Ideas for a water de-duster

[pandora32]

I am having a problem with stuff floating around in my water column. I have fine white sand thats about 3 or 4 inches deep. I have a pcx-40 return pump as well as 2 1300gph circulation pumps 2/3rds of the way up my display. I know its the sand thats being blown around, atleast the really small stuff, looks like a light dusting. I do have a 200 micron sock thats recieving the water down in the sump as well as a dense foam block in my bubble trap. Even if I turn the circ pumps off, the "dust" remains. I rinse out my sock and bubble filter religiously every other day.
Does anybody have ANY ideas on how I can get clearer water????

 

[Krish]

Bummer. I removed my sand after I got into high flow tanks because of sand storms. My last 4 tanks didn't have sand. Not sure what else you can really do if you are sure it is sand, but to turn down the flow or remove the sand. They have canister filters made by marineland like the magnum 350 and the H.O.T Magnum that you can use a polishing cartridge in that strips the water clean, but probably not something you want to run 24/7 and not sure how well it will work as you are relying on a small intake to "skim" the water which raises a question...What kind of overflow do you have? The more surface skimming you can get the better chance you will have of the floating particles making it's way to the filter sock. Another good reason to run coast to coast overflows.


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[mojoreef]

How old is your tank Pandora??

 

[jrgilles]

Also curious on tank age. You could slowely start removing some of the sand at water changes until it is under control. Maybe just doing some water changes will remove the culprit 'floaters' that are flying around.

Was going to suggest filter sock of putting a block in the bubble trap, but sounds like you already got that down...

 

[DonW]

Sounds like newer sand. 200 micron really isn't filtering the dust type fines. You can step down to a 25 or even a 5 micron for a few weeks. This will make your water crystal clear.

Don

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Adjust your water returns so that they are not pointing into, at, or near the sand bed

 

[ac7av]

Maybe its not sand that’s the problem but knowing the age will help. Fine sand has a lot of dust in it.

Even a cheep canister filter could help you clear up the water in a day or so. I crack out one every time I do a deep tank cleaning on my fish tank.

 

[pandora32]

Krish~
I have a mag 350. I had it hooked up to my old 55g, worked pretty good on that tank. I dont think it would do much on my 215. I am going to give it a shot though.
Is a coast to coast overflow one that goes from 1 end to the other? I have dual 600gph overflows right now. Should I figure out a way to increse this? Do you have any ideas?
If the bottom of my tank is drilled for my overflows, does that mean it isnt tempered? Should I drill the holes to maybe 1 1/2" from the 1" I have and buy a bigger return pump?
mojo and jrgilles and ac7av~
I have had this tank going for 5 months. I know its still a baby, but it just started 2 weeks ago. My retuns arent pointing at the bottom. Could the waterflow be bouncing off the glass be causing it maybe? Getting rid of the sand is not an option. Im married and my wife would kill me if I take her sand out!!!!:brick::bounce:
DonW~
Do you know where I can get the 25 or 5 micron filtersocks? If I lower the micron on my sock, wouldnt the water just overflow the top of the sock? Would you suggest slowing the drains?
AND TO ALL~
I really love this forum and ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND GREAT IDEAS!!!:first:
HAVE A GREAT DAY TO YOU ALL

 

[ac7av]

New tank
nice size
slower cycling in larger tank I’ve personally found.
When I was running a deep sand bed it continued to cycle over and over until it found a balance.
It took about a year.
Your sand bed isn’t even broken in yet.
Also you don’t want to be stirring it up much other then the top 1/2in or less for cleaning or it will never settle down.
You could be experiencing a bloom of something unidentified yet.

