Water clarity issues

[Sharkey18]

Help PLEASE!

 

I love my tank but the water clarity is terrible. The water QUALITY appears to be fine. Corals and fish are all doing well. Snails are spawning, corals are growing and have good color.

The problem is that there are TONS of particulates in the water. Easily visible flowing around all the time.

 

Tank is a 120 with dual overflows. Running since January with a small setback a few months ago when I had to switch out the sump and start over with new sand and macro in the refugium. My refugium is still anemic and I am not getting very good algal growth in there, however I now have a hair algae issue beginning in the main tank. I am not concerned about it, just providing info. I do not think they are micro-bubbles since I have my mag9.5 dialed back to avoid that. I am running a koralia 3 and an MP40 for flow, neither is stirring up the sand bed.

 

I run carbon and GFO (recently changed) and have a filter sock on one of the overflows, the other flows into the refugium.

 

There is something living in the sandbed that occasionally spews up gunk, but I can't believe that is the source of all this particulate matter.

 

Fishload is light right now, 4 Bangaii, 1 wrasse and 1 blenny. Ick took care of the rest.

3 Cleaner shrimp and a low load of snails and crabs.

 

Suggestions?

 

Laura

[Mountaineer]

Can you describe the water clarity (color, uniform within column, do you see it in the sump as well. etc.) or a picture?

Edited June 24, 2010 by Mountaineer

[jason the filter freak]

Sounds like its time for some filter socks?

[Coral Hind]

Sounds like its time for some filter socks?

 

She mentioned she is running filter socks already. A small pore size may help though.

 

Make sure you not to run to much flow through the GAC and GFO. If it tumbles too much it could cause small particles to be released.

 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2010 by Coral Hind

[TonyD]

Are you dosing with anything?

[davelin315]

Are you sure it's particulates and not microbubbles? Run some water through a coffee filter for awhile and see what you come up with or scoop some water into a glass and see if it settles out to the top or bottom.

[Sharkey18]

Thanks for the suggestions. I scooped some water into a glass and when it settled there was nothing.... so maybe microbubbles.

 

I'll check the carbon /GFO this weekend and see if that is the cause as well.

 

The water itself is clear. Not discolored. Just appears to have lots of particulates.

I will continue to investigate!

 

Laura

[Mountaineer]

Could this be a new tank with a bloom of some form of zooplankton? Little white creatures? I forget what they are called, but I recall getting thousands of them with every new set up I have had and then the fish seem to make sure they don't make it to such a large population ever again.

[Coral Hind]

Check your sump and see if there are bubbles in the last section where the pump is at. The pump could be sucking them in and making very fine bubbles.

[lanman]

There must be someone down in Arlington that can go take a look? Sounds like bubbles to me, too. You need a 'calm place' in your sump for the return pump. I've used a stack of live rock surrounding it on occasion to make sure all bubbles are broken up. Your return pump can grab a bubble and break it into millions of tiny ones. What happens when you turn off the return pump for 10-15 mins?

 

bob

[Mountaineer]

What happens when you turn off the return pump for 10-15 mins?

 

bob

 

Great troubleshooting suggestion!