Particulate in the water column

[NoriSheet]

I have been battling a particulate in my water for a number of weeks now and I am trying to figure out the cause... This has never been an issue in the past and my water has always been as clear as carbon can make it. I don't run Ozone. Corals seem relatively happy. It doesn't seem to be harming them at least. Last tested number were:
NO3 - 7.8
PO4 - .03
DKH - 8.6
CAL - 420
MAG - 1250
Salinity - 35ppt

I was originally running Reef Crystals salt and decided to try out AF Reef Salt since the parameters were more closely aligned to what I wanted to run my tank at. This is when I first noticed the particulates. I have since done a couple 20% water changes with RC to see if that was the cause, but it is still there. I am not completely convinced that it isn't the salt mix, but I am hesitant to do a larger water change at this time.

Ruling the salt mix out, I tried adjusting the flow to my UV sterilizer thinking that maybe it was a bacteria bloom but haven't seen any difference. I have run carbon and changed it multiple times. It helps the clarity some, but up close, the particulates are still visible. I have a leopard wrasse and a timor wrasse that bury themselves in the sand and throw particles up, but this has never caused constant particulate in the past.

My sand is TBS sand and I have never gravel vac'd it, but I have never had nutrient issues since I don't have a huge bioload in the tank. I only run my protein skimmer for 6 hours at night just to keep my nitrates and phosphates detectable. Maybe I should get in there and do that. Open for suggestions.

I have tried coral snow recently, but I believe it contributed to getting dino's in the past, so I am hesitant to continue with that since I have seen no difference. It appears that the particulate is worse during the day, but I think it just has to do with the lights being brighter. I can still see the particulate at night if I shine a flashlight through the water. This leads me to believe that it isn't photosynthetic, but I could be very wrong.

I am open to any and all suggestions, stories, or experiences with this! Again, it doesn't seem to be harming the tank besides annoying the hell out of me, so I'd love to hear suggestions!

Some tank facts:
150g 60x24x24
SPS Dominated running Nicrew 200s running only 250 PAR at the top of the rocks.
Red Sea Reef Mat 500
Protein Skimmer
UV Sterilizer
Carbon as needed
Not a huge bioload (7 fish - including burying wrasses)

 

[exnisstech]

I've never been able to achieve crystal clear water in any tank. All 5 of my tanks have particulate floating in the water especially if I shine a flashlight at night. I consider it food for coral and filter feeders.

 

[vlangel]

Maybe an easy thing to try is running a filter media like floss to catch the particulate. If that doesn't work then perhaps something is precipitating out?

 

[gbroadbridge]

I have been battling a particulate in my water for a number of weeks now and I am trying to figure out the cause... This has never been an issue in the past and my water has always been as clear as carbon can make it. I don't run Ozone. Corals seem relatively happy. It doesn't seem to be harming them at least. Last tested number were:
NO3 - 7.8
PO4 - .03
DKH - 8.6
CAL - 420
MAG - 1250
Salinity - 35ppt

I was originally running Reef Crystals salt and decided to try out AF Reef Salt since the parameters were more closely aligned to what I wanted to run my tank at. This is when I first noticed the particulates. I have since done a couple 20% water changes with RC to see if that was the cause, but it is still there. I am not completely convinced that it isn't the salt mix, but I am hesitant to do a larger water change at this time.

Ruling the salt mix out, I tried adjusting the flow to my UV sterilizer thinking that maybe it was a bacteria bloom but haven't seen any difference. I have run carbon and changed it multiple times. It helps the clarity some, but up close, the particulates are still visible. I have a leopard wrasse and a timor wrasse that bury themselves in the sand and throw particles up, but this has never caused constant particulate in the past.

My sand is TBS sand and I have never gravel vac'd it, but I have never had nutrient issues since I don't have a huge bioload in the tank. I only run my protein skimmer for 6 hours at night just to keep my nitrates and phosphates detectable. Maybe I should get in there and do that. Open for suggestions.

