Ooops! Didn't Rinse Sand

[shaloric7]

Hello,

I'm setting up my first aquarium (fresh water), a 36-gallon. I made the silly mistake of not washing the sand and the water is pretty cloudy. I have the filter running. How long will this take to clear up? Do I need to remove all the water and start over? After it's clear, should I change the filter?

Thank you!

 

[ddodad]

First a couple questions:

Do you have fish yet?
Do you know about cycling?
What type of filter? (Canister, hob)

In any case I would stop the filter so you do not damage it and drain the water and rinse the sand in a bucket or some other way until water is clear.

 

[rpgmomma8404]

What type of sand are you using?

 

[shaloric7]

No, no fish yet.

I don't know about cycling.

The filter is a Penguin 200 Bio-Wheel.

Thanks!

 

[shaloric7]

Sand is CaribSea Super Naturals premium aquatic substrate.

 

[rpgmomma8404]

You'll probably be okay. Let it settle and then turn the filter back on. Cloudiness should go away in a couple of days.

 

[ddodad]

Ok perfect.

As I said before I would really empty the tank and start over. Rinse the sand until the water runs clear, this will also help in the log run getting rid of the dust and silt. If not every water change the tank could very easily cloud up and those small particles could damage the filter.

As for cycling please look up some article on it. I know there are a few good ones on this forum. Basically you need to buildup the natural beneficial bacteria, it's really important if not the fish can easily die of ammonia poisoning.

It sounds daunting but trust me better to do things once the right way

 

[sodbuster95]

I agree with Ddodad. Since you're just starting, you're better off dealing with it now when it's still relatively easy by emptying the water and properly rinsing the sand. If you don't, the cloudiness will eventually settle, but it may kick back up every time you vacuum the sand or even just move it around. All the fine grit isn't going to play nice with your filter impeller.

As to the cycle, here's a good place to start:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html

 

[wildroseofky]

Don't feel bad. I did that with my first sand tank. I just barely rinsed it and dumped it in the tank. I waited a week and my water never cleared up. I was using pool filter sand. I had to take the sand out and clean the tank again. Made sure to thoroughly rinse it the second time and the water was never cloudy again. I also did my filter in by not using a pre filter sponge. I broke my impeller.

 

[jestes]

First off, good advice so far about reading up on cycling. A fish less cycle would be best. I'm doing it on a 55 right now.

The cloudy water will go away eventually, but draining it and rerinsing it would be a great start. If you don't want to do that, get some water clarifier and filter floss. That will help, but draining and rerinsing combined with that would be even better.

 

[shaloric7]

OK, thanks for the replies.

What is filter floss?

 

[Ian086]

OK, thanks for the replies.

What is filter floss?

It like the stuffing used in bed pillows, cushions, teddy bears etc. It's available online or at craft stores. Personally I use bed pillow stuffing. It's extremely cheap and a big bag will last a LONG time. Just remove and replace it when you see it getting brown. Make sure it is 100% polyfil, no additives, eg fire retardants. It should say 100% polyfil on the packaging....