gaining water clarity

[catcher]

G'day all,

Just wondering what you guys do when you want to add a filter just to aid water clarity. My 6x2 is a sump setup but I would like to help water clarity by adding a filter just for this.

Whats the go? and how do you set them up?

I was thinking an internal powerhead with the canister holding sponge only.

I want to hear all your methods and suggestions.

[ViS]

My water clarity has never been better since I added a UV filter to my system. The fish are healthy and the water is clear.

To catch suspended particles, an Aquaclear 500 will be enough on a 6x2x2 working along with your sump.

[novafishy]

You can try to add Seachem Purigen into your canister. It makes the water really clear. Around $25-30 at your LFS.

[GTR73]

I have a 4' x 18" x 18" which runs an external canister as a primary. I got a $40, 1000L/Hr internal Magic Jet filter as an auxiliary. It came with a carbon insert and got the water crystal within a day or so.

El cheapo filter but it does the job nicely.

[oakes]

I had a Fluval 4 internal that worked great as a water polisher in addition to an external on a 4 x 2. I'm not sure about the impact of an internal filter on a 6 x 2 though. That's alot of water! If you already have a good turnover rate and circulation you could try utilising some fibre wool and carbon in your existing setup which will remove finer particles and discolouration.

Glenn

[Ant]

I talked about a product recielntly by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals called Bio-chem zorb:

http://ace.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic...08&hl=chem+zorb

Some fine(ish) sponges with this stuff in your cannister will produce very good results.

Anthony

[YeW]

If you understock and overfilter your water will always be crystal clear . While additives such as purigen/carbon etc help in cases were the tank is more heavily stocked they are not necessary in most situations.

[Josh]

Why is the water clarity not good? I would be looking for a cause before I looked for a cure.

It would be easier to add carbon, in bags, to your sump.

If its because the tanks is over stocked then maybe a larger pump in your sump would be good to increase water circulation

[PHL]

I agree with Yew; don't overstock, have good water circulation, have plenty of plants to take out excess nutrients, and you get clear water, healthy fish and beautiful plants.

[catcher]

Thanks for the replies all,

Ok, now you can give me your idea of an overstocked 6x2x2

This will be interesting as I'm sure I haven't read a post that gives everyone's idea on what overstocked is.

Maybe we could divide it up into fish types as well, Mbuna, Haps, Peacocks etc as adult size within these groups is very different.

Oh, My pump does 3500/lph, maybe thats not enough?

cheers

glenn

[richie_nicholas]

I am experiencing issues with lots of very small suspended particles in my 6X2X2 African cichlid aquarium after switching to a black background ( I previously had AquaOne’s copirock background) . My intention was for the colours of the fish to stand out, not the ugly suspended particles.

Current filtration is

1 Aquaone Aquis2400 canister filter ( inlet and outlet at opposite ends of the tank, with spraybar)

1 Eheim IPX8 internal filter (pick up filter) – positioned under the spraybar

Water conditions-

pH- 7.8

Ammonia- 0

Nitrite- 0

Nitrate- 40

Water changes- 150-200 litres per week.

Feeding- New Life Spectrum Thera+A(Medium Fish Formula). Once a day (weekdays), Twice a day on weekends. I do not feed more than what they can eat in 2 minutes.

Lighting- Was 6 hours a day, now reduced to 3.5 hours a day.

My tank contains around 26 African Cichlids- mostly non adults at this stage. I guess I am overstocked, nonetheless.

I have added filter floss to both the canister filter & internal filter and have noticed some changes but not much. (filter floss has become darker in colour)

My LFS has recommended using some sort of flocculent and I used API Accu-clear, still very little change.

After further researching and positive feedback, I have purchased Seachem’s Purigen (great polishing capabilities!!!) and added it to the canister filter. A week later, still minimal change.

Occassionally I use a wave maker for surface agitation, this churns the water and a majority of the larger debris makes it way to the filters. But the suspended particles are still there.

I have checked with another LFS and they mentioned that it could be due to a very high water flow, but I doubt this. Nonetheless I have stopped using the wave maker.

I recently purchased some more ceramic noodles and added it to the canister filter.

Contents of the Canister filter compartments are as follows –

Compartment 1- Sponges (for larger debris)

Compartment 2- Filter floss ( for small to fine debris)

Compartment 3 -Ceramic Noodles

Comartment 4- Ceramic Noodles + Purigen

Colour of the suspended particles- some have a reddish colour (should be the fish poop), some are off white in colour. Note that the particles are minute but in very large numbers, looks like dust particles.

Another quick question is, now that I have added Purigen, can I use products like Vita Pet Algae Control (active constituent Simazine) and API’s Accu-clear??? Would this react with Purigen and make the water toxic or make Purigen non-rechargeable?

Any guidance/ suggestions that I can get would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Rod54]

You could try a natural flocculant .....

Easy-life fluid filter medium

It's a Bentonite clay...water goes cloudy then crystal clear....also cleans out fish

[kanned_guru]

Throwing purigen in a bag straight into a canister filter is not overly efficient. Try putting it into a fluidized bed filter/media reactor and you will see more of a difference.