sand problem

[hockeydude15]

i just put argonite sand into my tank and it clouded the water completley. Im waiting for it to settle. But once i put my cichlids in im afraid that they will dig and it will cloud again will this happen?? and im also worried that my brand new AQ500 filter will get ruined by the cloudy water.

 

[deli_conker]

Did you rinse it well before adding it to your tank? If not, then I would suggest you pull it out and do so. I had almost no cloudiness after I rinsed mine, but it did take a while to do.

I've found that the easiest way to rinse substrate is in small quantities. I can run my fingers through the bottom of my tank and get almost no cloudiness at all. This is how I did it...

In the kitchen sink I put a medium sized glass bowl (I wouldn't use plastic or metal as bits of them may scratch off and then end up in your tank). I put in a couple handfuls of argonite and then filled with water. Then I stirred it around with my hands until it got really cloudy. Pour off the water and repeat until the water is clear.

You'll have to 'rinse and repeat' several times to effectively clean a small amount and it will take a lot of time (about 1 hour per 10 pounds), but in my opinion it is well worth the extra work to have a cloud free tank...

 

[Menagerie]

Double posted thread!
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=22526

 

[sofia]

I have excatly the same problem!!!!! I just got some natural black sand and rinsed it and put it in the tank..and it turned my aquariums water light BROWN! So I took it out rinsed it about umm let's say A 100 TIMES LITTERALLY!! and put it back in the tank & guess what? The waters light brown! Now I wraped my aquaclear filter with some fish net (so the sand doesn't go in) & Iam waiting if maybe the filter will clear up the water. If it doesn't...Iam ready to throw all that **** out & buy some gravel lol.

 

[Menagerie]

That natural black sand has different qualities than Playsand. Give the tank some time to settle. Once bacteria colonize in the sand, it may clear up. Although, I have never used that type of sand.

 

[hockeydude15]

my tank is getting better so dont throw your sand away my AQ 500 cleared it up

 

[sofia]

how long did it take for your tank to clear up...what size tank?

 

[Menagerie]

Mine took overnight; 29 gal

 

[hockeydude15]

mine is 38 gal and it took 3 1/2 days its still a little foggy, not to where anyone but me can tell

 

[deli_conker]

Rinse in small quantities and add when the water runs off clean = no cloudiness...

 

[sofia]

umm ya in the bucket it looked all clear until i put it into the aquarium

 

[Menagerie]

What type of filter is on this tank?

 

[sofia]

another mini aquaclear.

 

[hockeydude15]

il

be patient it takes a long time but in the end it was worth it i thought mine would never clear up but w/ a couple of water changes it was clear and clean.

 

[deli_conker]

umm ya in the bucket it looked all clear until i put it into the aquarium

I rinse mine in a glass bowl in the kitchen sink (where there is plenty of light) one handful at a time. It does take a long time to get it clean, but I can run my hands through it in my tank and have no cloud at all develop. I've found that it's nearly immpossible to do large quantities (living in an apartment limits me in that way).

I guess it depends on if you want to spend that much time rinsing it (12 pounds took about 1-2 hours).

 

[sofia]

i think it took me more than two hours to wash that ****. Anyways i couldnt wait any longer for it to "clear up" since i was in a hurry to transfer some fish from my overcrowded tank so i got some tiny gravel & put that in instead. now the water is crystal clear. perhaps ill try the sand later in another tank but i doubt it! my housemates were mad at me for making the tub dirty with black sand lol.