Frag tank water clarity

[Hallowhead]

Howdy,

I'm trying to figure out how to make my frag tank water more crystal clear and I believe it's my filtration method..

I use a filter media cup with 3 pieces of floss.. I feel like it's not enough.

My water parameters are all in range however some serious detritus

 

[Trio91]

Add carbon and you'll be fine

 

[Hallowhead]

Carbon mesh bag to the media cup?

Is that known to reduce nitrates ?

 

[Hallowhead]

chemi pure blue good?

 

[Trio91]

Just some plain carbon. Chemi pure elite or blue will add in extra stuff like gfo and purigen which will complicate things.

Plain carbon like marineand brand will work. Just use a small amount in a mesh bag and place into a high flow area like an overflow box.

 

[Trio91]

If you frag tank is bare bottom, position your powerhead under the frag racks so that the detritus can stay suspended, and eventually go down to your overflow into your floss

 

[Hallowhead]

If you frag tank is bare bottom, position your powerhead under the frag racks so that the detritus can stay suspended, and eventually go down to your overflow into your floss

My frag rack is ~2 inches above the bottom.. so I can't really position it under. I do have one pointed at the bottom though.

I ordered chemi pure blue... what type of complications are we talking about?

 

[meherbas]

For my frag system I use Eheim spray bars to supply flow and use a surface skimmer to remove surface scum. Carbon will improve clarity but may have negative effects on sensitive coral.

 

[Hallowhead]

For my frag system I use Eheim spray bars to supply flow and use a surface skimmer to remove surface scum. Carbon will improve clarity but may have negative effects on sensitive coral.

Can you provide pictures of this setup?

 

[nightmarepl]

Can you provide pictures of this setup?

ive been using chempures since i started thinking its the best stuff out there, honestly i got more clarity more stability with just regular carbon, my nitrates usually tend to be on the higher side 20-40 cause my fiance is a monster feeder but since ive done just plain carbon and floss ive got nothing but good results usually my PH was off, nitrates would either be 0 or 50+, and for some reason id get alot of algae growth.. now i get pretty much nothing not sure if its the carbon or the system just aging and stabilizing

 

[horseplay]

If you have cloudy water most likely you have an bacteria bloom. Cloudy is not the same as dirty water. You can have a lot of detritus but the water is still clear. To fix this problem, you can add a skimmer or add some live rock for the bacteria to colonize on. UV can be used short term as well.

 

[Hallowhead]

If you have cloudy water most likely you have an bacteria bloom. Cloudy is not the same as dirty water. You can have a lot of detritus but the water is still clear. To fix this problem, you can add a skimmer or add some live rock for the bacteria to colonize on. UV can be used short term as well.

I have loads of detritus and film algae on the glass... actually may just be more detritus. I fear adding a skimmer is way overkill as I only have one fish for now..Wot this wind up removing good nitrates for the coral etc?

I have like 200 gallons worth of marine pure spheres in my sump... plenty of room for bacteria to colonize.

 

[horseplay]

I have loads of detritus and film algae on the glass... actually may just be more detritus. I fear adding a skimmer is way overkill as I only have one fish for now..Wot this wind up removing good nitrates for the coral etc?

I have like 200 gallons worth of marine pure spheres in my sump... plenty of room for bacteria to colonize.

Do you have a picture? Tank is new right?

 

[Hallowhead]

The tank is ~ 4 months old if not more.

 

[nightmarepl]

The tank is ~ 4 months old if not more.
View attachment 26052View attachment 26053View attachment 26054View attachment 26055

this happened to my frag tank aswell in the beginning i had a 15gallon all in one, this happened early couple of months i read online that too much light too early was being used i reduced my light by 40% into a reramp of 4 months its funny at full power now with no issues all the nasty stuff went away never returned but thats me

 

[horseplay]

It’s not bad from the picture. I can see the frags lol. It will get better over time. I always run a skimmer it will remove bacteria and other organic compounds and it aerateS the water. If you want to clean the water even further run a uv. The cheap green killing machine works fine. Just run it a couple of days then you can take it offline.

 

[DangerDave]

Egg crate is a giant pia to maintain. Replace with frag racks that you buy or make, you’ll be much better off...

 

[DangerDave]

Also, the skimmer won’t remove nitrates, but it could help to. You can add a carbon source that drives bacteria growth. The bacteria will consume the nitrates, and the skimmer will remove the bacteria.

 

[Hallowhead]

Also, the skimmer won’t remove nitrates, but it could help to. You can add a carbon source that drives bacteria growth. The bacteria will consume the nitrates, and the skimmer will remove the bacteria.

I added chemi pure blue tonight - we'll see how the carbon helps out.

I don't even run a skimmer anymore on my 30 AIO as it was removing too many nitrates. It's now in the off position and my nitrates are at a much more acceptable level.

The egg crates are a pain.. I need to look into making a better solution just need some funds haha.

Here's a pic no lights.. it's clear but just hazy

 

[DangerDave]

You can get pvc sheets and drill a bunch of holes in it, use small sections of pvc pipe for legs. I built a few that way