To many floting Particles

[jjohnwm]

And just because you are having an ongoing unresolved issue does not mean you are doing it the worst way. But something is not right, so I'm just suggesting to try something else.

I fully agree that a constant water change system is best, but it needs to be changing enough water per unit time for that to be true. I don't mean that massive changes are better; what I mean is that the quantity of water being changed per unit of time needs to be large, and even calling something a "drip" changer is a bit silly considering the size of your system. Changing 70% of your water in one big operation once a week will certainly be better than changing 10% or 20% through a constant "drip" system. In fact, in order to get the same benefits, your drip would need to change a larger total amount of water per unit of time than a single large change, because the drip is not changing out only "old" water but a mixture of old and new.

Individual large water changes are not the "best" way...but IMHO large-scale changes, however they are done (in single operations or through a constant flow-through system)...are definitely better than any wishful system that tries to make the same old water last forever. A "closed eco-system" would, by definition, require no feeding...and this would require, for your stocking level, an astronomical amount of vegetation growing in there. So if you accept that your fish will need food added regularly, I think you need to accept also that your water will need changing. No amount of algae scrubbing or UV-sterilizing or filtration will change that. I don't think you have ever explained exactly how much water your system changes each week, not going back through multiple threads to look again. Just mentioned turning up the flow as a possible suggestion to address your water issues.

Sorry if this has been a derail or if it sounds confrontational, and best of luck.

 

[kendragon]

For a monster tank like yours, try going the pond filter route. Heck, you're almost there with K1 and IBC totes.
My experience with ponds and pond filter shows that it is the bio filter bacteria that clears cloudy water. One might be able the mechanically filter small tanks to achieve crispy water but big tank/ponds is a whole different ball game. The big volume of water and high turn over rate will catch a lot of big particles which requires frequent cleaning. Worst if you're screening down to the microns.
K1 is not designed to trap fine particles. They do have K1 micro to trap small particle but still not fine particles. What I found out is the media allow constant flow which builds large colonies of bio bacteria which clears cloudy water. The media then drops it's bio waste which is heavier and can be drained or settled out.
Check out my Nexus filter thread. Very easy to clean and drain. Heavy feeding pond is crystal clear in full sun light.

 

[Tj203]

Well I found something else today, two small dead fish about 2 1/2 inchs long. They have been there for a while, so that was definitely contributing to the bloom. I also moved my wave makes around the tank in a few spots and cleaned out all the rock. I had a lot of detritus come out of all the holes in the rock. I am going to start moving the wavemakers around the tank every week or so now. And that's why I have the sumps I have with two dead fish my nitrates never got over 30ppm with no ammonia or nitrate at all. I have Heard of one dead snail destroying an entire tank. Either way as I'm finding these problems out comes out my water is getting clearer it makes sense now Why I was having such a hard time And it's because there was multiple issues compounding.
One thing I was not expecting was to have the DE filter heat up the water as much as it does. It brings the tank temp up about 1 degree every 1 1/2 - 2 hours. That's crazy thats alot of heat from an external pump.

 

[C. Breeze]

…probably cut the feeding to once a day for a couple weeks also The only issues with cloudy water from a bacterial standpoint have stemmed from over feeding or not finding a dead fish soon enough.

Using a power head etc to manually blowout the Rockwork like you did is the only good way to clear the detritus from it. I’d ditch the DE filter pretty soon now that you’ve identified the maintenance deficiencies and can remedy them- or just run it while you blow out the rockwork every week or 2- that way it can remove the stuff from the system.

 

[Tj203]

Using a power head etc to manually blowout the Rockwork like you did is the only good way to clear the detritus from it. I’d ditch the DE filter pretty soon now that you’ve identified the maintenance deficiencies and can remedy them- or just run it while you blow out the rockwork every week or 2- that way it can remove the stuff from the system.

Yea it was crazy how much was in the rock that you can't see. I was online planning on running the DE filter only a few hours a day or every few days just going to keep an eye on it. With the stocking level I have I need it. The sponges I use filters to 635 microns so the DE filter has a lot to take care of. As my tank gets cleaner I should be able to cut back on how long I have to leave it on.

