Cloudy salt water

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Wajp5f

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
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I just purchased a 75 gallon fish only tank. I added RO water and my salt. It has been 12 hours since the tank was full and still cloudy. The temperature is 77 and the chemicals are all fine: ph 8.2, ammonia/nitrites/nitrates all 0 ppm. I read somewhere that if you add the salt too soon or salt first then water (which is what i did) that calcium precipitates show up. How do i get rid of these? I want to add my sand and purchase live rock to get the cycle going but not sure if i should wait until the water clears up. Thanks so much for any advice/tips! I'm new to these (although i've been doing a lot of research the past two months). Thanks again!!
 
You need to run as much circulation as possible and it will eventually clear up.
You are sorta doing things in reverse order.
Best way was to add sand ,base rock,mix the salt to water in a container and then add the water to the tank.Then you would add some live rock.
It is alot cheaper to mainly start with base rock and just a couple of pieces of live rock .
 
You need to run as much circulation as possible and it will eventually clear up.
You are sorta doing things in reverse order.
Best way was to add sand ,base rock,mix the salt to water in a container and then add the water to the tank.Then you would add some live rock.
It is alot cheaper to mainly start with base rock and just a couple of pieces of live rock .

I started my 70 gal yesterday .
I filled the tank , added the salt and then added the live sand which said
Do not rinse on the bag .
24 hrs later the tank is still cloudy but not As bad after running the filter and
Power head all night .
The filter was filled with sand when I cleaned it this morning .
How long does it normally take for the sand to settle and the water to be clear ?
Is it best to run the filters or let everything settle then start the pumps again ?
 
I started my 70 gal yesterday .
I filled the tank , added the salt and then added the live sand which said
Do not rinse on the bag .
24 hrs later the tank is still cloudy but not As bad after running the filter and
Power head all night .
The filter was filled with sand when I cleaned it this morning .
How long does it normally take for the sand to settle and the water to be clear ?
Is it best to run the filters or let everything settle then start the pumps again ?

Keep the filters running ,give it another day,it'll clear,keep rinsing the filters till it does.
 
Keep the filters running ,give it another day,it'll clear,keep rinsing the filters till it does.

I have been letting it run .
I have rinsed the filter a few times and it seams to be getting a little better .
I added some filter floss in both the emeim filter and the small bio- life to try and see if that makes anything better .
Is it a real bad thing that I used tap water ?
I have in the past used tap water and didn't have this problem but I didn't use the same salt and didn't use live sand .
Maybe this is why .
What is the recommended specific gravity ?
I have a hydrometer and it reads 1.024
 
I have been letting it run .
I have rinsed the filter a few times and it seams to be getting a little better .
I added some filter floss in both the emeim filter and the small bio- life to try and see if that makes anything better .
Is it a real bad thing that I used tap water ?
I have in the past used tap water and didn't have this problem but I didn't use the same salt and didn't use live sand .
Maybe this is why .
What is the recommended specific gravity ?
I have a hydrometer and it reads 1.024

Range of 1.025,you're close.You need to stop using tap water,need RO/DI or purified .
 
You need to run as much circulation as possible and it will eventually clear up.
You are sorta doing things in reverse order.
Best way was to add sand ,base rock,mix the salt to water in a container and then add the water to the tank.Then you would add some live rock.
It is alot cheaper to mainly start with base rock and just a couple of pieces of live rock .

Thanks so much! It's starting to clear and i was able to add my live rock!
 
Thanks so much! It's starting to clear and i was able to add my live rock!

It's been awhile ( approx. 15 years) since I had a marine tank and didn't have a problem then with tap water ,
I was assuming the cloudiness is from the live sand .
How would you suggest I clear the water without starting over ?
I really don't want to empty and start from scratch again
 
It's been awhile ( approx. 15 years) since I had a marine tank and didn't have a problem then with tap water ,

And that was 15 years ago....... Tap water won't show issues in the short run, but over a period of time, things like heavy metals, phosphates, nitrates, and even human pharmaceuticals can/will accumulate in your system, creating serious problems. RODI water is now the industry standard for a healthy system.

And the cloudiness will continue to clear, but it can take upwards of a week to do so.

Do you plan on doing a fishless cycle?
 
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And that was 15 years ago....... Tap water won't show issues in the short run, but over a period of time, things like heavy metals, phosphates, nitrates, and even human pharmaceuticals can/will accumulate in your system, creating serious problems. RODI water is now the industry standard for a healthy system.

And the cloudiness will continue to clear, but it can take upwards of a week to do so.

Do you plan on doing a fishless cycle?

This is where I am open for suggestions .
I need something to start the cycle like fish ?
Or will live rock help ?
 
I added a shrimp in a sock 2 days ago to help make some ammonia, have been cycling for 7 days now and I have no live rock. Thinking about doing that soon! Adding a refugium this week with some live sand and some macro algae.
 
I added a shrimp in a sock 2 days ago to help make some ammonia, have been cycling for 7 days now and I have no live rock. Thinking about doing that soon! Adding a refugium this week with some live sand and some macro algae.

Thanks for your help .
I was curious as to how long after the tank is set and clear cause of the live sand making it very cloud .
How long is recommended before adding anything to start cycling this tank ?
During the cycle when levels reach toxic levels do I leave nature do everything or should I prevent the levels from going too high ?
 
If you're doing fishless, you can drop in a shrimp right away.... you don't have to wait for the water to clear. And no need to do water changes with fishless.... just let it go. You want to do water changes after the cycle to get the nitrates levels back down to a safe level. And leave the lights off during the cycle... with all the nutrients present, it's real easy to get a nasty algae bloom.
 
If you're doing fishless, you can drop in a shrimp right away.... you don't have to wait for the water to clear. And no need to do water changes with fishless.... just let it go. You want to do water changes after the cycle to get the nitrates levels back down to a safe level. And leave the lights off during the cycle... with all the nutrients present, it's real easy to get a nasty algae bloom.

Ok thanks for all your help .
Ill drop the shrimp in this week .
I wanted to pick up a test kit before I did though .
How long after the shrimp is dropped in do I need to start testing ?
 
I tested once a day after I added the shrimp, but it's not really necessary..... I just wanted to see the changes happening. :popcorn:


Mine took about 11 days. Your results may vary.... I've seen tanks cycle in a week, or take a few weeks to a month.
 
I tested once a day after I added the shrimp, but it's not really necessary..... I just wanted to see the changes happening. :popcorn:

Mine took about 11 days. Your results may vary.... I've seen tanks cycle in a week, or take a few weeks to a month.

All I have in mine so far is a 40 lb of live sand .
Should I go with a deeper base ?
Will It cycle again after I add live rock ?
 
It will live in the sand, but adding live rock later may cause a mini cycle or makes the cycle take longer. Not quite sure why you would start cycling a tank without all the rock you wish to have, get it all in now if you can. You want your tank to cycle properly and be reaching stable parameters as soon as you can so you can get busy with fish ;)
 
You want to get your rock in now..... yes, beneficial bacteria do develop in the sand as well, but much more of it develops & lives within the pores of the rock.
 
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