[Twitterbait]

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I cannot stress enough how important a good skimmer is. Carbon is fine, UV is fine, but without a good skimmer it is all just a band aid. A skimmer that is correctly rated for your tank and is running correctly will pull all that crap out and negate the need fo carbon and phosban.

[J_T]

Originally Posted by Twitterbait

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I agree.

If you are looking for a quick fix, find someone with a diatom filter. They will have the water looking crystal clear in an hour. But you still need to find the root of your cloudy water.

[ckusnierek]

I have a ProClear Skimmer rated for a 150. It does have alot of skum in the upper part can that affect performance?

[toniell]

My aqua C dosent perform very well if the cup is not clean.

[bubblybabs]

Originally Posted by toniell

My aqua C dosent perform very well if the cup is not clean.

Yes, I've noticed that as well... I read somewhere it's because the crud on the sides of the tube cause early popping of the bubbles and they can't ride up and into the collection cup...

How often do you clean your cup? I've been doing it weekly... Am wondering if more often would be better...


Babs

[motorslave]

Keep them clean.

[ckusnierek]

guess I better clean it!!! I've never cleaned it

[jenajet]

Yeah I hate cleaning mine. It is such a pain but even doing it weekly there is always a buildup of crud.

[tperk9784]

Originally Posted by ckusnierek

carbon yes, I'm gonna add but UV doesn't remove anything right? doesn't it just kill bacteria, parisites and alge spores?

I have seen 1st hand how just a UV steralizer can help clear up water. IMO it's better to run the carbon in front of the UV to clean the water to help the UV light perform better.

[Geoff]

a UV will kill algae that could be causing cloudiness. dead algae in the water column will just fuel more algae. if you use a UV make sure you have a big enough skimmer to clear out the dead stuff.

G~