 

[pacu mom]

Ok there were some questions but no answers. I am about to give up my tank is cloudy and i can not get it clear. I just tried seachem water clarifier and it did not help. I have a 20 ppi sponge as my macanical filtration. Maybe I need to go to a finer one? I know when I had my sump up I would clog two 7 inch 300 micron filter socks in about 2 hours so I know I have a lot of particles in the water but now that I am using the 5 gallon buckets it dose not get fully cloged anymore.it should not be this hard to get the water clear.

Upping your mechanical filtration will get rid of particulates. RTL filters provide the best mechanical filtration. They are used is on big reef tank systems. The only other MFK member using them (that I know of) is oftalmos.

My 765 gal tank...Part 1...

Hi to everyonebefore I start writing about my tank I just want to say that I dont speak or write perfect English... so I apologize if you see bad spelling. I want to start this article saying that for me was a marathon to make this tank work, it took me more than one year to finish it...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

I was introduced to them because I was clueless when setting up our 300 gallon tank. I contacted a man who sets up and maintains reef tanks for doctors offices and other businesses. He was kind enough to sell me two RTL-25s along with a Reeflo Hammerhead pump. He gave us this picture so we would know how to set them up.


This is ours on our little 300 gallon tank:




Love love love RTLs. Our mechanical pumping is set up to do easy, hassle free water changes by opening and closing valves, but that is another story. The reef tank pro told us that the cartridges could be soaked in a bleach solution to clean them. We let ours go until it is too late....until we see particulates in the water. While some naysayers on MFK told me that my nitrates would be high doing that, that did not happen. I tried soaking in bleach, but forgot about them until several weeks later when the plastic on the cartridges had broken down. I think a pressure washer would clean them, but that is more work than I care to do. The truth is, we let them go too long until they are filthy and disgusting (several months). I'm good with just replacing the cartridges with a new one.

DE systems filter down to about 25 microns. These RTL filter cartridges filter down to 10-15 microns.

Maintaining A Pool Filter Cartridge

Every swimming pool out there has a filter. The filter system is a circulating pump that pulls the water out of the pool and runs it through a filter to remove dirt and debris before returning it to the pool. The three most common types of pool filters are sand, diaotemaceous earth (known as...

www.freshwatersystems.com

Pentair Rainbow RTL filters provide extreme mechanical filtration. I would not run a tank without RTL filters. My big tank set up has been on hold for over four years due to family illness and multiple surgeries for me, but when it is set up, there will be six RTL-100 filters running on the tank for mechanical filtration.

I would recommend two RTL-100s (each cartridge has 100 sq feet of material) for your tank. You won't be sorry. The reef guys are decades ahead of us fresh water fish keepers, and these spa/pool filters are one of their secrets. If you choose to go this route, read up on cleaning them. I don't recommend letting them go until they are covered in feces like ours get. For me, the cost of a replacement filter is less than my time cleaning a dirty one. Call us lazy if you want, but it's out of sight, out of mind until we see particulates in the water. If you want extreme mechanical filtration, RTL filters are the way to go.

BTW, I also love the Reeflo Hammhead pump (I know they are not available anymore, but there are gold hybrids), which with the Venturi return nozzle that the reef pro also sold me spits out a lot of air. Our tank is well aerated with our mechanical system, and there is no need of any other aeration.

 

[Tj203]

Upping your mechanical filtration will get rid of particulates. RTL filters provide the best mechanical filtration. They are used is on big reef tank systems. The only other MFK member using them (that I know of) is oftalmos.

My 765 gal tank...Part 1...

