New member with crushed coral issues...

[woptang22]

Hello, Im new to the forum and aquariums. I currently have a 60 gallon aquarium with 2 fluval 4 plus internal filters and an API/Rena XPL 175 gallon canister filter. Im doing an african cichlid tank. When I bought the aquarium I put the water in before the crushed coral because I was excited to get the tank. A week later I bought the crushed coral and the water has been cloudy with coral substance ever since. And I believe I have more then enough filtration. But the little coral/chalky dust like particles will not clear up. Then last night I added some plants and clouded the water up worse. Since last night the water went back to the way it was before the plants. But what do I do about this water filled with crushed coral dust?

 

[H2OJO]

Welcome to the forum!

DId you wash the coral before you put it in?

 

[woptang22]

I did my best washing it, but obviously not enough lol It just doesnt seem to clear up. Im not so sure what I can do at this point. Do you think the filters will clear it up eventually?

Welcome to the forum!

DId you wash the coral before you put it in?

 

[H2OJO]

The filter will eventually clear it, but it wont be doing it any good as it deducts from the filters capability to filter the important stuff.

My advice is take it out, wash, wash and wash again and then try it back in the tank.

 

[jlk]

Try putting a bunch of filter floss (polyfill) in your filters and running it for a few days before attempting to remove the coral and washing again. You may need to rinse out the floss 1x a day to remove particles. It really does wonders for clearing fine particles out of water.

 

[woptang22]

Try putting a bunch of filter floss (polyfill) in your filters and running it for a few days before attempting to remove the coral and washing again. You may need to rinse out the floss 1x a day to remove particles. It really does wonders for clearing fine particles out of water.

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it. Ill give it a try. Im wondering why my local fish store didnt give me that advice?

 

[jlk]

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it. Ill give it a try. Im wondering why my local fish store didnt give me that advice?

Who do you use as your lfs? Walmart is cheaper. A huge bag of polyfill will only cost you @$5 or so- just make sure you get plain polyfill and not the flame retardant/resistant stuff which has been chemically treated. The treated stuff costs twice as much anyway. Good luck!

 

[woptang22]

Theres a few. Im actually in Bristol Pa like 15 minutes north of philly. But My local fish stores are The Fish Factory, Hidden Reef, and multiple Petsmarts. Ill have to check walmart for the polyfill. I didnt even think about walmart.

Who do you use as your lfs? Walmart is cheaper. A huge bag of polyfill will only cost you @$5 or so- just make sure you get plain polyfill and not the flame retardant/resistant stuff which has been chemically treated. The treated stuff costs twice as much anyway. Good luck!

 

[jlk]

Snowing like crazy here! I am up in the Horsham area though I do venture down to the Reef & Fish Factory occasionally because my goldie breeder is in Bensalem. The people at the Reef tend to be a bit clueless but they have a nice supply of stuff if you dont mind the high prices. The Fish Factory is more personal and the owners are very nice but I dont always agree with everything they have to say. Theres some other places if you want to venture north, into the city or into Nj. If you look in 'regional areas' here on AA, theres a few posts about different places around the area.

 

[woptang22]

Your pretty close to me then. Horsham isnt too far. But I agree. It seems the reef has a great selection but when Ive been there it takes 30 minutes for anyone to help me. The fish factory has been great for me. They are all nice and helpful. Only issue with them is I feel they just sold me on things I didnt need and didnt tell me about stuff I needed. Yet very nice people. I bought my crushed coral from there. If I would have known it would cause me such a mess I would have never bought it. I feel they suggested crushed coral because I want an african cichlid tank, but also because it was very pricey. But I didnt realize it at the time. Overall, they have been very nice. Ive bought some plants and whatnot from thatpetplace.com I believe its in Lancaster Pa. They have been so helpful. They answer all my questions through email. Great people and tons of everything. lol Check them out.

Snowing like crazy here! I am up in the Horsham area though I do venture down to the Reef & Fish Factory occasionally because my goldie breeder is in Bensalem. The people at the Reef tend to be a bit clueless but they have a nice supply of stuff if you dont mind the high prices. The Fish Factory is more personal and the owners are very nice but I dont always agree with everything they have to say. Theres some other places if you want to venture north, into the city or into Nj. If you look in 'regional areas' here on AA, theres a few posts about different places around the area.