Hi.
I'm Steve Poland.
One comment I've gotten a few times since I started this channel is something along
the lines of:
Wow, what filter to you use?
Your water is so clear!
It looks like your fish are swimming in the air!
Where is your water?
Have you taught your fish to fly?
And while I really appreciate hearing comments like that, the thing is, it's really not that
hard!
Anyone can have crystal clear aquarium water.
So in this week's video I'm going to share with you 3 simple tips (and a few bonus tips)
to help you make your aquarium water look like air.
Tip #1: Overfilter your tank
The absolute most important thing you can do for the health and appearance of your tank
is go above and beyond with your filtration.
Now I mostly use canister filters, but whether you use hang on the back filters, sumps, it
doesn't matter.
It's all the same.
The key is to make sure that you turn over the full volume of your tank a at least 5
times an hour.
More is even better.
For example, my main display tank right now is 125 gallons.
I'm running three canister filters: an Eheim 2260 and two Eheim 2217s.
If you add up the advertised flow rate of these filters it's around 1000 gallons an
hour.
But the manufacturer advertises the flow rate without any type of filter media in the way.
This means that only a portion of that advertised flow is actually correct.
But even if the rate is only half, I'm still turning this tank over 5 times an hour.
So that's tip #1.
Overfilter.
It could not be more important.
Seriously, that's like 80% of the battle right there.
Tip #2: Polyfil
Mechanical filtration can have a huge impact on your water quality.
There are a ways you can do it, but typically you want to have multiple layers, ranging
from course to fine media.
So for example right now I'll typically use a course foam, and then some pinky filter
floss, which I reviewed in a previous video, and then on top of that, for my fine media
I use Polyfil.
Now I'm far from the first person to recommend this product and there's a reason for it.
It's cheap and it works.
It's just 100% polyester batting and you can find a huge bag of it for less than $10 at
Walmart and other big box stores.
Just stuff some in your filter and right away you'll notice all of those little tiny particles
floating around in your tank will disappear.
Tip #3: Don't overfeed
One common mistake that a lot of fishkeepers make is overfeeding their fish.
Now this can vary a bit depending on the type of fish, the age of the fish, and the type
of food you feed.
So my advice on this is to do your research.
But me, I keep African cichlids, so I tend to feed a smaller amount more often.
And that's mostly to curb aggression.
But in general I would advise you to err on the side of feeding less, because any uneaten
food just contributes to a decline in the clarity and the quality of your water in your
tank.
You may also notice that the higher the quality of the food, the less it clouds your water
while you're feeding it.
And now for some bonus tips.
Bonus Tip #1: Maintenance
This should go without saying, but if you're not doing your regular partial water changes
and cleaning outyour filter then the clarity of your water will suffer.
Bonus Tip #2: Clean your glass
No matter how clear your water is, it won't matter if your glass isn't clean.
Now the outside is easy.
But you should also scrub down the inside on a regular basis.
Now there are also a lot of ways to reduce algae and I won't go into them right now but
if you're having a problem then you definitely want to look into that.
Bonus Tip #3: Chemical filtration
One way to pull extra organic material out of your water is with chemical filtration.
Now there are many options out there but one product that I've found works really well
is Seachem Purigen.
It can make a really big difference in your tank, especially if you have tannins from
driftwood.
Another great product is Chemipure Elite.
And if you check out stevepolandcichlids.com/equipment there's a list there with links to all of
the products that I use.
If you have any questions about clearing up your water please leave them in the comments
below, and if you enjoyed this video please consider hitting subscribe.
And as always, thanks for watching!