tank appearance tips?

[parrotchute]

Back in Alabama, away from my tank for another month or so, but I've been thinking I really want to improve the look of the tank.
I think my corals are gorgeous and all, but the tank just looks a little, well, grungy.

some of the photos I see, the water just looks crystal clear and the sand is polished and detritus free. Any tips for improving the overall appearance of my tank?

Alex

 

[rarecoral21]

Just add some carbon and do you every two weeks water changes 10-15%.Also suck up all the detritus on the sand this should help make sure you don't over steer the sand to much though you will start a Minny cycle.

 

[winyfrog]

ozone and UV will do wonders for the clarity. Of course water flow and filtration plays a part as well.

 

[dcantucson]

You can take a canister filter or the like, and fill it with filter floss and carbon and run it a couple of days and it will clear things up.

 

[Bifferwine]

I prefer this stuff over carbon for making the water clear and sparkly:

Aquarium Chemical Filtration Media: Chemi-Pure Chemical Filter Media

 

[dcantucson]

I prefer this stuff over carbon for making the water clear and sparkly:

Aquarium Chemical Filtration Media: Chemi-Pure Chemical Filter Media

You know I recently tried that stuff. It comes in a bag already so I didn't re-bag it. Put in my sump with flow over it and after a couple weeks the bag tore and now I have Black carbon rocks all over my white substrate. Looks like poop. So if you get some beware. Re bag it cause the mesh bag that it's in is cheap and sucks.

 

[parrotchute]

Thanks guys -
yeah, not sure I want to pony up for uv or ozone. I do regular water changes, and my tank is fairly healthy - I'm looking at improving the aesthetics of the tank.

The top of the sand isn't too bad, it's the visible cross section that's kind of nasty. Where would be a good place for carbon? I'm sumpless until I finally upgrade to a 125; would hanging it in the skimmer return be a good idea?

i'm thinking my #1 issue may be a lack of mechanic filtration. I've got about 120lbs of live rock, and an octopus, high quality skimmer, but nothing to mechanically clean the tank. I used to have a canister, but it broke, and I just stuck with skimmer + lr.

 

[Bifferwine]

To run something like carbon or ChemiPure, just pick up one of those super cheap AquaClear filters at the pet store. That's what I use. In between uses, take it off, clean it, and store it until next time.

 

[parrotchute]

ah, sweet, very good! Thanks Sarah, I'll give it a try when I get back from 'Bama.

Sidenote, I was bored today, so I went on a drive to see what kind of fish stores are in the area - sad, sad sad. The only place around here within 30 miles was a super dumpy place with 2 yellow tangs, a bunch of dead/dying inverts, and no corals. I feel bad for anyone around here who wants to get into marine tanks...

 

[parrotchute]

Oh, and I'm getting tired of buying new razor blades for my scraper. Is there an alternative???

 

[Bifferwine]

Really? You wear yours out? Man I think I've been using the same blade for years!!

 

[parrotchute]

yeah, it gets dull and doesn't get the tough stuff easily anymore!

 

[SeattleDarko]

Keep a piece of fine grit sand paper and use it to sharpen the edge, one or two swipes just to get the the bur off should do the trick, when you just start or when you clean up and put it away...

 

[parrotchute]

great tip!! I'll try it!

 

[daugherty]

uv's do make a big difference in the clarity of the water and they help to keep alage in check. i got my monster uv off ebay for 112.00

 

[SeattleDarko]

uv's do make a big difference in the clarity of the water and they help to keep alage in check. i got my monster uv off ebay for 112.00

How often and how long have you been running the UV? Also were is it plumed?

 

[daugherty]

here is a pic of my uv i have had it running for about 3 months i think it is a 40w gamma uv.this uv is almost 39in tall. i have noticed a big difference in how fast the alage grows. the key to uv's is you need to have a slow flow through them. each one is different i have about 500-600gph running through mine and this one has a max flow of 2800gph. for alage controll and much slower for things like ich and other parasites. i have this plummed into my return line from the pump to the tank. so anything that leaves the sump is dead before it gets to the tank.