Particulate matter

All tanks have PM, it is a question as to how much. If one has any doubts, hook up a
submicron filter and watch how fast it plugs up.

--
Boomer

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I don't believe I just said submicron. It should be 10 micron's. It goes like this;

BIG ****. The big particles are between 2.5 and 10 micrometers (from about 25 to 100 times
thinner than a human hair).

SMALL **** . The small particles are smaller than 2.5 micrometers (100 times thinner than
a human hair).
--
Boomer

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"Boomer" wrote in message
...
: All tanks have PM, it is a question as to how much. If one has any doubts, hook up a
: submicron filter and watch how fast it plugs up.
:
: --
: Boomer
:
: Want to talk chemistry ? The Reef Chemistry Forum
: http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/index.php
:
: Want to See More ?
: Please Join Our Growing Membership
: www.coralrealm.com
:
: If You See Me Running You Better Catch-Up
:
:

I'm having a bad night it appears :-)

1 micron filter

--
Boomer

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Thanks for the replies everyone, really interesting, for me, I just can't
see how my tank will ever be totally free
from PM, as soon as I put food in the Tangs do huge craps to empty there
bowels and this get broken up and puched around
with the Tunze streams, the Lawnmower Blennie is continuosly working over
the rocks and causing small detritus storms, the Urchins are pooping massive
amounts of crushed live rock etc etc etc

Borneman writes that he would be worried if his reef tanks had no PM.

Its still to me unsightly, but I would not run any mechanical filtration on
my 240g, so I will just have to learn to live in harmony with it.

"ReeFeR_MaN" wrote in message ...
Thanks for the replies everyone, really interesting, for me, I just can't
see how my tank will ever be totally free
from PM, as soon as I put food in the Tangs do huge craps to empty there
bowels and this get broken up and puched around
with the Tunze streams, the Lawnmower Blennie is continuosly working over
the rocks and causing small detritus storms, the Urchins are pooping massive
amounts of crushed live rock etc etc etc

This is the similarity to my tank. I also have big fish - hepatus tang.
Lots of crabs sifting bottom sand and a lot of water movements...
I have some encrusting sponges on the rock and a lot of tiny featherdusters
but it is not near what would be the filtration needed.
I can imagine dust-free water in a reef tank with slow water movement,
coral mushrooms pumped out and no big fish crapping to the water column...
But in my tank - it is not submicron particulater matter - when I put
my flashlight to the aquarium sidewall at night I see a soup of PM with
a naked eye. It is also visible during day, but then only larger particles.

Borneman writes that he would be worried if his reef tanks had no PM.

Its still to me unsightly, but I would not run any mechanical filtration on
my 240g, so I will just have to learn to live in harmony with it.

This is exactly my stand on the issue: it is not pretty, but it is natural :-)
When I look at the pictures of the ocean floor and creatures living there
I can clearly see dust being risen from the sand floor every time the
animal moves and it is picked up with the water movement - Our tanks,
with very shallow water column are very similar to the ocean floor in that
matter and the dust is normal in the water unless you mechanicaly filter it
out - this way you minimalize amount of fine particles in the sand.