Adding an additional Sump what do I need to know

I have a 60 gal tank. It's on the last week of its nitrate cycle, not quite there but soon.

One thing I've noticed is that the water isn't crystal clear.

Right now I have a Eheim 2227 Wet/Dry Canister filter. My understanding is that this isn't a mechanical filtration system, just a biological filtration system.

I was thinking about putting an additional 10 gal tank with a HOB filtration system to help clean the water.

A) Is this going to help get the water clear?
B) I already have a bulkhead in the back of the tank with two drilled holes which I am using for the Eheim filtration system. Can I just have One tube hang over the back in the bulkhead for the supply and the other just a hangover the side for a return?
C) Recommendations for a pump
D) Will I also need a powerhead. I plan on addint a cople MP10s for water movement in the near future.
E) Is there a better way to get the water clean?


Thanks.

 

Are you running activated carbon in your canister? If not, put a bag of it in, that will help clear up the water.

Also, what kind of water do you use? RO/DI, distilled, tap?

 

Right now I'm using a mixture of RO water and tap water. It's about 10/1 ratio right now of tap water. I plan on doing a water change of ~30% after I finish my nitrite cycle, which is in about a week.

I did put some poly filter fabric in there and that's helped some but not quite there. I dont have room for carbon in the the filter right now. Would it be ok to take the sponge out of my in tank canister filter, a Cascade 600, and put a bag of carbon in there?

photo for reference.

 

IMO, you don't want to run bioballs in a reef setup because it becomes a detritrus trap in the long run. Do you have live rock? If you're planning on just keeping fish and no corals, then the bioballs should be ok but if you have LR, you don't need the bioballs for biological filtration. Running carbon should help your water clarity but time with the proper filtration will also lead to better water clarity.

Are you counting the canister as a sump? If you have a sump, another reason you don't need the canister. If you want a reef setup, IMPE, the canister will just become a PIA and cleaning it all of the time is just not practical. If you take the balls out, does that give you room for carbon?

One other piece of advice, try to use RO/DI 10/10 ratio because this will save you a ton of hassle in the long run. I'm also not sure why you have the additional canister in the tank? Is that for clarity as well? One other thing I could suggest since you are cycling, is perhaps get some microbacter7 to help with your biological filter and I've found that it really improves water clarity and could speed up or at least improve the cycling process.