dirty tank

[reef ring]

was wondering if anybody can help me with a problem my tank never seems to get quite clear enough when i used carbon and no live rock the water was crystal clear now i took away the carbon and placed 70 pounds of live rock and the tank never seems to get clear there is always foginess to it with lots of particules floating in the water does anybody what i can do about this? please help it driving me crazy no matter what i do it won't help

 

[andretti]

Why did you take away the carbon? Leave it in and change it once every month. Carbon makes your water crystal clear. The little particles you are tanking about are tiny pieces of the live rock floating around. It comes with the territory. If you want to get rid of it, use a diatom filter. They are about $100 bucks and they basically polish your water and get rid of particles too small to be filtered out by most mechanical filters. You only use them for about 1-2 hours a week. That's how efficient they are. They are not the primary source of filtration, only supplemental. Hope this helps

 

[lion_crazz]

Well, the first question is why did you take away the carbon? Whether you have live rock or not, the carbon is still going to be helpful, however, it should be changed more than once per month. Most people only run it for 3 to 7 days out of a month.
Next, what kind of filter are you running? How often do you do water changes??
With these questions answered, I may be able to solve your problem a little easier..

 

[acrylic51]

Put the Carbon back!!! Any specifics on filtration system and maintenance schedule as well?

 

[reef ring]

well guys i really apppreciate the help i hoped someone would answer well the reason i took out the carbon was because i gues bi foolishly beleived somebody at lfs , they told me to take it out because it would starve the anenomes and the coral from trace minerals , but maybe thats why you say to only run sometimes? i have a 350 mangnum canister filter a wet/dry sump trickle filter and a in the sump protein skimmer,i also have two hang on filters but only because i was trying to clear the water up so should i take them away and get diatom ? filter or just put some carbon in one of those hang on filters? again appreciate the help!!!!!!

 

[havunen191]

I just went through the same problem but I did have the carbon in. My lfs sugested to pack floss in my hang on filters the partcles are two fine for filter carteges to catch. I did, and tank was crystal clear in 24hours and could see a big difference with-in only a few hours. I'm still new but it did work for me. Worth a try.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally posted by reef ring
i also have two hang on filters but only because i was trying to clear the water up so should i take them away and get diatom ? filter or just put some carbon in one of those hang on filters? again appreciate the help!!!!!!
Do what you want with the hang on filters. They are probably keeping your tank a little cleaner on the surface.
Forget about the diatom filter though. That is just a waste of money in my opinion.
I know many experienced and intelligent reefers who keep carbon in their wet/dry or in their hang on filters. It can remove a little bit of trace elements, but like stated, that is why you only run it one week out of the month. Plus, after about a week, the carbon is not doing anything anyways.