Hi to everyonebefore I start writing about my tank I just want to say that I dont speak or write perfect English... so I apologize if you see bad spelling. I want to start this article saying that for me was a marathon to make this tank work, it took me more than one year to finish it...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

I was introduced to them because I was clueless when setting up our 300 gallon tank. I contacted a man who sets up and maintains reef tanks for doctors offices and other businesses. He was kind enough to sell me two RTL-25s along with a Reeflo Hammerhead pump. He gave us this picture so we would know how to set them up.
View attachment 1478953

This is ours on our little 300 gallon tank:

View attachment 1478959


Love love love RTLs. Our mechanical pumping is set up to do easy, hassle free water changes by opening and closing valves, but that is another story. The reef tank pro told us that the cartridges could be soaked in a bleach solution to clean them. We let ours go until it is too late....until we see particulates in the water. While some naysayers on MFK told me that my nitrates would be high doing that, that did not happen. I tried soaking in bleach, but forgot about them until several weeks later when the plastic on the cartridges had broken down. I think a pressure washer would clean them, but that is more work than I care to do. The truth is, we let them go too long until they are filthy and disgusting (several months). I'm good with just replacing the cartridges with a new one.

DE systems filter down to about 25 microns. These RTL filter cartridges filter down to 10-15 microns.

Maintaining A Pool Filter Cartridge

Every swimming pool out there has a filter. The filter system is a circulating pump that pulls the water out of the pool and runs it through a filter to remove dirt and debris before returning it to the pool. The three most common types of pool filters are sand, diaotemaceous earth (known as...

www.freshwatersystems.com

Pentair Rainbow RTL filters provide extreme mechanical filtration. I would not run a tank without RTL filters. My big tank set up has been on hold for over four years due to family illness and multiple surgeries for me, but when it is set up, there will be six RTL-100 filters running on the tank for mechanical filtration.

I would recommend two RTL-100s (each cartridge has 100 sq feet of material) for your tank. You won't be sorry. The reef guys are decades ahead of us fresh water fish keepers, and these spa/pool filters are one of their secrets. If you choose to go this route, read up on cleaning them. I don't recommend letting them go until they are covered in feces like ours get. For me, the cost of a replacement filter is less than my time cleaning a dirty one. Call us lazy if you want, but it's out of sight, out of mind until we see particulates in the water. If you want extreme mechanical filtration, RTL filters are the way to go.

Nice setup!! Crazy you sead that I have a pool cartridge filter I was going to add was just to much head pressure with the DE too. I was also thinking of a pool sand filter they do down to 20 microns and are inexpensive. I think with all the changes I made I am going to just let it sit for a bit and see what happens the water already looks better

Rx Clear® Radiant Cartridge Filter PRC150 - PoolSupplies.com

These cartridge filter tanks have set the standard for quality, with superior flow rates and unmatched water quality. Take a look & get yours online now!

www.poolsupplies.com

 

[pacu mom]

Nice setup!! Crazy you sead that I have a pool cartridge filter I was going to add was just to much head pressure with the DE too. I was also thinking of a pool sand filter they do down to 20 microns and are inexpensive. I think with all the changes I made I am going to just let it sit for a bit and see what happens the water already looks better

Rx Clear® Radiant Cartridge Filter PRC150 - PoolSupplies.com

These cartridge filter tanks have set the standard for quality, with superior flow rates and unmatched water quality. Take a look & get yours online now!

www.poolsupplies.com

If you go with a pool filter with cartridges, just make sure you don't get antimicrobial cartridges. Pentair Rainbow RTL filters are pretty inexpensive

Pentair Rainbow 100 SqFt RTL-100 Top Load Filter Assembly R172505

Pentair Rainbow 100 SqFt Filter Hi Flow Filter Assembly model R172505 RTL100 is top-load filter assembly part numberR172505.

www.hottuboutpost.com

But replacing the cartridges like we do.... but they are cheap enough and save me work and hassle

 

[Tj203]

Next thing I need is a filter sock that will fit a 5 gallon buckets. A 50 ppi sponge is only like 500 microns I would like to be around 200 to 300

 

[pacu mom]

McMaster-Carr has them down to 100 microns. Planning on using a few in my sump.. Going to cut off the bottoms of 5 gallon buckets and use the tops of the buckets for my sock holders.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

My whole sump system will be for redundant filtration. (more is better, right?), and the RTLs will be doing most of the mechanical work. Plus I had them put two 4' external overflow boxes on the tank when it was fabricated, so now I have to use my 405 gallon sump tank. I don't expect much in the two or three 5 gallon filter socks.