Help, I want cleaner looking water...

[kremit2007]

I was wondering what I should buy to make the water more clear. Between microbubbles from the SeaClone PS and floating stuff(?) I want something that can efficiently clean this out. I have a normal filtration system with the biowheels and a PS. When the fish swim close to the bottom, or when the eel digs up some sand, all kinds of material floats into the water, and I want something that will grab that up and get rid of it. Anything that I can get to run 24/7 or just during water changes? When I turkey bast the rocks, tons of dead materials float into the water and just look dirty. Please help as I want a cleaner looking tank. It doesn't look dirty until that garbage gets moved around. Any help greatly appreciated for the future as I am waiting for my tank to recover before I dive into new fish or corals. Thanks.

[kremit2007]

Oh and please be very specific, I have not been in the hobby very long so I don't know the lingo all that well yet. Like cyclone, I don't know what thats referring to. Thanks! Ha ha

[Sk8r]

What kind of eel? Most are problems with small future tank mates.

You need some cleanup crew this guy won't eat, or you are going to have to run some sort of particulate filter until your sandbed matures and settles: sounds like you have way too much activity there to easily let this happen.

I'm a little antsy about planning a reef around an eel without knowing species. Snowflake?

I take it you don't have a sump. THat's ok, but harder. You've got a skimmer: if you can run its outflow through a filter sock [a bag that fits on the outflow pipe [does it have an outflow pipe] it will take care of microbubbles. I think you were earlier asking about a diatom filter---are you the one? Those clog impossibly fast: you'd be changing it out every 6 hours. But a cannister with a medium filter and a powerful pump might do a better job for you than the Penguin biowheels, which are a very tiny flow. If you could be specific on the equipment and livestock you do have, we could be of more help. A Seaclone isn't the strongest of skimmers: be careful about overfeeding that fellow. But softie corals do a bit of skimming on their own and do help out a bit.

[auntynatal]

What are your test results showing?
What fish do you have in the tank?
If there is that much detrius when you blast the rocks there's a chance you are overfeeding. How much are you putting in?

[kremit2007]

Ok. I am feeding twice daily, just a pinch of marine pellets. Then, I feed frozen food (includes EVERYTHING) every couple of days. Should I stick to just frozen foods?

The eel is a snowflake eel and is quickly on its way to the LFS. I cant stand having him in my tank, he kicks everything up and has eaten two rather large damsels for his small size. I have pics of him in my gallery. Beside the eel, since the tank has crashed, I have the Foxface Rabbitfish and a Scooter Blenny who both are very active and look healthy. Other than this, I have a few mushrooms, a coral polyp rock, and a Xenia coral. All of the living guys in this tank all look healthy as ever with the new light.

I agree, the SeaClone was a mistake to buy, but too late now. There is a return bay from this which the water flows out into the tank from. I bought a filter sock, but it has not helped control the microbubbles even a little bit, maybe too large of a sock?

I didn't ask about the diatom filters, Im the one whos tank completely crashed, ha.

Can you suggest some cannister filters (specifically) which you guys would recommend?

[kremit2007]

As for equipment, I have two powerheads, Aquaclear and Tetra. For filtration, I have the Penguin Biowheel system (the double wide). The PS I have is the SeaClone 100. Lighting is the new Current U.S.A Satellite Dual Actinic/Daylight 96W each. Daylight is 1 = 6500K, 1 = 10000K. Actinic is Blue 460NM and Purple 420NM. Does this help?

[doubletap4311]

I use a 100 micron filter sock.. I keep a few of them on hand and clead them out atleast once a week.

[erikages]

Don't know much about SeaClone skimmers, but you may (should!) be able to adjust the skimmer to reduce bubbles. How's your skimmer performing? Lots of watery skim, or green/brown/black guck?

Have you considered a sump? This will reduce microbubbles if it's configured properly; in fact it should eliminate this problem.

You seem to be talking about detritus in your tank rather than poor water quality (e.g. yellow water). Detritus, in odd blasts, can be good for your tank -- but constantly snowy water is unattractive I admit.

You may also want to adjust your circulation pumps so that stuff isn't blowing around as much. This is tricky, as you also want to ensure that all of the tank's surfaces receive good enough water flow to avoid collecting detritus. If you arrange your pump flows carefully, though, there are ways to have detritus collect in one area of the sand bed, and you can vacuum this up on a weekly basis.

In terms of water quality/clarity, are your running any carbon? Adding and renewing good quality carbon by means of a dedicated carbon filter will crisp up your water.

There is a canister, called the Magnum 350, which will "polish" your water and also accepts a carbon cartridge. These are expensive, though (a few 100, I recall).

Hope you solve the problem! Maybe your eel needs a new home or a dedicated tank.

Cheers,
Erik