Sand produces cloudy water

[FriscoTX]

I put sand in as the substrate in my 10 gal. The water is still pretty cloudy, anything I can do about that?

 

[rich311k]

Just give it time it will settle on its own.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Did you wash it beforehand? As Rich suggested, it will settle over time.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

the trick with any substrate (gravel, sand, coral etc...) is to not disturb it when filling the tank.

put a plate or fill on the sides of the tank so there is little splash to cause the substate to be disrupted.

 

[Burks]

If you didn't rinse the sand really well then your tank will cloud up whenever the sand is disturbed. With my pool filter sand I washed it really well and I can stir it up without the water clouding. Just takes a lot of time to do correctly.

Bubble_B0y has a good idea with the plate trick. Works very well. If your tank is too small for a plate than use a cup, just go a bit slower.

 

[FriscoTX]

Yes i used a plate when i filled the tank, but it got pretty dirty once I added the "goo" from the old substrate. I did a pwc and that's when the water seemed to get cloudy. There are no fish in the tank so if I need to I can redo the sand - would that disturb the cycle?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

So the tank got cloudy right after you added the "goo" from the old substrate? If so, it's not the substrate. It's the "goo".