[damigs]

I have a question and need advise. I have recently added carbon to my filtration and it has done a wonderful job until now. Its been about a week since I added it and the water seems yellowish in tint. I do have a significant amout of diatoms/brown algea still on my rocks and notice that my white filter gets brown extremely fast now a days. What I do is replace the filter everyday and scrub the walls etc.

My water parameters are normal except for Phosphate which is .1 ppm I believe. Phosban has been added to system to bring this down

Has anyone used any type of water clarifier like Coralifes Marine Tank clarifier, etc? If so did it help or work?? Also is it okay to use with Carbon in the system or should I remove carbon?

[BubbaWPB]

I used the clarifier when my tank got cloudy (a few weeks after startup)... I'm not sure if it did anything or if my frequent filter pad changes worked - or a combination of both. Three days and three filter changes later (all were brown with gook), the tank cleared up.

You may want to check your carbon for phosphate content. Soak it in tankwater for a day, then test the water for phosphate.

[charlesr1958]

You obviously have far to many dissolved organics, carbon is okay for a quick fix, but does not solve the cause, also as noted, a poor quality carbon will add to the problem instead of helping. For long term removal, I would invest in a skimmer or a better skimmer if you have one already. Over stocking and over feeding are the leading causes of yellowish water, the quick micro algae growth is another indicator of that problem. For a better quick fix, or at least more effective, you may try running some poly-filter along with some good quality carbon, once cleaned up, and with proper nutrient controls in place, a skimmer should allow your tank to run carbon free from then on.

CARBON USE

[Steven Pro]

Originally Posted by charlesr1958

You obviously have far to many dissolved organics, carbon is okay for a quick fix, but does not solve the cause, also as noted, a poor quality carbon will add to the problem instead of helping. For long term removal, I would invest in a skimmer or a better skimmer if you have one already. Over stocking and over feeding are the leading causes of yellowish water, the quick micro algae growth is another indicator of that problem. For a better quick fix, or at least more effective, you may try running some poly-filter along with some good quality carbon, once cleaned up, and with proper nutrient controls in place, a skimmer should allow your tank to run carbon free from then on.

CARBON USE

In addition to this advice, you might also want to look into a water purifier, better grade of salt, and increasing the frequency and/or volume of your water changes.

[Ilia]

Originally Posted by damigs

Has anyone used any type of water clarifier like Coralifes Marine Tank clarifier, etc? If so did it help or work?? Also is it okay to use with Carbon in the system or should I remove carbon?

The only way I could get clear water was using ozone.