That cloudy water question again

[Weatherboy]

Did another test tonight. Now .25 amonia. But heck, that could be from food?
Or removal of old filter?

 

[lmforbis]

It will improve. Personally I think it looks pretty good for a new tank.

 

[Weatherboy]

Oh, and the hazy?
So it's looking okay for 2 months despite the haze?

 

[2quills]

Did another test tonight. Now .25 amonia. But heck, that could be from food?
Or removal of old filter?

Both, yes.

 

[beth]

Which water clarifier did you use? Also, have to taken a look of your source water (after sea water mixing) to see what it looks like going in to the tank?

 

[Weatherboy]

My source water was filtered water. Not ROI. Ashamed to admit.

Water clarifier was just some stuff I picked up at *****.

I went back and looked at the stuff given to me when I bought the tank. I have a Coralife Turbo Twist 3x.
It works, so I dropped it in the tank. Ugly so I'll need to find a better way to place it since I took out the canister filter.

 

[Weatherboy]

Well, put the UV sterlizer on top of tank to see if it even works...the pump is ugly hanging down. But what do ya do?

 

[2quills]

You have mechanical media in that filter?

Does the water have a more green or white tinge to it?

There's a time and a place when clarifier may be useful but typically it's a band aid for a bigger problem. Right now I suspect the tank is still cycling so it may be a waste of money. Reports on that stuff are sketchy as it is when using it in SW tanks.

 

[Weatherboy]

It's more a white haze. Almost at times like a bunch of white small bubbles.

 

[Jesterrace]

Im fine with HOB if thats all i really need. Canister was given to me. And hard to get in and out of Cabinants.

I am still a noob, but honestly everything I have seen on canister filters makes me question why anyone would want one (to be fair, I understand you got it for free). They are ridiculously expensive, a pain to clean and there is way more to go wrong with them (and there are many examples of it going wrong). I only have a 36 gallon tank but I have run a Fluval 50 HOB and the stock Aqueon 30 Quiet Flow 30 HOB carbon filter that came with the tank and both did/do a perfectly good job of providing filtration and cost next to nothing. I only put my Aqueon 30 in mothballs since I swapped it out for an Eshoppes HTK-75 HOB Protein Skimmer and run it with my Fluval 50HOB and the two work great together. Just make sure your HOB filter is rated for more than what your tank is and you should be fine with the right filter media and it will be much cheaper and easier to maintain. If you want to really upgrade then go with a sump as that is the ultimate form of filtration.

 

[Weatherboy]

Glad you mention. Just sold my canister filter for $30 and now buying a Aqueon 75 for $34.
Figured a decent trade.

The UV filter did nothing. So now going with marineland 350 & aqueon 75 to help.

Side note, ever had a creature eat through wiring?
Not sure what happened to my powerhead, but wire seems to be eaten through. Can't believe it didn't shock my fish.

So, I have a small powerhead, and now two filters. Do I need another powerhead for my 75 gal?

 

[lmforbis]

At least 2 for a 75. Maybe 3. If you point them toward each other to make the flow turbulent would be best.

 

[2quills]

Ironically I remember ditching HOB's for canisters a number of years ago because my tank was always cloudy.

How's the ammonia level now? Is the tank still cloudy?

What are you using for food? Flakes, pellets or frozen?

 

[beth]

I am still a noob, but honestly everything I have seen on canister filters makes me question why anyone would want one (to be fair, I understand you got it for free). They are ridiculously expensive, a pain to clean and there is way more to go wrong with them (and there are many examples of it going wrong).

You may be a noob, but you're an insightful noob. Couldn't agree more. They go along the same lines as under gravel filters (UGF) if anyone still remembers those. At least the UGF didn't leak and burst.

 

[Weatherboy]

Well losing that power head made a difference.
Came home today and lost 2 shrimp and both urchins.
Ammonia was at .50ish.
Did a 20% water change and threw in some prime.
Filter arrives tomorrow.
Sucks.

As for food, mostly frozen and algae pellets-which they mostly don't eat.

The Coralife Turbo 3x UV Sterilizer I have, the light is still on and works. Do I still need another bulb? No clue how old it is, but likely well over a year. LFS said yes, but bulb was like $35.

 

[2quills]

6 months is best for any fluorescent bulb. A year is the maximum. Reason being is the fluorescent bulbs loose much of their output after 6 months. The efficiency begins to drop fast.

So if you rely on those types of bulbs for sterilization or photosynthesis then 6 months is recommended.

 

[Weatherboy]

Thanks.
Last question.
Seems I was growing nice purple coraline even bright green...now it's faded away, even to a point of ash looking. What's going on?

Honestly fellas, this is getting not be that fun anymore.

 

[one-fish]

Water clarity...have you tried running charcoal/carbon Do recommend mixing your own SW using RO. RODI even better. amm.... ease up on feeding ..fish really don't need to eat everyday. Amm. needs to read zero for a week before adding more livestock ...2 powerheads facing toward each-other causing turbulence at top of water column will get it all moving fine Still new at this but have tried the above seemed to help just my.02

 

[Weatherboy]

Adding the new filter today. New powerhead tomorrow.

Go from there. I'm going to assume and hope the urchins ate the coraline.

 

[Weatherboy]

Okay, got the new aqeon 75 quiet flow in.
See how it goes.

I'll be honestly, it's not very quiet at all. My marineland 350 is quieter. Goodness.