How do I make the tank look like there is no water in it? ---> CLARITY
 

I seem to have gotten a handle on everything else...now my issue is "CLARITY". I have a slight cloudiness/haze and random small particles in the water.

The tank is a 120 gallon quarter cylinder over flowing into a 50 gallon refugium loaded with plants.

Euro-reef skimmer model RS5-2 in the refugium....I know it's a little on the small side but I already had it.

Return pump is a mag drive 12 going through an SCWD wave maker.

Inside the tank there are three small circulation power heads 120GPH.

I've suspected some of my fish might be to blame -

4" red coris wrasse (likes to root in the sand bed"
2 inch maroon clown ) likes to dig - nesting pits?? in the sand bed all day long this is what it does.

Though there is not much debris in my sand bed...I keep it pretty clean and feed minimally.

I'd really like to get this tank totally clear...anyone have some ideas or input?

thank you for any help

micron filter bags, increase your skimming, carbon and consider ozone. Alternatively zeovit system users seem to have extreme clarity.

Ozone, big skimmer (preferably a beckett), and filter socks come to mind.

Too slow.

Filter sock, carbon.

clams.. they filter the water extremely well.


however, that coris wrasse may nip at the mantles

Carbon for the yellow. Filter for the particles, but are you sure they are not bubbles?

UV Sterilzer and carbon

Thank you for all the help so far.

I'm looking at upgrading the skimmer and thinking about adding a canister filter with carbon and maybe some phos-sorb.

any suggestions on a reliable canister? Magnum??

suggestions on a skimmer? I like the euro-reef....is there anything better I should be looking at?


thanks again

I'd avoid a canister filter due to high maintenance, and if forgotten create other bigger issues. Keep it simple, carbon and filter sock work best.

no need for a canister filter to run carbon. just put it in your sock and knead it every 1 or 2 days.

If you're looking at euro reef you should consider h&s and deltec. check out their respective forums in the vendor section to research more.

i run a magnum HOT canister for phoslock, and carbon. it works great for that. there is very negligable maintenance with it, since i dont use it for filtering. the phoslock and carbon works really well in the magnum because it is subjected to forcing water through it at 250gph. merely putting a filter bag in your sump doesnt force water through it like a canister does. although for most that does seem to work well enough.

Does carbon remove items that I would not want to remove? That's basically the reason I have not put carbon in my tanks all these years...I thought it removed trace elements.

I do add that stuff anyway so maybe it is not a problem.

I vote for ozone, it has really cleared my water.

Weekly water changes, lots of carbon, and heavy skimming and your water will look very clean.

Also be sure to use a turkey baser and blast your rocks, etc to get all the detritus that has settled on there out. You will be surprised how much stuff is on your rocks, etc that you never knew were there.

Sorry for the newbie question, but what is an OZONE?

ozone is O3, a gas. It is 3 oxygen molecules bound together. pumping ozone into the tank can help to remove organics and clear the water. It has many advantages, and some drawbacks. The biggest drawback is it's danger to your health if not used properly. Search using google or even here at RC will provide you with much more information that I am willing to type... but hat should get you started.

Bean

I'm scared of ozone... it doesn't sound like a healthy option and I will try absolutely everything there is before resorting to ozone...

a lot of bad hype has been propogated about ozone, but a lot of good info is also available. If you check Randy's forum, you will find a lot of information. In a nutshell, if you have good ventilation and pay attention to what you are doing, then all should be well. However if your house smells like ozone, then your going to grow extra body parts.

Bean

I think it also depends upon what size Ozone reactor ones has, whether one is running an air dryer on it to maximize O3 production, and if not what the average humidty is.

For the average ~100g tank, with an 'average 25-50mg O3 reactor, I'm not sure how much O3 is actually getting into the tank, and out of it if you run it w/out the air dryer. Especially considering how weak some of these reactors are.

Randy just did a paper on it, so it would be good to check his forum.
Also, a good link I found:
http://www.electronichealing.co.uk/a...hatisozone.htm


"Is Ozone Safe?

Ozone is safe at low levels to humans, at very high concentrations it can be harmful; however, there have not been any human deaths attributed to ozone usage since 1885. There is no basis or evidence for concluding or supporting any significant amounts of bad residues or impurities left on foods after ozone oxidation. Ozone is not listed as a carcinogen by OSHA, NTP, or IARC. The human irritation threshold is about .06 parts per million (ppm) with no evidence of health damage by continuous exposure to lower concentrations. EPA level is .1 ppm, FDA and ASHRAE set level is .05 ppm, USDA set level is 0.1 ppm, OSHA level is 0.1 ppm for an 8 hour exposure, and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists limit for 8 hour exposure, with no side effects, is 0.1 ppm. At a steady concentration between 0.01 to 0.045 ppm of ozone, the level used by most systems is well below safe limits. If higher levels are needed in special cases, the ozone could be controlled by a time clock or computer to run at night, or when humans are absent, for safety concerns.

In fact, the main benefit from using ozone is the reduction of various disease-producing microorganisms including fungus, molds, bacteria, spores and other single-cell creatures that cause spoilage of fresh foods. Ozone production removes nitrogen, thus removing nitrous oxides and nitric acids. There are no special health hazards, no additional labeling required, material safety, or special worker protection required for using ozone on perishable foods because of the low level intended for its use. Fire and explosive data are not applicable to its use. All tests results showing negative results are done at very "high and unsafe levels," and it seems the ones performing these tests might have been using smog instead of ozone. Any information of this type has no bearing and in no way whatsoever applies to the safety of ozone.
"

Here's a blurb:
http://www.ozoneapplications.com/pro.../q&a_ozone.htm

HOW CAN YOU TELL THE LEVEL OF OZONE?

There are a number of methods available, the most common being the Draeger tube. Residual ozone becomes apparent to sensitive humans in the range of 0.01 - 0.03-ppm, or well below the permissible levels for continuous exposure.

check your Ca levels. too much Ca will make it look snowy

Ozone is the only way to make your fish look like they are flying rather then swiming.

Carbon and filter socks will work wonders....

make sure your glass is always clean as well-- smudge marks on the glass make the water looky hazy when its really not.

but I'd go filter sock, canister w/ carbon, uv and ozone w/ a controller --- you're money baby!

What about the product called chemi pure ?
Anyone use this stuff?