I just bought some sand. I put the sand in. 8 hours later the water is still cloudy and foamy. The Sg also droped from 1.025 to about 1.015. the sand came with a clairifier packet, but i don't wanna use it til i need it. How much long should i wait.
Sand
- Thread starter NeoCatsy
- Start date
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Flake
Aquarium Advice Addict
Did you rinse the sand before you put it in?
Flake
Aquarium Advice Addict
ah, i missed that part. My sand settled right out. I left it overnight and it was clear in the morning.
Boulder
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2009
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- 167
We thoroughly rinsed our sand before putting it in the aquarium but still dealt with the same cloudy water ... ours settled and cleared up in about 72-hours.
fishmonkey
Aquarium Advice Addict
if you have any powerheads on, turn them off as the poweerheads just keep it from settling very well. wait a few days. if you really wanted to, you could always do like a 50% water change, but its not needed. if it doesnt clear up, put in the clarifier packet.
buddha_red
Aquarium Advice FINatic
mine took two weeks to clear because i didn't rinse it well. added a hob with filter floss and it was clear over night.
Zer0
is back to save the day!
Actually, the powerheads wont really make a difference on or off in this situation. As long as their currents are not at any time hitting the sand, then it wont be kicking up any more than what is already floating about. When it was just sand and water in my tank i kept the powerheads on 24/7 and thats actually what cleared the tank up for me. And yeah, you really should rinse it extremely well. For aragonite, its best to rinse the sand until the water turns from a thick milky color, to being cloudy. Then you will know its good to put in the tank.
Sharkbait430
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Yeah I just started a new tank and didnt bother to wash out the sand. It was cloudy only until the next day but every so often I bang it up a little bit so I can get all the "cloudiness" completely out of the sand so my inverts wont have a problem when I put them in. It'll go away in a couple of days, dont worry to much about it
fishmonkey
Aquarium Advice Addict
lol i remember how when i started my freshwater tank, i had this gravel that, if i remember correctly, was blue. i removed all the gravel that was blue, and i started to pour Flourite into my tank. when it was full of water. without rinsing it. REALLLY bad idea! it took over 10 50% water changes to get it from where it was dark brown to where i could very slightly see the driftwood on the tank. then i removed all the flourite and begain to rinse it. in a bucket. it still took 2 weeks for it to completely clear up. oh and it also broke my $50 rena smartfilter because a small rock got in there and broke all the things off of the impeller! ugh. i was so mad.
Zer0
is back to save the day!
Yeah, that does suck 
People just have to remember that sand is dirty.. lol.
People just have to remember that sand is dirty.. lol.CementShoes
Aquarium Advice Activist
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- May 29, 2009
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- 122
I'd disagree to this extent. Turn them off until you sand has a bacteria coating. Once that happens the sand will tend to congeal somwhat and be less prone to current (even mis/re directed current) from stirring the soup.
Zer0
is back to save the day!
Im sure what your saying is correct about the bacteria and all, but theres no reason why you cant have the powerheads on as long as they are not hitting the sand at any point. If its not hitting the sand.. then nothing will get kicked up.. obviously. Therefore it will keep the water moving around. Stagnant water is not a + for tanks. Its good to keep the water moving at all times regardless if your just starting off or you have your tank fully set up. Not to mention if your mixing your salt in the tank if your just starting off the tank and theres nothing in there but water and sand. Then you REALLY want the powerheads to be on to mix the salt mix. There are so many reasons why i think the powerheads should be on, even with the sand in the tank. I had my PH's on when it was just water and sand in the tank and as long as the flow wasnt hitting the sand, i had no cloudiness. At all.
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