Specs in Water

dismayed · 05/25/2008, 05:37 PM

Hi guys, I'm hoping you might have some ideas on what I can do. I have a 90 gallon tank. Filtration includes Emperor bio-wheels, a Prism skimmer, and a Marineland Magnum cannister filter. I have a Hydor Korallia for water flow.

I've had a problem with tiny specs in my water for some time. They're not air bubbles -- if I stop all filtration and circulation in the tank they lie suspended in the water. They seem to be tiny specs of sand or crud from my live rock.

I added the cannister filter a while back because I can put 'water polishing' media in it. This helps some, but not a lot.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions on what I might try in order to clean up the specs in my water?

Thanks.

indydog1 · 05/25/2008, 06:41 PM

i have them too, and i am not worried about them. with your setup it might be harder to eliminate them, if you had a sump then you could add filter bags that help reduce the amount of particulate in the water column.

options....get corals that filter feed. imo

Playa-1 · 05/25/2008, 06:51 PM

Get a better canister filter to polish the water and you might also consider a filter sock on the drain line. I use a Fluval fx5 with carbon, phosphate media, and polishing filters to clean up the water. It does a nice job. I just run it as needed at this point.

dismayed · 05/25/2008, 07:12 PM

Maybe this is a dumb question, but your mentioning the filter bags made me think... does anyone make a fish net that is made of some kind of filter netting that I could just wave in the tank and collect the stuff? It tends to stay mostly in the same places so I think if such a thing existed I'd actually have a pretty good shot at scooping it up.

Playa-1 · 05/25/2008, 07:24 PM

You could use a siphon hose when your doing water changes. Or you could put a customized filter sock onto a fishnet and knock yourself out.
I prefer the plug and play method of a good canister filter.

cloak · 05/26/2008, 03:13 AM

I'm guessing it's unsightly. If everything else looks good, don't worry about it. A healthy tank should have "stuff" in the water column.

jthao · 05/26/2008, 04:58 AM

most of the time you can use a fine fish net to get some of it.

05/25/2008, 05:37 PM	#1
dismayed Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Norman, OK Posts: 321	Specs in Water Hi guys, I'm hoping you might have some ideas on what I can do. I have a 90 gallon tank. Filtration includes Emperor bio-wheels, a Prism skimmer, and a Marineland Magnum cannister filter. I have a Hydor Korallia for water flow. I've had a problem with tiny specs in my water for some time. They're not air bubbles -- if I stop all filtration and circulation in the tank they lie suspended in the water. They seem to be tiny specs of sand or crud from my live rock. I added the cannister filter a while back because I can put 'water polishing' media in it. This helps some, but not a lot. I'm just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions on what I might try in order to clean up the specs in my water? Thanks.

05/25/2008, 06:41 PM	#2
indydog1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: round lake, il Posts: 1,590	i have them too, and i am not worried about them. with your setup it might be harder to eliminate them, if you had a sump then you could add filter bags that help reduce the amount of particulate in the water column. options....get corals that filter feed. imo __________________ Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself Current Tank Info: 210 gal

05/26/2008, 04:58 AM	#7
jthao Super Saiyan Join Date: May 2007 Location: NorCal Posts: 2,522	most of the time you can use a fine fish net to get some of it. __________________ Elos 160xl \| Profilux 3.1Nex ultimate \| BK DC200 \| (5)Mitras 6200s \|(4) Vortech MP40QD \| 3155 ATO \| Schuran CaRx \| Carbon-Doser \| Red Dragon return \| 500G Starphire FOWLR \| BK SM200 \| (6) Tunze 6105

05/25/2008, 06:51 PM	#3
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	Get a better canister filter to polish the water and you might also consider a filter sock on the drain line. I use a Fluval fx5 with carbon, phosphate media, and polishing filters to clean up the water. It does a nice job. I just run it as needed at this point.

05/25/2008, 07:12 PM	#4
dismayed Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Norman, OK Posts: 321	Maybe this is a dumb question, but your mentioning the filter bags made me think... does anyone make a fish net that is made of some kind of filter netting that I could just wave in the tank and collect the stuff? It tends to stay mostly in the same places so I think if such a thing existed I'd actually have a pretty good shot at scooping it up.

05/25/2008, 07:24 PM	#5
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	You could use a siphon hose when your doing water changes. Or you could put a customized filter sock onto a fishnet and knock yourself out. I prefer the plug and play method of a good canister filter.

05/26/2008, 03:13 AM	#6
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	I'm guessing it's unsightly. If everything else looks good, don't worry about it. A healthy tank should have "stuff" in the water column.