Sand question

[Ronald Marcelo]

Hi again, my milky white water has lessened a bit but still pretty much white after 36 hours... Im having some flow issues (see my other thread) and not quite sure if this is the reason. I used aragonite sand( cant remember the grain but it appears fine) about 100lbs of it. Any tips? Should i cycle the water? Thanks in advance

Ps. I will take pictures of the water tonight when i get home from work. Hopefully to paint a better picture.

Attached the pics... This is after 48hrs... I will cycle my water tomorrow. How many gallons should i take out? More than 20%? Thanks in advance.

 

[forzaazzurri]

It took my tank a good week before it got clear with new live sand (did not rinse). You need to cycle the tank so there is no hurry. It will clear. I did have a mechanical power filter though.

 

[Ronald Marcelo]

It took my tank a good week before it got clear with new live sand (did not rinse). You need to cycle the tank so there is no hurry. It will clear. I did have a mechanical power filter though.

That's great news man! I was reading the forums and most of what i found was around 24-48 hours (rinsed), I did not rinse mine. I cycled 10% of water today. I will do another 10% over the weekend. Should i cleanse my sponges? It's a new system but i imagine a lot of it is trapped in there? I was not completely informed. Thanks again!

 

[forzaazzurri]

Yeah I would clean any sponges or mechanical filtration as often as you can.
In my opinion why rinse live sand when you want all that good stuff in it.

 

[Ronald Marcelo]

Yeah I would clean any sponges or mechanical filtration as often as you can.
In my opinion why rinse live sand when you want all that good stuff in it.

This is true... Great thing about this hobby i come to find is that there plenty of DO and DONT. Some prefer to rinse and some don't. Thanks again for your reply. This is so much fun, i have always loved water, reefs, the ocean.

 

[Wy Renegade]

That's great news man! I was reading the forums and most of what i found was around 24-48 hours (rinsed), I did not rinse mine. I cycled 10% of water today. I will do another 10% over the weekend. Should i cleanse my sponges? It's a new system but i imagine a lot of it is trapped in there? I was not completely informed. Thanks again!

Just an FYI, you are miss using the term cycling. What you are doing is a PWC or partial water change. Cycling is a term used to describe the build-up of the beneficial bacteria population in your tank.

What you are experiencing is the suspention of very fine sand grains in your water column due to not rinsing the sand. These sand grains will settle out, how long it takes is dependent of lots of factors like flow rate and filters. If you are running your filters in the current state, which it sounds like you are, you are going to need to rinse the filters clean. Since you have hopefully started cycling the tank (adding in a ammonia source of some type - pure ammonia or decaying shrimp, etc.) while you are running filters and waiting for the sand to settle out, you'll want to rinse the filters with saltwater, not freshwater, so you are not eliminating your beneficial bacteria.

This is true... Great thing about this hobby i come to find is that there plenty of DO and DONT. Some prefer to rinse and some don't. Thanks again for your reply. This is so much fun, i have always loved water, reefs, the ocean.

Indeed, you will learn as you get further in to the hobby, that there a many different ways to do things "right", and that everyone has their own opinion about what is best and what works or doesn't work for them. Remember it is your adventure and you have to figure out what works for you.

 

[Ronald Marcelo]

Just an FYI, you are miss using the term cycling. What you are doing is a PWC or partial water change. Cycling is a term used to describe the build-up of the beneficial bacteria population in your tank.

What you are experiencing is the suspention of very fine sand grains in your water column due to not rinsing the sand. These sand grains will settle out, how long it takes is dependent of lots of factors like flow rate and filters. If you are running your filters in the current state, which it sounds like you are, you are going to need to rinse the filters clean. Since you have hopefully started cycling the tank (adding in a ammonia source of some type - pure ammonia or decaying shrimp, etc.) while you are running filters and waiting for the sand to settle out, you'll want to rinse the filters with saltwater, not freshwater, so you are not eliminating your beneficial bacteria.

Indeed, you will learn as you get further in to the hobby, that there a many different ways to do things "right", and that everyone has their own opinion about what is best and what works or doesn't work for them. Remember it is your adventure and you have to figure out what works for you.

Thanks a million! I was using the term incorrectly. I am doing partial water changes and my cycling did start Sunday night. I will rinse my filters with RODI salt water. I will also add pure ammonia starting tomorrow night. I did not have time to make it to the local pet store today. Btw thanks for the advice and encouraging words. It has grown on me faster than algae! ?