Not cloudy, but many particles

So I have just about everything dialed in with the new sump etc however I am still getting a not-so-clear water effect. I thought it might be microbubbles however wouldn't those rise and clear out if I shut all movement off in the water? I also thought it might be my goby throwing the substrate around but at night he's sleeping and not working.

Any ideas on how to clear out the water? I can't notice to see if they are coming from the sump but with two sponges and very little bubbles in the sump I can't see that being the problem.

 

How new is the tank?

 

Since around November.

 

Maybe a filter sock for a little while...I had a ton of particles flying around for a couple months when I switched tanks but eventually settled down with the use of a finer filter pad.

 

I'm using a sponge in between my baffles but that doesn't seem to have any effect. Is there a sock I can maybe wrap around my return pump? Not sure if the bubbles are coming from that area and being pumped upward but if so my problem would be solved.

 

I run a aquaclear powerhead with the quick filter periodically and it does an excellent job within a couple of hours. I forget what micron level it is, but it will catch the finest of particals.

 

My tank has been up since March 2009. i have fine particulate matter in my water column but it's just good old tank "snow."

 

I watched my tank for a while last night and it looks like my goby is sending the sand in the water column. I guess not much else to do since he cleans like crazy all day long hehe

 

is it a sifting goby? My diamond goby definitely sends particulate matter into the water column... I run a 100 micron filter pad on the entrance to my sump, and that clears it up pretty fast...

 

I don't mean to highjack your thread or anything. Just thought since I have the same problem you have it may help to share our experiences to see what works.

I'm not sure what causes it, but I also have a goby/pistol shrimp pair that move my sand all the time, although not in big quantities. But since it's in a low flow area, I'm pretty sure they're not causing it. At least not the bigger part of it.

I just now added the filter to the sump on the water output that goes to the skimmer and I hope it'll help. I was reluctant to add a filter sock, but since the fuge area gets untouched, unfiltered water, I don't worry much about the pods getting caught there. They should make it alright.

I'll let you know if that works for me, and maybe it'll help you make a decision on whether a filter sock is the way to go or not. My filter is 200 microns. Not sure if it'll be enough... time will tell.

Hope you get it sorted. Good luck.

Edit: My tank has also been running since sept '09