 

[pandora32]

OYEE! I dont like blooms. I was going to get some polishing padsfor a fluval canister and put those into my bubble trap. I thought that would be a good place so I would have easy access for cleaning. When I was reading the packaging, I noticed it was nothing than polyester. So, I thought to myself, why not jut go to jo~ann fabrics and just get a bag of poly-fill and some squares of (denser than the fluval pads) polyester.
Petsmart~$6.99 for a six pack of fluval polishing pads,
Petco~$7.99 for the same fluval pads,
Jo~ann~$5.97 out tha door, bout 40x more of the same product ingrediants.
I will post here again real soon to let you all know how it works.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

OYEE! I dont like blooms. I was going to get some polishing padsfor a fluval canister and put those into my bubble trap. I thought that would be a good place so I would have easy access for cleaning. When I was reading the packaging, I noticed it was nothing than polyester. So, I thought to myself, why not jut go to jo~ann fabrics and just get a bag of poly-fill and some squares of (denser than the fluval pads) polyester.
Petsmart~$6.99 for a six pack of fluval polishing pads,
Petco~$7.99 for the same fluval pads,
Jo~ann~$5.97 out tha door, bout 40x more of the same product ingrediants.
I will post here again real soon to let you all know how it works.

If buy from JoAnn, rinse well before using as it is not aquarium rated.

 

[pandora32]

I rinse EDVERYTHING before it goes into my system. Thanks though. Thats a good thing to remind everybody of, rinse and clean everything BEFORE it goes into your system, new or used.

 

[Krish]

Krish~
I have a mag 350. I had it hooked up to my old 55g, worked pretty good on that tank. I dont think it would do much on my 215. I am going to give it a shot though.
Is a coast to coast overflow one that goes from 1 end to the other? I have dual 600gph overflows right now. Should I figure out a way to increse this? Do you have any ideas?
If the bottom of my tank is drilled for my overflows, does that mean it isnt tempered? Should I drill the holes to maybe 1 1/2" from the 1" I have and buy a bigger return pump?
mojo and jrgilles and ac7av~
I have had this tank going for 5 months. I know its still a baby, but it just started 2 weeks ago. My retuns arent pointing at the bottom. Could the waterflow be bouncing off the glass be causing it maybe? Getting rid of the sand is not an option. Im married and my wife would kill me if I take her sand out!!!!:brick::bounce:
DonW~
Do you know where I can get the 25 or 5 micron filtersocks? If I lower the micron on my sock, wouldnt the water just overflow the top of the sock? Would you suggest slowing the drains?
AND TO ALL~
I really love this forum and ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND GREAT IDEAS!!!:first:
HAVE A GREAT DAY TO YOU ALL

Sorry I missed this . On the magnum 350, yea that would be kinda small to use on a tank over 200 gals. Did you have any success trying it though? Also, on the coast to coast overflow, yea that is an overflow which basically stretches across the tank. I don't think your tank can be drilled. If I remember correctly, tanks are drilled first and then tempered after so that bottom is probably still tempered, but I'd confirm. Most tank bottoms are usually tempered especially on the bigger sizes. When I get to a pc, I'll see if I can find you a post mojo made where he basically joined two overflows making them "coast to coast".


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[Krish]

Look at Mojo's post #9 in the link below where he showed two overflows joined making it a coast to coast overflow.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f254/clowninarounds-deep-dimension-300-a-62280/

 

[pandora32]

How do I figure out if my tank is tempered? There was not sticker on the bottom like with my tanks in the past.

 

[Krish]

Hmm...Not sure. Do you know which manufacturer makes the tank? That may be your best bet, but quite honestly, I don't think many companies make tanks that big without the bottom being tempered.


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[pandora32]

Krish~
The magnum 350 as well as the poly I got at the fabric store hasnt done a thing.
I was looking into my tank today and saw something that caught my eye. I saw a puff of sand come up from under my rocks. And again, this time from the other side.
I FOUND THE PROBLEM, UM, PROBLEMS! I didnt even think about these LIVING issues...my twins...ENGINEER GOBYS!!!!!!! DUH!!!!

 

[Tecnomage]

Haha, my diamond watchman can stir up a bit of sand too. My tank was nice and clean before he went in, but I wouldn't take him out for sparkling water, he's got too much personality

 

[Krish]

Haha!! Now that's funny!. This is yet another reason why I don't do sand. You kinda miss out on some of the cool livestock, but I still prefer not having the headache. You may need to use a longer intake on the magnum to suck lower to the sand bed. That way it will catch all the "dust" before it has a chance to be carried away all through your water column.

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[Herefishyfishy]

I FOUND THE PROBLEM, UM, PROBLEMS! I didnt even think about these LIVING issues...my twins...ENGINEER GOBYS!!!!!!! DUH!!!!

My Favorite House quote: "When you hear hooves, think horses, not zebras."