water question (kinda long)

txmedic1

txmedic1

Member
so i'm new to all this. but this this is what i have, and what i have done so far. started with a 90 gal oceanic reef ready, cpr pro refugium, (2) 500gpm heads, coral life aqualite metal halides with compacts flourecents. 95 lbs live rock, 60 lbs sand, and 20 lbs miracle mud and macro algea for refugium. i've fully cured the rock, cycled water 4 times (20% each time), and started a cleaning crew (6 turbo's, shrimp, blenny). Seems the eco system is going great. good growth in the refugium, little growth in tank. took a water sample to the store to have it tested. the guy was amazed how great the water looked, and said it was ready for livestock. got a few beginners fish (clowns, etc.) so here is my dilema, my water clearity. it looks "cloudy", always has. not like real cloudy, just faintly, but noticable. If my water level gets low, and water in my refugium spills into the last chamber where the power heads are, they suck air up and into the tank, causing small miniture bubbles, which seem to take forever to clear. But still, after topping off the water, ensuring no air is sucked into power heads, water seems cloudy, not perfectly clear like most show tanks.... WHAT GIVES?
ALSO, my power heads are loud as hell, anyone recommend any other that are not so loud? is there way to "hush" the overflow?
Thanks in advance, any comments and suggestions greatly appreciated.
 
txmedic1

txmedic1

Member
had another "minor" emergency today, besides trying to find the source of the micro bubbles and haze, i couldn't find my "dori" blue hippo tang. turns out she found her way into my overflow box. had to take off my light box, returns, when she got sucked down into my refugium. took apart the skimmer and finally "fished" her out by hand.
anyone else have any problems with small fish going into overflow box? speaking of overflow box, alot of slime in there, would putting a turbo snail in there be a bad idea???
 
althemean

althemean

New Member
any carbon in the system? That will clear the cloudiness up in a matter of hours (something basic to try)
 
txmedic1

txmedic1

Member
that was my next question, i dont have any real "filters", i have the refugium and ecosystem, thats it. in my cpr pro refugium, water is sent down from the returns to one chamber that houses the protein skimmer, from there it goes to a small chamber that has a "gate". a small white grate. from there it goes to the main chamber with the miracle mud and macro algae. from there it goes to the last chamber with the power heads for return to the show tank. i guess i could put a small filter in that second chamber where the grate is. will a carbon filter harm a new saltwater tank????
 
althemean

althemean

New Member
No. I have been running carbon in my tank since the 3rd day. I changed it out after 2 weeks for some fresh stuff. My tank is only 4 weeks old and it cycled nicely. The carbon really helped clear it up after I added LR. I put it in a cloth bag.
Everyone is healthy. Some damsels and loads of tunicates and sponges and mussels, worms, feather dusters,tube corals, cup corals ect. (it was florida aquacultured rock and is teeming with life.
 
autofreak44

autofreak44

Active Member
Originally Posted by txmedic1
had another "minor" emergency today, besides trying to find the source of the micro bubbles and haze, i couldn't find my "dori" blue hippo tang. turns out she found her way into my overflow box. had to take off my light box, returns, when she got sucked down into my refugium. took apart the skimmer and finally "fished" her out by hand.
anyone else have any problems with small fish going into overflow box? speaking of overflow box, alot of slime in there, would putting a turbo snail in there be a bad idea???
ive heard about this all the time. also i wouldnt put a snail in there because it would probably crawl out or get stuck in side and block waterflow (that would suck)
quieting your powerheads, because they are so strong, you would brobably have to get new ones to fix the problem.
one way bubbles could be getting in is the power heads. ive seen some strong powerheads suck water from the surface and create a vortex, suck the air in to the powerhead, and blow bubbles through the tank like wildfire, check and see if you hear a sucking sound and look for the vortexes.
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
try some chemi-pure instead of just carbon.
it helps stablize your ph, keeps water clear, removes metals and odors, among other things. just read the label, it has carbon in it as well.
you may want to look into an auto topoff system to keep your water level the same in your return section of your sump/fuge.
as for your powerheads, what kind are they?
a snail in your overflow....you could put a peice of egg crate in the bottom and the snail wouldn't get sucked down to your sump/fuge. of course, this may not work....can't remember what the inside of a hob overflow box looks like, lol never really looked in one. mines build in.
 
txmedic1

txmedic1

Member
all i have ever used is RO/DI water.
i'm using "supreme" mag-drive 500 gpm pumps. they were included in the whole kit.
my oceanic overflow box has these long adjustable return pipes. they fit in the bulkhead at the bottom of the overflow box, come back up to the top, and u-turn with a strainer attached.
 
aztec reef

aztec reef

Active Member
Do a large water change like 50% on the show tank,
Now, get a small filter and put it on the show tank(HOB) so that you can run carbon ocasionally.
As for the flow you'll need 20x-25x turnover rate per hour. Do you have that?
 
txmedic1

txmedic1

Member
yeah, i believe the two 500gph pumps i have are plenty for my 90 gallon show tank and sump.
so today i bought some "kent clean equation" and a cut-to-fit carbon fiber filter. i started the kent solution, which says to remove all carbon fiber filters until the solution is established (a few days i take it).
my new question regards the carbon filter. my refuge does not have a actual place for a "filter". would it hurt to cut a large piece of filter, to "blanket" the return pumps in the last chamber of the refuge? or will it defeat the purpose of a refuge with the good bacteria comming from the macro algae heading up to the show tank?
 
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