weird clumps of dust?

Barlan

Barlan

Joined
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Randburg, johannesburg
hi guys,

This is actually a 2 part post,
1, we've got this weird stuff on the rocks and clumps of it on the sand, it looks like dust bunnies. its greyish brown in colour and is heavy, so siphoning just lifts it and moves it around.

we've got to blow it off the sand and rocks with a coral feeder/turkey baster type of thingy, and even tho it gets into the water column, it still, sinks and forms these clumps.
we've gotta net it and have even added filter floss/sheets to the vortec sponges to catch this stuff.

its all over the rocks as well.

the best way i can describe it is when you run your finger over a dusty shelf. that dust that comes off it.

i've attached some pics.

anyone have any idea what it is and what could be causing it.

2, where can we get some bristle worms?

will they help?

our snails dont seem to do much, hermits dont even notice it.

water params:
nitrates: 2
nitrites/ammonia: 0
alk: 9.4ish
mag: 1600 ish
calc: 440
ph: 8.3

the really dusty pic is right after blasting the sand, the other is the stuff on the rocks.
and the last is our mandarin photo bombing. stuff is the dark coloured bits.

thanks for all your help in advance.

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Hi @Barlan

That weird clump of dust you see in your tank when you disturb the gravel is detritus. Accumulation of detritus will cause all sort of algae problems in the long run, incorporate preventative measures and as part of your maintenance cleaning regime. Things you can do to prevent accumulation of detritus are:

1. Run a filter sock on your return.
2. Run some filter floss in between your sumps compartment.
3. Set your skimmer to skim wet.
4. When doing water changes, disturb the gravel and siphon the dust particles out.

Hope this will help you out.
 
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Hi

Thanks guys, tank is about a year old. I am running a filter sock on the return, added a canister filter full of sponges and been siphoning with water changes. Im sure in a few months it will clear up.

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it
 
Barlan said:
Hi

Thanks guys, tank is about a year old. I am running a filter sock on the return, added a canister filter full of sponges and been siphoning with water changes. Im sure in a few months it will clear up.

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it
Click to expand...

You on the right track then :thumbup: Keep it up.
 
Hi guys

been a while since i posted anything...

long story short, i still have a dusty system :(

good news tho, is that that weird stuff on my rocks has become a lot less cause i have a lot more coraline algae now and that seems to inhibit the growth of this stuff.

but i still need to get to the root cause of my dust problem.

regarding the following advice:
1. Run a filter sock on your return.
2. Run some filter floss in between your sumps compartment.
3. Set your skimmer to skim wet.
4. When doing water changes, disturb the gravel and siphon the dust particles

we do all this, excluding point 2 - must try that - but wont it slow down the water flow?

we've also put filter floss around the vortec heads to catch more dust - which really caught a lot!!!

we bought a canister filter with 3 sponge compartments, which also caught a lot of dust.

its all over the sump floor, even settled on the heaters...

it seems the more we remove, the more there is...

hope to hear all your ideas!

thanks in advance.
 
Just a guess, it may be very fine sand particles that you stir up when cleaning the substrate.
 
For the display, what is the size and what size flow pumps do you have. Is the flow enough to keep things in suspension until it can go down the overflow into the filter socks?

And your return pump, what is its rating and how much does it really deliver back into the system. No point in having a lot of powerheads, but the turnover into sump is just soooooo low that the floating particles never actually get the change to go down the overflow.
 
Hi guys

sadly, its not sand particles :( when we take the sponges out, its this grey kinda slimy stuff.

display and pump specs:
aquaria 1500, so 1500(L)X80(H)X60(W)
return pump is a DC 6000 set to about 5 (out of 6) on the controller.

could a small over flow hole also impact the water flow?
 
Barlan said:
could a small over flow hole also impact the water flow?
Click to expand...
it could impact the system ability to get the suspended particles out of the display.
 
@Barlan have you got any wrasses? and what size is your display tank?
 
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I deal with this every time I clean my sump. It is detritus build up! Best way to get rid of it is to stir it up and suck it out when a water change is done. You could also use a pump, pump detritus through a filter sock or stocking. This method can catch allot and can be done without a water change.
 
Hi guys, thanks for the replies. :thumbup:

i should mention that after the post, i did a major sump clean up.

we recently bought a bunch of bubble magus filter socks, ironically, we already had the sock holder thingy for the brand. :D. we've attached another filter sock to the return exit going into the display to catch anything from the sump.

i must admit, there is a major change in the density of the dustiness of the water as well as the water clarity. it DOES look clearer. :biggrin:

we've had to change both the filter socks every 2 days, else the sump one over flows. The display one is just kind of a double filter layer, but i also only really lasts 2 days.

we're taking it a day at a time, both filter socks still attached and hoping that we'll eventually have crystal clear dust free water.

the dust does look like fine sand particles now that we've basically eliminated the detritus cause, but i still wanna get rid of it! thinking of changing the position of the vortecs cause i noticed (with the help of the dust, ironically) that the flow was circulating from the middle to the edges and only a little bit of dust was going down the overflow. the overflow holes are quite small (about the size of a R5 coin-ish, so quite small.)

on this note, can anyone make an internal over flow box? i'd like one that goes across the width of my tank but only like 10-20cm deep. pls PM me for more specs. i really just want an L-shaped piece of perspex with teeth that fits snug between my overflow and the opposite edge of my tank to increase the rate of the water - well, obviously, hey. :p and i dont want to have to silicon it, personal preference.
@zippy, we had a wrasse :( a cleaner wrasse, who sadly must've died with in the last week cause he is no where to be found, he was always the boss of the tank, out in the front and doing his thing. RIP wrassie.

so in a nut shell cause i am all over the place today, the tank looks better, but i still have particles, i need to reposition the vortecs for flow and movement, and i'd like a mod to my over flow :)

will keep updating as time goes one.

and pls contact me about the internal overflow box :D

k, thanks again.
:m111:
 
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Do you switch off the return pump for a while when you feed the fish? I got a lot of flakes going down my overflow and I need to switch it off. That is the main reason for investing into a DC pump as they got a food mode that switches back on after 10 minutes. Else I forget (always) to switch it back on.
 
Hey Riaanp

we'v also got a DC pump as well, we turn off the vortecs and put the dc into feed mode, then feed.

we cant really forget to turn the return back on cause the water level is low in the tank when its on.
 
OK, my water level drops 3mm, so I cannot see that I forgot to switch the return pump back on. :blush:
 
Barlan said:
on this note, can anyone make an internal over flow box? i'd like one that goes across the width of my tank but only like 10-20cm deep. pls PM me for more specs. i really just want an L-shaped piece of perspex with teeth that fits snug between my overflow and the opposite edge of my tank to increase the rate of the water - well, obviously, hey. and i dont want to have to silicon it, personal preference.
Click to expand...

Chat to @SeanH
He got some nice toys / machines to do jobs like these.
 
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