I have tried coral snow recently, but I believe it contributed to getting dino's in the past, so I am hesitant to continue with that since I have seen no difference. It appears that the particulate is worse during the day, but I think it just has to do with the lights being brighter. I can still see the particulate at night if I shine a flashlight through the water. This leads me to believe that it isn't photosynthetic, but I could be very wrong.

I am open to any and all suggestions, stories, or experiences with this! Again, it doesn't seem to be harming the tank besides annoying the hell out of me, so I'd love to hear suggestions!

Some tank facts:
150g 60x24x24
SPS Dominated running Nicrew 200s running only 250 PAR at the top of the rocks.
Red Sea Reef Mat 500
Protein Skimmer
UV Sterilizer
Carbon as needed
Not a huge bioload (7 fish - including burying wrasses)

Under the right (wrong?) lighting all tanks have visible particulate matter.

Fishes poop and that creates a storm in most tanks.

It's all food for the coral :-)

 

[NoriSheet]

I've never been able to achieve crystal clear water in any tank. All 5 of my tanks have particulate floating in the water especially if I shine a flashlight at night. I consider it food for coral and filter feeders.

I’ve always had some particulate here and there. This is the entire tank and it’s rather distracting… I haven’t tried floss yet as other have mentioned. Will probably try that to see what happens

 

[exnisstech]

I can't imagine floss will catch more than a reefmat. When I first installed mine it was stripping the water. I like to shut my 500 off one or two nights a week and let it overflow.

EDIT: Maybe look into a diatom filter. They're supposed to be great for polishing the water.

DIY Diatom Filter for under $100.00

I have 4 or 5 old Vortex Diatom filters in various stages of disintegration and I use one all the time to stir up the gravel in my 125 gallon tank. I also use it to blow out detritus in the pores my real rock. The tank uses dolomite gravel and the gravel has been in there for the 52 year life of...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[NoriSheet]

Under the right (wrong?) lighting all tanks have visible particulate matter.

Fishes poop and that creates a storm in most tanks.

It's all food for the coral :-)

Would that be in the tank 24/7 tho?

 

[NoriSheet]

I can't imagine floss will catch more than a reefmat. When I first installed mine it was stripping the water. I like to shut my 500 off one or two nights a week and let it overflow.

EDIT: Maybe look into a diatom filter. They're supposed to be great for polishing the water.

DIY Diatom Filter for under $100.00

I have 4 or 5 old Vortex Diatom filters in various stages of disintegration and I use one all the time to stir up the gravel in my 125 gallon tank. I also use it to blow out detritus in the pores my real rock. The tank uses dolomite gravel and the gravel has been in there for the 52 year life of...

www.reef2reef.com

I’ll have to read through that thread. Thanks!

 

[NoriSheet]

Maybe an easy thing to try is running a filter media like floss to catch the particulate. If that doesn't work then perhaps something is precipitating out?

I only dosing AFR. Would something else precipitate?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Would that be in the tank 24/7 tho?

Dunno that fish are particularly regular ... Except that mine poop 24/7 :-)

 

[jonelder68]

Coral snows worked for me. It clears everything right up. Some weeks it takes 2-3 different nights of dosing it.

 

[56longroof]

I always have some particulate matter in the water column. I figured it's a result of the flow in my tank doing what it's supposed to do.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I have lots of particulates in the water, and I don’t want to remove them since I have lots of filter feeders.

 

[vlangel]

I only dosing AFR. Would something else precipitate?

When I noticed in my tank that there was particulate related to precipitating, it always occurred when I added 2 part the alkalinity. If I remember correctly (and I might not) it was when my magnesium was low. So, with you changing salt blends, something might be less in balance now since every salt company have their own formula.

 

[BryanM]

Since you have a reefmat, I'd considering increasing the speed of the roller, especially if the used mat is super covered in stuff.

 

[ColorMeGone]

I use AF salt always and when I mix it, it gets stirred up for 4 hours before use. Cristal clear water in my nano and I use no floss in my tank unless I blow the rocks off and then once clear I take it out. Maybe you are not prepairing your salt mix right? Just a thought.

 

[dvgyfresh]

Calcium carbonate always works , I would only use as a last resort