plant substrate made my water cloudy. when will it clear

[skargo2009]

So I I've had plants in my 30 gallon for about a year. I don't like the way it looks anymore with all the grass type plants all over the front. They have basically grown so much I can hardly see my fish.

Well I decided to pull out all the grass and when I did it basically churned up all the gravel and now my tank looks like a murky swamp. How long will it take to clear.

 

[F.Sam]

Depends on how powerful your filter is, should be cleared up the next day


Sent per three-eyed raven..

 

[Brookster123]

Siphon it out and add new water.. simple..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[skargo2009]

Siphon it out and add new water.. simple..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

I've already done a massive water change

 

[flchamp89]

Id do a 50 percent at least. May need a couple. It will clear

 

[skargo2009]

Id do a 50 percent at least. May need a couple. It will clear

Yeah it looks alot clearer this morning. The water doesn't look tea coloured anymore but it is slightly cloudy

 

[Fresh2o]

Ha! This is what my tank usually looks like after a major rescape.

It took a couple of days to clear up

 

[BioChem]

Yeah it looks alot clearer this morning. The water doesn't look tea coloured anymore but it is slightly cloudy

Let your filter do the rest of the work. If it hasn't completely cleared up in a few days, do a 50 - 75% water change. But from what you stated, it looks like your filter can finish the job. Patience!

 

[BioChem]

Ha! This is what my tank usually looks like after a major rescape.

It took a couple of days to clear up

Wow! I'm OCD. Water cloudiness at that level would drive me bonkers!

 

[Fresh2o]

Wow! I'm OCD. Water cloudiness at that level would drive me bonkers!

I go through this at least 2-3 times a year. Build a scape, grow it out, get bored, start again...

 

[flchamp89]

I got the boredom now.

 

[BioChem]

My scape has been up for only 2.5 months and I'm already starting to contemplate. I'm resisting the urge!!!

 

[Betta keeper]

Depending on your filter model.... I cleared my water up this way:

Cut the bottom off of a water bottle

Slide it over your filter intake

Stuff it with filter floss/ pillow stuffing(chemical free obviously)

Run filter

Swap out for clean floss/rinse as it fills with dirt


My tank cleared in a few hours, as the floss polished out the particles

 

[skargo2009]

Ha! This is what my tank usually looks like after a major rescape.

It took a couple of days to clear up

Yeah that's what mine looked like

 

[Fresh2o]

My scape has been up for only 2.5 months and I'm already starting to contemplate. I'm resisting the urge!!!

Have you reached that nirvana with the scape or is there more to do? What I want to do and what I end up with are usually two different things. But there are soooo many different scapes out there.

 

[Reykur]

Is this still a problem? Because some pollyfill in the filter cartridges could probably do some wonders. Depending on how many cartridges the filter takes, you can potentially swap one or two slots for pollyfill and give it a couple days. If that doesn't work, you can try capping the plant substrate with something a bit larger/coarser or some heavy sand.

Ultimately, I'd suggest cleaning your filter to make sure it isn't clogged with dirt, then put in some fine filtering media like pollyfill or commercially ready cartridges if you prefer. If it doesn't work and you don't want to cap it or capping doesn't work, you can always remove the plants, siphon the water, use a new substrate and see if it does any better.

I have fluval shrimp and plant stratum and didn't rinse it at all before putting it in. My water does cloud when interacting with the substrate and filling the water after changes a little, but it clears up very quickly with the stock cartridges that came with the filter. I avoided using something like black gold (potting soil) because I thought it might do something like what has happened with your tank.