obtain cleaner glass and water clarity?

ryanpal · 07/12/2007, 11:06 AM

hey guys,

i've had my tank for over a month now and am enjoying the fish very much. i clean my tank with a scraper about once a week. this can be quite cumbersome. i also have a filter on one of my powerheads so the anemone doesn't get sucked in.

few questions i have:

1. should i have to scrap the tank this often? i have some snails which i know can help, but are there any other methods to having cleaner glass?

2. how can i increase my water clarity? i thought the filter on the powerhead should do the trick (which it has cleared up somewhat), but the water clarity is no where near that of the pet stores. the pet stores water seems as if there's no water in the tanks.

csb · 07/12/2007, 11:23 AM

What type of skimmer are you running?

drummereef · 07/12/2007, 11:27 AM

Once a week? Consider yourself lucky.

I like turbos and astreas for the glass. As far as water clarity, try running some carbon.

ryanpal · 07/12/2007, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by csb
What type of skimmer are you running?

its killing me not knowing. the previous owner needs to return my calls/emails

areze · 07/12/2007, 12:18 PM

I wouldnt expect a simple filter on the power head to do much for you.

my opinions based on not very much information.

the glass is getting dirty because your tank is cycling, even if it was already setup, probably some dieoff and general stirring up of what was there. new tanks grow algea like kudzu. given enough time of skimming and water changes(assuming you use RODI) and very light feeding the phosphate and other nutrient levels will drop and the algea will no long accumulate so quickly. a refuge with macro will further help your cause.

as for water clarity, this will be somewhat redundant, skimmer will pull the dissolved organics out of the water that can tint the water yellow/brown. other than that, you need to eliminate microbubbles if there are any. to see if you have microbubbles, turn all the pumps and skimmer off for 15min. if the water is clearer; then something was introducing the microbubbles. often culprits are skimmers and sump return pumps(tiny leaks in the tubing can create a venturi for microbubbles)

microbubbles do more of a cloud in the water, kinda make it less than totally clear, but they wont tint the water. so if your seeing the water appears green/brown, then thats just dirty water, improve skimming or do more water changes. if its just unclear, check for bubbles.

its rare that any sort of macroscopic contaminant that could ever be caught by anything short of a micron filter would actually discolor your water.

feel free to post pics of everything and Im sure someone can identify everything and make more specific reccomendations.

there are some chemicals you can use also, I think purigen is one. I havent tried it personally, I worry that it might be more of a bandaid for dirty water, so I wont notice that the water is actually filthy. but thats an opinion from ignorance, I dont really know how it does what it does. someone more up to it can maybe comment.

theatrus · 07/12/2007, 01:41 PM

Clearing off small algae blooms on the front glass is common. Buy a mag scraper and you don't even have to get your hands wet.

07/12/2007, 11:06 AM	#1
ryanpal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 756	obtain cleaner glass and water clarity? hey guys, i've had my tank for over a month now and am enjoying the fish very much. i clean my tank with a scraper about once a week. this can be quite cumbersome. i also have a filter on one of my powerheads so the anemone doesn't get sucked in. few questions i have: 1. should i have to scrap the tank this often? i have some snails which i know can help, but are there any other methods to having cleaner glass? 2. how can i increase my water clarity? i thought the filter on the powerhead should do the trick (which it has cleared up somewhat), but the water clarity is no where near that of the pet stores. the pet stores water seems as if there's no water in the tanks.

07/12/2007, 11:23 AM	#2
csb Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 541	What type of skimmer are you running? __________________ Winter ski bum, summer reef bum. Tank pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/snojrnl Current Tank Info: 30g mixed reef

07/12/2007, 11:27 AM	#3
drummereef Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: STL Posts: 14,754	Once a week? Consider yourself lucky. I like turbos and astreas for the glass. As far as water clarity, try running some carbon. __________________ -Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system

07/12/2007, 12:18 PM	#5
areze Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 4,048	I wouldnt expect a simple filter on the power head to do much for you. my opinions based on not very much information. the glass is getting dirty because your tank is cycling, even if it was already setup, probably some dieoff and general stirring up of what was there. new tanks grow algea like kudzu. given enough time of skimming and water changes(assuming you use RODI) and very light feeding the phosphate and other nutrient levels will drop and the algea will no long accumulate so quickly. a refuge with macro will further help your cause. as for water clarity, this will be somewhat redundant, skimmer will pull the dissolved organics out of the water that can tint the water yellow/brown. other than that, you need to eliminate microbubbles if there are any. to see if you have microbubbles, turn all the pumps and skimmer off for 15min. if the water is clearer; then something was introducing the microbubbles. often culprits are skimmers and sump return pumps(tiny leaks in the tubing can create a venturi for microbubbles) microbubbles do more of a cloud in the water, kinda make it less than totally clear, but they wont tint the water. so if your seeing the water appears green/brown, then thats just dirty water, improve skimming or do more water changes. if its just unclear, check for bubbles. its rare that any sort of macroscopic contaminant that could ever be caught by anything short of a micron filter would actually discolor your water. feel free to post pics of everything and Im sure someone can identify everything and make more specific reccomendations. there are some chemicals you can use also, I think purigen is one. I havent tried it personally, I worry that it might be more of a bandaid for dirty water, so I wont notice that the water is actually filthy. but thats an opinion from ignorance, I dont really know how it does what it does. someone more up to it can maybe comment. __________________ current tanks:240g of wallet draining capacity.

07/12/2007, 01:41 PM	#6
theatrus 100-mile-commuter Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: almost nevada Posts: 4,721	Clearing off small algae blooms on the front glass is common. Buy a mag scraper and you don't even have to get your hands wet. __________________ Custom electronics purveyor. blueAcro.com Current Tank Info: 90g SPS+mixed reef (10 yrs): LEDBrick LEDs, 40g custom sump, Ca reactor, chiller, Vortech, lots of custom electronics