Hey y’all. Really quickly. I had a 5 gal that I fully cycled. Upgraded to this 10 gal. Places old substrate ontop of the new stuff and old filters in new HOB. I also put a ton of API quick start to get everything Seeded Sooner. Tank is stocked with 6 ember tetras, 1 nerite, 5 cherry, 2 ghost. I bought a HOB filter with skimmer and UV light inside. I want to add a polish filter that I can access from the top easily. I want really really clear water. Am I wasting my time getting the 50 micron. Can you guys tell the difference from 50 to 100?
Posted by Stuffstuff1
6 Comments
going a bit off topic but make sure the tank does not stay so clean as to starve the nerite snail
A bit irrelevant but does placing the 3D printer next to a tank affect the print?
50 micron will capture small particles but will clog faster. Honestly though, this is absolute overkill for a ten gallon tank with that stock in my opinion. You already have a protein skimmer and a uv light and a filter (although you didn’t list the gph). My personal opinion is that having the minimum amount of cords and mechanical devices in the tank looks best. If the nitrogen cycle is working properly, the water will be very clear with what you have now. Just personal opinions though honestly.
This is my 60 gallon tank. I do have 700 gph of HOB circulation as well as a fluval 300 series canister filter as well as two wave makers to make sure the water finds its way to the filters so I don’t really have much room to talk about over filtration or mechanical systems. My experience is that a strong bacteria culture is way more important than pulling every tiny particles out of the tank. Cloudiness comes from bacteria and algae blooms and you already have that taken care if with the UV. Like the other commenter said, the snails and shrimp feed on the smaller stuff.
https://preview.redd.it/shijjtxlrw8g1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1304b0276ea460b349429ce4bec22c5eedc381b8
Plants will do a far better job at keeping the water clear in my experience. I cant comment on 100 or 50 micron but adding a potho will help more than anything else I could recommend at keeping water clear. Hopefully someone can give you more info in the micron thing though
50 will definitely be clearer than 100 micron, 100 micron is around the smallest particle size we can see individually with the naked eye. Personally I’ve found filter floss to work extremely well, especially with occasional use of a flocculating agent like seachem clarity.
If you do go with 50 micron I wouldn’t keep it on all the time.