90g Malawi (improved! Lol)

[Crude]

Amazon has me covered... I'll update pics as I go

[Complexity]

Good to hear it. You'll be enjoying your tank again soon.

[Crude]

Ever-so-slight update...

Spray bar installed! (Vertically? Because Fluval and I aren't getting along?).

Powerhead installed. Hydor Koralia Evolution 750 is wonderfully silent. Still trying to figure out how to orient things. Don't want to over burden the lil guys.

The pathetic part of it all is that when I take the hood/light off to work, I can hardly see anything through the mucky water. Its all guess work! Boo.

[Complexity]

I can appreciate the pain you're feeling with the GW mucking up things. At least it's benign and easily taken care of. When the water clears up, you're going to be amazed at how good things will look.

I'm thinking of trying out one of your ideas. Normally, I use spray bars across the back of my tanks which is okay because the plants hide them. But in my cichlid tank, a spray bar all along the back wall would be very distracting since I don't have plants in that tank so I've avoided doing that. Instead, I've used the jet spray outputs to jet the water through the tank. I'm thinking I might try using spray bars vertically along the corners of the tank or at least one spray bar on one side with the jet spray on the other side (I have two canisters on my setup). I might be able to create a circular rotation in the water for better overall circulation. Thanks for the idea!

[barrettsline]

Ever-so-slight update...

Spray bar installed! (Vertically? Because Fluval and I aren't getting along?).

Powerhead installed. Hydor Koralia Evolution 750 is wonderfully silent. Still trying to figure out how to orient things. Don't want to over burden the lil guys.

The pathetic part of it all is that when I take the hood/light off to work, I can hardly see anything through the mucky water. Its all guess work! Boo.

Man not being able to into the tank would drive me insane!!! All things will turn out for the best in the end of all this muck!! Your tank will be nice and crystal clear again and you will be able to see all your fish again. Just have to wait it out. like, im one to talk on that note. Patience isnt a virtue I was blessed with..... Keep us updated

[Crude]

I can appreciate the pain you're feeling with the GW mucking up things. At least it's benign and easily taken care of. When the water clears up, you're going to be amazed at how good things will look.

I'm thinking of trying out one of your ideas. Normally, I use spray bars across the back of my tanks which is okay because the plants hide them. But in my cichlid tank, a spray bar all along the back wall would be very distracting since I don't have plants in that tank so I've avoided doing that. Instead, I've used the jet spray outputs to jet the water through the tank. I'm thinking I might try using spray bars vertically along the corners of the tank or at least one spray bar on one side with the jet spray on the other side (I have two canisters on my setup). I might be able to create a circular rotation in the water for better overall circulation. Thanks for the idea!

I currently (pun) have a powerhead, spray bar, and jet spray creating current in the tank, with the goal of getting some circular flow around sweeping around the outside edges. The three flows intersect at multiple points, and create a bit of turbulence, which I'm a fan of assuming its not creating too much stress for the fish trying to keep up with the current.

I'd like to install a second spray bar, as shown in that lil' MS paint drawing I posted earlier, but i haven't gotten around to it! Hope it works for you! I'll post some pics of the equipment/water flow once the water is clear enough to see it

[Complexity]

I checked all my plumbing pieces and none of them went together in the way I wanted them to so I'm currently creating the parts I want by cutting and gluing pieces together. I think it'll look good when I'm done. I just have to wait for the glue to cure now. Thank goodness for JB Weld! Love that stuff!

How's the pea soup water coming along? When will your uv sterilizer arrive? I bet you'll be so glad to get it installed and get your water clear again.

[Crude]

Pea soup water is still pea soup, verging on pee soup. Just a slight yellowy tinge

UV Sterilizer comes tomorrow. Has a built in powerhead, so I'm almost worried about how much current I'm introducing. On the bright side, the current set up has really done a number on the particulate build up on the substrate. Hardly any poo/food/etc is visible now. Hopefully thats because my filter ate it, and not because its found a new place to hide

[Complexity]

Unless your fish are pushed to the glass on one side, I'm sure they'll be fine for the amount of time you'll have to use the uv sterilizer. If nothing else, you can always adjust the flow on your other equipment or take out the powerhead or something for a short while.

Sounds great that the detritus is being cleaned up! If you had a lot, you can always clean out your filter. I had to do that when I started working to vigilantly clean out my 90g. Within a week, both canisters were already getting filthy. I usually don't clean them anywhere near that fast, but they needed it. Now my water is absolutely sparkling clear (yeah, just what you want to hear while you have pea soup). I just sit here and stare at it, it's so clear. I originally started working to clean out an aggressive algae problem, and I not only got that under control, but I ended up with the tank looking spectacular so I'm very pleased. It won't be long before you'll be joining me with your sparkling clear tank!

One good thing about having a tank full of pea soup or that's overrun with algae is just how beautiful it all looks once you get things cleared up. It gives you a whole new appreciation for just how beautiful the tank is when it's clean again!

[barrettsline]

Pea soup water is still pea soup, verging on pee soup. Just a slight yellowy tinge

UV Sterilizer comes tomorrow. Has a built in powerhead, so I'm almost worried about how much current I'm introducing. On the bright side, the current set up has really done a number on the particulate build up on the substrate. Hardly any poo/food/etc is visible now. Hopefully thats because my filter ate it, and not because its found a new place to hide

I really hope that your UV sterilizer does the trick man. Thats all really good news about everything dissappearing from your substrate but like you said, hopefully it didnt just find a different place to hide. If you can do in investigating let us know.

[Crude]

Starting up the Play by Play of me getting rid of "Green Water" :)

First off, this Aquatop UV Pump (Model UVCP-13) is insanely large, haha. It has a 6W pump rated at 528gph, and a 13W UV bulb. This means I currently have 1,958gph of flow. Fish don't seem to mind.

As always, I apologize for the iPhone pics.

Day 1: Front

The current plus the fish countered my fishing line on the moss ><

Day 1: Side (Where the green really shows)

That is a seriously large piece of equipment. I'm going to take it out when things clear up and use it on an as needed basis. Just another reason I wish I had a sump.

This makes it all ok. Mmmm <3 DFH.


Let's see how things look tomorrow!

[Complexity]

Love the juxtaposition of that last pic!

Your GW should be cleared up pretty fast now. It's actually not anywhere near as bad as I've seen others have so you're already a step ahead. Hopefully, by this weekend, you'll be able to enjoy that beer while watching your fish swim around in their nice, clear water.

Looking forward to seeing how things look tomorrow!

[barrettsline]

What's the word man?!?!? Probably didn't sleep all night did you, checking the tank? Lol!


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.253516,-95.211280

[Crude]

So after about 14 hours, doesn't appear to look any different! I'll post a pic when I get home from work

The posted beer was delicious, and the beers that followed helped me get through the night

[barrettsline]

Rofl! Well give it time. And keep us updated.