Particles....

[wabush]

Particles?

I have particles in my tank, I dont know where they are coming from really... somewhere...

any ideas as to what they might be?


Cheers
Chris

[pocilipora]

Maybe there from your hair? :lol: :lol: :lol: Need some more info.

[wabush]

I dont have a skimmer, would that do it? is it just one of the things that goes along without having a skimmer?

chris

[AJ_77]

What he means is, how many particles? What size/colour/density/distribution of particles? Do they appear light or heavy? Are there clouds of them? Do they appear at certain times more than others? Does some activity of your own seem to cause them?

You know, details. :wink:

Aj

[wabush]

oh, alright.

most of them seem white, there are not *clouds* of them, but there are plenty, they look a bit like micro-bubbles, but you can tell them apart a bit by how they move.

they dont seem to vary with time too much, well....I dunno, I notice them more when the lights are on in the tank of course. I have tried looking with a flashlight at night, but I dont think it illuminates the particles in the same way.

the particles seem light weight by how they hover a bit in the water. some the are small, I would say maybe 1mm long at most. (and v. narrow) but there are some that seem more circular in dimension.

on there glass there are some crawlies, so those could be some of them I guess. The refuqium runs reverse lighting, and there is no mechanical filtration between the sump and the tank.

is there something natural I could use to filter these out of the water?

chris

[sumpfinfishe]

I use some filter floss wool in my overflow to filter out any small particles that may be floating around in the reef. Those particles could be made up of: uneaten food, fish waste, sand, and detritus. all of these could cause clouding, and if you have bottom current or bottom fish such as blennies or gobies then you will see more particle matter floating throughout your reef. I didn't use material floss for some time but then I decided that if I could remove most of the particles through material filtration rather than look into a cloudy dirty reef all the time then why not! I just have to stay ontop of changing that floss every week or two. My 2 bits :)

[robert]

Actually I have nothing to say... :oops:

[MitchM]

Just a suggestion....

Toys-R-Us sells cheap useable microscopes. I picked up a couple (their "bottom of the line" and their "top of the line".... :wink: :lol: ) and it helped answer a few questions.

You don't want to be filtering out all the wonderful things that make up plankton! :D

Mitch

[wabush]

Thats actually an awesome idea.

I might just go and pursue that option this afternoon, I have nothing better to do...well...school work, but thats not better is it?

Just collect a small water sample between two sildes and look at it?

or is there a way to get a better concentration of particles?


Chris

[Aquattro]

Chris, is the tank in Van or Vic? I have a dissecting scope that might be a bit better than a toy ! :D

[wabush]

Well, I am *now* and so is the tank, but I live in vancouver.

I am back every second weekend or so.

I head back to vancouver tomorrow...

Chris