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Dirty Tank

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29g anemone biocube ceramic clean cleaning cube filter filtration heater live live rock liverock nano nano cube nanocube par problem pump reef remove rock skimmer tank water changes
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MJandros

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Finally got the lighting straightened out as well as the aptasia and now my water is cloudy. Actually, just seeing all sorts of particles floating around. This started after I removed the sponges to clean them and replace the carbon. Thoroughly rinsed out the sponges but now the water looks like the tail end of a cattle drive. This is leading to a lot of vacuuming and I'm worried that the 5 gallon weekly water changes on my 24gal nano are going to lead to an imbalance and then a crash.

So what do the clean water pros have to say???


M.J.
 
#3 ·
Unless you have any type of anemone! Sponges are a must if you do, otherwise they'll get sucked in:) If you do, try cleaning more frequently to eliminate a bunch of junk thrown back in. I have sponges on all my powerheads, and it throws a little dirt in the water, but nothing like what you're describing, it doesn't cloud the water at all. It may be indicative of something else. Was your sandbed disturbed at all?
 
#4 ·
I believe he is talking about all the detritus that is in the sponges that gets disturbed when you remove the sponges. Also when the sponges are removed for cleaning this allows the water in the first chamber to flow much quicker, so any and all detritus(particles of waste) that has accumulated in the bottom of the chamber will get disturbed and then circulate thru the tank. The best suggestion that I could make would be cleaning the sponges at least once a week. When I had my nano cube I was cleaning once a week and still had this problem. You could remove the sponges but then you would have to place a piece of filter material to stop the particles from flowing thru the tank.
 
#6 ·
I know he was talking about the sponges, but like I said mine may throw a little debris in the water but nothing that would make it cloudy. That's why I asked if the sandbed was disturbed, that throws a lot more "stuff" in the water. When my tank was much younger I did it about once a week. Good news is I do it every few now.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Well the sandbed was disturbed when the snowflake decided to enlarge his sleeping quarters. However the particles in the water occurred before this or should I say right after I pulled the sponges and cleaned them.

Since then I have drained the tank down 6" and removed all the water from the three chambers. Each chamber as been cleaned and the bioballs, new sponges and charcoal along with some rock have been replaced.

Still have the particles in the water. I'll keep on vacuuming for the next couple of weeks and see if it gets any better.

Thanks for the pointers!!!


M.J.
 
#8 ·
MJ,
Get rid of the sponges and the bio-balls. Not sure if it is causing your problems but when I set up my 29g Biocube, it was highly recommended by the folks at Preuss (Lansing) and confirmed through my research on Nano-reef.com. They tend to "hold" alot of junk...and cleaning the bio-balls negates their effectiveness as a biological filter (since it removes the good bacteria). If you have plenty of liverock in your system, and a decent sandbed, you shouldn't need anything else for biological filtration. Some people put rubble rock in one of the rear chambers (to replace the bio-balls) but I didn't do it. I simply run my heater in chamber 1, filter floss in chamber 2, and stock pump in chamber 3. Also, I added a Maxi-jet 900 with a Hydor-flo to the tank (not in the chambers) for increased flow. Been up now almost 3 months with lots of snails, a couple of hermits, 1 blood shrimp, 1 cleaner shrimp, and 1 bi-color blenny and my water is clear. I do weekly water changes (approx. 25% - probably overkill but water is much cheaper than starting over from a crash). I have about 30 lbs of LR and about a 2-inch sandbed (sugar size). This is my first tank so I am still learning, but thought I would pass the info along.

Good luck,
Dave.
 
#11 ·
I have been keeping a nanocube for 2 years now and the first thing I did was throw away the sponges,bio-balls, and ceramic. The sponges will eventually become a nitrate factory. The detritus locks into the middle if the sponge and is difficult to remove even with washing. I use live rock rubble in chambers 2 and 3. I use filter floss and a purpad in chamber one. I used to use carbon but I added a skimmer and quit. My water is crystal clear. I hope this helps.
 
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schminksbro
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