Clear Water

[tspors]

A question or two on your thoughts. I am running a 36" Sump w/dual intakes. Both have blue filter media to start. The first question is how often do people religeously change those? I have a Berlin Skimmer and 18w steralizer. After the pump I have an Ocean Clear Canister w/rock. I just can't seem to get that Crystal CLear water I want. Suggestions?

[reefnetworth]

change the pads every 2 weeks if you wish to keep them. my suggestion is to add 5 micron or 10 micron filter socks. the UV may need a new bulb depending on how long it has been in use.

[tspors]

How long should a bulb last?

[KyleO]

Filter socks work wonders......you just have to change them often. The good old standby is carbon. You can use a phosban reactor for the carbon.

But if you are serious of clear water...............ozone! It is shocking what a difference ozone makes in water clarity!!!

[stevedola]

Ive seen countless systems with ultra clear water not running ozone.

I think a problem people have is their sump set up. mirco bubbles will ruin water clearity.
But if the water is tainted in color then use a good activated carbon.
I think UV bulbs are supposed to be changed every 6-9 mths.
Socks will help catch loose floating particles but DONT just let them sit there for weeks with out proper cleaning because they will raise your nitrates.

[TheOtherReefer]

Bulbs that are run for 8-10 hours a day usually give 7-8 months of good light. They should be replaced at least every 9 months.

[marc nichols]

I just startedusing a sock and it certainly works. Seems messy to clean. Any suggestions on how often and any preferable way to clean them?

[Zedar]

I dose vodka and skim heavy.

I have extremely clear water. I don't use socks or anything else.

[dendro982]

I lost volitan lionfish during vodka dosing.

Micron socks cleaning:
buy in bulk or make several of them - enough to change for a week. I'm changing every day, some hand wash in tap water, and machine wash once a week (wash, bleach, rise, let dry until smell disappears). When 100 micron sock is not working - 50 micron for a night cleans better, clogs faster.

Not clean water, IMHE:
- amount of water going through filtration media and skimmer could be increased,
- water flow is not keeping particulates afloat for removing by filtration (you can see the siphoned out water after cleaning tank, in not yellow - may be floating particles, if yellow - dissolved organics),
- skimmer (possibly) can be made work more efficiently: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=554786&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

[Zedar]

Sorry to hear about the Lionfish :(
Overdosing vodka could be dangerous, no doubt.

Im not here to promote vodka dosing, just sharing my observations.
It's made my water sparkle like nothing else I've tried.

[hybridgenius]

How much vodka do you dose?

[KyleO]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11285161#post11285161 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dendro982

- water flow is not keeping particulates afloat for removing by filtration (you can see the siphoned out water after cleaning tank, in not yellow - may be floating particles, if yellow - dissolved organics),
- skimmer (possibly) can be made work more efficiently: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=554786&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

I use filter socks on my sump side and do notice quite a difference, but.........the mod I made to my Euroreef literally draws out twice as much skimmate! If you have a Euroreef skimmer, you really should perform this easy modification. I am willing to bet money that Euroreef will come up with something very similar in future products.

It just makes a ton of sense to have as many (smaller) bubbles as possible to draw out the proteins.....

[Zedar]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11286397#post11286397 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hybridgenius
How much vodka do you dose?

15ml every 2 days

[KyleO]

what does vodka dosing do for your tank........chemically?

I have heard references but am unclear what it is supposed to do exactly.

[Zedar]

I don't want to hijack this thread :)

I would suggest you read up on it by doing a search on RC.

I'll give you a quick overview.

Vodka (carbon) feeds bacteria. They consume Phosphates, nitrates, DOC. They also attach themselves to the particles in the water, become attracted to air, and are skimmed out and/or settle on the rock etc.
Hence the clear water.

[KyleO]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11292758#post11292758 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Zedar
I don't want to hijack this thread :)

I would suggest you read up on it by doing a search on RC.

I'll give you a quick overview.

Vodka (carbon) feeds bacteria. They consume Phosphates, nitrates, DOC. They also attach themselves to the particles in the water, become attracted to air, and are skimmed out. Hence the clear water.

I did not want to hijaak this thread either............just wanted a quick run-down on vodka since it was brought up in this thread........and that is what I got and I thank you! I will definitely do some more research on Vodka dosing.

[Zedar]

NP

Remember if you try dosing vodka to use caution. Its a very powerful way of filtering.
Also you must have a good over sized skimmer.

And I dose this along with vodka. it adds GOOD bacteria to the tank

http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Stability.html

GL

[spamreefnew]

i have had some salts give me a slight cloud to the water,,,i use red sea salt now and skimm heavy with no carbon or sox and have had crystal clear h2o for years

[hansmatt]

"If you have a Euroreef skimmer, you really should perform this easy modification. I am willing to bet money that Euroreef will come up with something very similar in future products."


ok, so what Euroreef mod are you addressing? Are you suggesting adding an airpump/needlevalve to the intake? What did you use as an airpump?