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View Full Version : Clear Water - Well mostly..... Questions....


dymaxiun
07/31/2015, 10:03 PM
So, here is the dilemma. Some key facts

- I have a healthy (maximum) population of thriving pods in my display tank. One would say infestation in a good way.
- Significant amount of flow, however, not stirring up sand bed
- Running 200micron felt filter socks
- About 250lbs of rock in a 180 Display
- Over 100x+ turnover in display (just guessing here, but no deadspots)

The water column is constantly riddled with visible specks, not necessarily a lot, but enough to frustrate me. This is made up of molts from the massive growing pod population, and a small bit of detritus - not micro bubbles. Now in complete honesty my water is crystal clear, but it's the molts from the pod population and the seemingly impossible to settle random detritus is suspended permanently, and i have a healthy amount of flow through and spilling into my overflow - all of which flows through a single 7"x14"filter sock which is changed every other day.

Now how would you all go about polishing the water? I got the water itself super clear, but want to get it to the next level of clarity.

a. Would you run a canister filter or some other types of mechanical filtration in the tank during the night hours?
b. Load up the tank with predators to control the pods?
c. ???

Im looking for ideas, and dont want to reduce any flow in my tank since I've seem to found the happy spot

Open to suggestions.

Thanks,
Eric

Ron Reefman
08/01/2015, 05:33 AM
100x turnover is a HUGE number. I'd sit down and do some calculations.
Sump pump + CL pump + powerheads or wave makers divided by the number of gallons in the DT only.

In a 180g tank with 250lbs of LR, you can't have more than 125g of water. That would mean you have a total flow value of 12,500gph. That's a lot of flow... like 4 Jebao DC12000 pumps all on one tank all running at full speed (3000gph). Just doesn't seem realistic to me.

Anyway, on to your problem. How many gph are you putting through your filter sock? Basically your sump return pump less head loss. Say it's a Jebao DC12000 at full speed, that's about 3000 gph. That means your tank water goes through the filter sock every 2 to 3 minutes. How could the pod molts not be filtered out? Is your filter sock too porous? Have you collected water from you tank in a glass and let it sit untouched for a couple of hours. Is there 'stuff' in the bottom of the glass (pod molts), or does the water clear and the bottom of the glass shows no debris, i.e. all the micro bubbles came to the surface and escape into the air?

dymaxiun
08/01/2015, 01:13 PM
I guess semantics/anecdotal with flow - just know it's up there. Don't want this to be a focus on calculation. :-)

So, yes, did a water cup test, and it's clear. The issue is with the tiny particles that don't necessarily show in the cup test, and the molts are white - seemingly invisible in a white cup. Unfortunately, no additional clues there. Assume the detritus is so little it wont show may think a few things to see if i can find a good way to do a larger amount and settle... Actually doing a water change in a few hours, and will try to collect some of the water and let it settle for a longer period. However, don't see how this will provide any data to what I am trying to solve for specifically here.

It's quite possible the filter sock isn't actually "filtering" these particles out. however, unlikely. I think most of the water just doesn't flow fast enough through the overflow - not likely because it's working overtime. Suspecting that the large amounts of random current in the display doesn't actually allow for some of the suspended particles to actually make it to the overflow - just keeps pushing it around - to actually get it into the filter sock. Possibly?

I'm thinking turning down all the circulation pumps in the display to the bare minimum to see if that changes anything. However, this is counter productive to the point of keeping detritus suspended to avoid it settling in areas and causing a detritus trap. Plus the intent is to have flow for healthy tank inhabitants.

Will circle back here later this evening.

-Eric

Ron Reefman
08/02/2015, 04:22 AM
The rate of flow in your tank is a critical part of figuring out what it is you have in the water. It's not a hard calculation and shouldn't take but a minute or two to do.

If you can see them in the water of the tank, then you should be able to see them as they settle out on the bottom of a cup. Oh and don't use a white cup if you are looking for white debris!

I'm betting even in a dark cup you won't find much debris. And if you go through the process of one by one, turning each pump or powerhead off for an hour or more, you'll find one that is making micro bubbles.