WHITE BUCKET CHALLENGE : How CLEAR do you think your water is in your reef aquarium? Show us your water!

[revhtree]

So let me set this up for you and you should relate!

Have you ever thought your tank water was looking pretty clear and then you pumped/poured some of the water into a white bucket you realized how YELLOW it really was?

This is what the "white bucket challenge" is all about!

1. Remove some water from your reef tank and add it to a white bucket or container of some sort.
2. Take a photo and share it here in this thread!
3. Answer the following question:

What do you think of the results and how long has it been since you changed out your water?

No cheating with the results please!

image via @Dvir

 

[Rappa]

Thanks Rev for making me impulsively feel that I MUST see my water color!

First is with flash, second without, third with other white things in the pic. I would say my water in definitely not yellow at all? Is that bad?

 

[revhtree]

Thanks Rev for making me impulsively feel that I MUST see my water color!

First is with flash, second without, third with other white things in the pic. I would say my water in definitely not yellow at all? Is that bad?

Very nice! How long since your last water change?

What methods do you use to keep clear water?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Thanks Rev for making me impulsively feel that I MUST see my water color!

First is with flash, second without, third with other white things in the pic. I would say my water in definitely not yellow at all? Is that bad?

Pretty clean-looking water if you ask me!

 

[Reefer Matt]

Oh I already know mine is yellow! Lol! If you can’t see it, fill the bucket up all the way. Most people have yellow water, imo. But a media reactor with carbon gets rid of it in a couple days usually.

 

[revhtree]

Pretty clean-looking water if you ask me!

Let's see yours!

 

[revhtree]

Oh I already know mine is yellow! Lol! If you can’t see it, fill the bucket up all the way. Most people have yellow water, imo. But a media reactor with carbon gets rid of it in a couple days usually.

Still let's see it!

 

[Rappa]

Very nice! How long since your last water change?

What methods do you use to keep clear water?

I haven't done a water change in probably 3-4 weeks maybe? I was doing auto water changes of 5 gallons a day but I feel like I was depleting nutrients. And ICP test came back low on Potassium, and Iodine. SO I made adjustments on those levels and have left it alone since everything looks really good since.

I have 2 Clarisea SK-5000's dumping into a decent size refugium filled with with live rock and Chaeto. Also a Aqua57 UV on the return water. The Clarisea's are very new though. Only a couple weeks old. I'm wondering if they actually "over-filter" to be honest...

 

[Gumbies R Us]

The water from my tank!

 

[kenchilada]

 

[revhtree]

HA! That actually almost looks like a bucket of algae I pulled out one time trying to get rid of major dino issues!

 

[revhtree]

The water from my tank!

Decent...HAHA! JK!

 

[GARRIGA]

Went natural as I wait to rebuild post new floors

 

[Nate Chalk]

Clear

Carbon , UV, skimmer, oxydator, filter floss/socks

 

[revhtree]

Clear

Carbon , UV, skimmer, oxydator, filter floss/socks

Looks good!

 

[Ef4life]

no need to test I see it all the time doing maintenance. my water is clear w/ yellow tint on the main reef with sandbed.

The bare bottom tank looks very clear, and because of that I rarely do waterchanges on that system

And waterchange water after a sand vacuum seasion

 

[KrisReef]

The proper method is to use a secci disk and also to have a specific depth of water that you are viewing through.

Still, I accept the challenge.
One of these is reef water

 

[KrisReef]

Clear

Carbon , UV, skimmer, oxydator, filter floss/socks

I just got an Oxydator. I’m going to put it in my reef system and see if I can see the difference using the bucket test method.

Thanks for posting and getting me to think about it. I’m going to eventually put the Oxydator into our fish tank but the reef is being refreshed and now would be a good time to experiment with the Oxydator. Might want 2?

 

[Nate Chalk]

I just got an Oxydator. I’m going to put it in my reef system and see if I can see the difference using the bucket test method.

Thanks for posting and getting me to think about it. I’m going to eventually put the Oxydator into our fish tank but the reef is being refreshed and now would be a good time to experiment with the Oxydator. Might want 2?

I have the bigger one and use 2 catalysts and use 12% peroxide

@Lasse helped me set up mine


The only negative is making zoas upset for the first hour or so after refilling.

 

[KrisReef]

I have the bigger one and use 2 catalysts and use 12% peroxide

@Lasse helped me set up mine


The only negative is making zoas upset for the first hour or so after refilling.

I saw a post that said that the initial hour after filling the Oxydator was when H2O2 was released in excess and that after that it was very stable at releasing O2. I think I will fill and run mine in a bucket for an hour before I place it in the tank.