WATER IS REASONABLY CLEAR...BUT I WOULD LIKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR

[samcatj]

I have a 125 gallon tank with 11 medium size discus. My filitration consists of 2 emperor 400's and a eheim II 2028. I have 2 very large pieces of driftwood and 1 large size piece in the tank. Natural gravel is 2 - 4 inches throughout the tank. I do 50% water changes weekly.
When you face the tank it is very clear but when you look down the tank towards the largest piece of driftwood the water is just not as clear as I would like it to be. Seems to be somewhat cloudy on the end of the tank with the largest piece of driftwood. I like my water to be sparkling, crystal clear...any ideas on how to get it that way?
As always, any information is appreciated and I thank you in advance for your response.


Samcatj

[Ardan]

Hi,
Discus really need wc's. I do 50-% daily. SOme do it every other day, but I think that is important and it helps keep the water clear once the tank is cycled.

hth
Ardan

[Discusgeo]

Get a Diatom filter and use it once or twice a week. There are 2 models to choose from. The standard Diatom D1 and the XL, I like the XL because it's large and is able to handle my 100's and 180 without getting cloged up as fast as the smaller one. They are expensive but worth the price. New from the manufacture D1 $120.00 XL $165.00 Look on Ebay for they.
George

[korbi_doc]

:bounce2: :bounce2: 2nd the motion, you will LOVE the Vortex Diatom filter. Pia to clean, but worth it. It can be regenerated without taking apart using outlet tubing & run thru into the sink if it's not too dirty. lol, Dottie :o :o :o

[Steve_Warner]

Hi all,
Samcatj, if I were in your shoes this is what I would do. First off, I would take out all gravel. If you don't like the look of a bare bottom tank(as I don't) get some clay pots and put in plants like Swords. You also have the wood to create nice bottom scapes. Second, I would put the Eheim in the closet and just use the two Emperors, but with a sponge attachment on the intake strainer of each to catch any large debris. Lightly squeeze/rinse these sponges out in your water change water that you do every day/other day or so.......This leads to my third opinion, which is to do small 5 gal W/C's every day or two. I also have a 125 and I also do this W/C regimen. My filtration consists of a dual Biowheel fed by a powerhead, pre-filtered with a large sponge, another powerhead pre-filtered with a large sponge, and a third small powerhead(no pre-filter) over the outlet of airline tubing to intake and breakup the air bubbbles to increase Oxygen levels....That's it! I also keep my water level about 3 inches from the top, so the water falling back into the tank from the biowheel has a fairly long fall to create agitation(increase Oxygen). What kind of cloudiness appears in the tank(white, brown, green)? It could be from suspended minerals(white), algae(green), tannins(brown) from the wood. I try to beat the problem at the source rather than adding another filter to have to clean(I HATE to clean filters, especially the PITA canisters!) What are your water params of the W/C water? Just some thoughts.

Steve

[slicksta]

samcatj
I have a 155 with gravel and a wet/dry filter and I am doing the same wc as you. My water was the same as yours. I started about two weeks ago to run some carbon to polish the water and now it is crystal. You can look down the 6' length of the tank and it looks real clear. Many don't like carbon, but I do..... as long as you replace it when necessary it should not be a problem. I have not used a diatom, but I hear they work great as well. With out some type of polishing media it is hard to maintain crystal clear water....

John

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/9416post.jpg

(that is a buble wall in the back)

[Surfghost63]

Hey John , nice tank ! The fish look like folating on air :D

Cheers,

Bill :guitarist:

[nalah]

my water is crystal clear.
daily: quick scrub down inside glass,heater,pipes,etc
50% wc
rinse pre-filters
scoop out debris after each feed

weekly: rinse hang-on filter sponge
monthly: rinse out media in canister.(which now only have bio-balls,coarse sponge,fine sponge)got rid of all that other crap...waste of money IMO

only use carbon after use if meds.

[dm]

Nice tank John, someday I am going to get me one that big.

[SoloDiscus]

Fantastic Tank John,
I agree with some of the others about plants helping to polish that water.
I use a emporer 400 and an Eheim Canister to filter my 75g. You could try putting in some micron filter pads in that emporer to help remove fine particles.
Im not the Discus purist as many here. I do weekly water changes if that which I know will make many cringe. I used to have a magnom with the diatom filter and that does make things crystal clear.

[citizenal]

Hello everyone, how exactly does a diatom filter work? I have only heard about using a ocean clear canister with the filter pleats and a uv sterilizer but never a diatom. can anyone direct me to a good website about these filters or a brief explanation about these? I am intersted in one of these for my arowanna tank. Thanks in advance. AL

[Steve_Warner]

Hi all,
Al, I don't know of a website for explanation of it, but the way it works is that a finely ground powder of the shell of a previous living Earth organism, I believe(correct me if I'm wrong, please), Diatoms, is mixed into a water body and fed through the filter so the pleats will catch it and "clog" it to acheive a fine strain.(How's that for a run-on!) It is dangerous to handle the powder, as it will get in your lungs if it becomes airborne and inhaled(see warnings on pkgs) and clog those too, I believe!


Steve

[fcdiscus]

Check out www.teoma.com and type in diatom filters. HTH, Frank

[citizenal]

Thanks for the info and links. Appreciate the help, but I have one more question. I have heard that certain types of carbon will make a discus sterile, will the diatoms have any effect similar to carbon? I really need one after looking at these on ebay. :) I have a 325 and all these little particles are not pretty to look at, especially when I have 2 Metal hailide bulks making rays of light in my tank, sort of like a small part of the amazon in my home. Heh heh. Thanks guys, and gals. AL