Question about water clearing

[YamahaF934]

Well added the 40 lbs dead sand and 40 lbs live sand and the tank is milky still about 3 hours later. Just curious what the time frame is here. thanks.

 

[OCDreefer]

Days, maybe weeks pending on how much you washed the sand

 

[YamahaF934]

I washed the dead really well but the live said that it doesnt need to be washed. . . so I followed directions. . Should I be doing water changes or what?

 

[badger126]

I had a similar situation with sand that I bought. I used some water clarifier, 1 HOB filter, and a magnum canister filter with the water polisher insert to remove it all. Took about a day and a lot of rinsing the filters to get it all out. I believe the clarifier was Seachem's Clarity. I might have sped it up, but I kept stirring up the sand to make sure I got all the dusty milky stuff out of the substrate. Good luck man, a little persistance and it'll be gone! I know how you feel

 

[OCDreefer]

Just wait for the water to clear... you didn't have anything living in there right?

 

[YamahaF934]

Nope nothing live (well take that back live rock and sand). should I leave that. I am running hang on back skimmer and hang on back filter. I am wondering if I should run out any get a canister filter.

Any suggestions. Just do water changes?

 

[OCDreefer]

I wouldn't even waste my time with that... Just give it time. I know it lame but with new tank you really must have saint like patencie.... Spend this time reading, looking at peoples tanks and deciding what coral and fish you want to keep. Oh an asking questions.

 

[ahuntnfool]

Time will heal everything. You have the hanging filter, that will help clear it up faster but you will have to rinse the filter two to three times a day.

 

[returnofsid]

Leave it, it'll eventually settle. A lot will depend on how fine the sand was and what type of flow you have. The finer particles can settle in a day or two, or can take weeks. When I set up my 200, I used dry sugar/oolite aragonite. I had A LOT of flow. It took almost 3 weeks to completely settle.

 

[jrgilles]

Yea, just wait. I just set up a 75 gallon and it took maybe 4 days to clear, but it did go crystal clear. I put in a couple of foam pads in my sump for some mechanical filtration while it cleared up, I think it helped some, but probably wasn't necessary.

 

[Shane and John]

I agree..Just wait...Patience is the key to this hobby...Trust me...Take your time and dont rush!!

 

[YamahaF934]

Its clear now. . . But I am going to stir the sand again. I just want to admire the beauty of it. Will post pics soon.

 

[mcoomer]

Just curious why you would want to stir up the sand again? If you have your live rock in place just leave it alone for now and give the live that you added a chance to see everything. You can push it around some to smooth it or pile it up as you want but I wouldn't disturb the entire sand bed.

As someone else mentioned above, patience is key when starting your tank. It's the most difficult thing about the hobby because we all want our tanks to be beautiful the day we set them up. Let nature takes it course and help it along with good tank maintenance and before you know it you'll be posting pics that will have other folks ooohing and aaahing.

Mike

 

[vinny2261]

You should also try and clean all of your pumps after you get everything settled. The fine sand will really "grit" up the impellars and it is like sandpaper on parts.

 

[bigblue141]

I run a fresh poly filter at the intake of my sump to help "catch" and clear up the water from the floating sugar sized sand when I add it. After the water clears, I pull all my pumps apart and clean the shafts and magnents to ease my mind about them being ground up.

And like everyone else, be patient and give it time.

 

[agc]

Admire the beauty of stirred up sand and a murky tank? hmmmm.....

Its clear now. . . But I am going to stir the sand again. I just want to admire the beauty of it. Will post pics soon.

 

[minhmattmai]

I'm in the same situation here with my 90g. I'm starting out fresh and had to wash sand that was given to me. After a good wash the sand turned milky white. Hopefully, it'll clear up soon.