Help Change to Sand Now Water Cloudy

[speedy51]

Ok I decided to redo the substrate in my 75g FW tank. I removed all the gravel and I replaced it with play sand. The water yesterday was super cloudy, milky almost. I did a 50% water change and I ran three filters (2 fluval 205 & 305). The water after 6 hours got better I could actually see what was in the tank, however today it still very cloudy but better than the day before. Does anyone know how long the water will take to clear up? Should I shut the system down and let the water sit until it clears up?
Any help and advice is welcomed.

 

[jcolon]

Try another PWC ... and shutting down the filter for a couple of hours should help.
Unfortunately is a waiting game now ... just have to let the dust settle ... literally. For future reference PFS is an easier choice, a bit more coarse than play sand so it settles right to the bottom.

 

[speedy51]

Thanks for the help. I will certainly try this. One question though on the pwc, should I wait a couple of days to do this, since I just did one yesterday?

 

[jcolon]

I'd say that's fine as long as your stock is doing ok.

 

[LyndaB]

Did you rinse the sand prior to placing it in the tank?

I have both pool filter sand and play sand and the play sand is horrible. Really muddy consistency. If you move anything, you end up with clouds, and this is a good 6 months later for me, and it still won't settle completely.

 

[speedy51]

Actually my stock is doing fine. It almost sounds like I made a mistake putting in play sand in there. What type of sand does anyone recommend. I replaced the gravel because I thought sand would be easier for cleaning the bottom unlike the gravel which has a lot of pockets for debris and left overs to get into.

 

[speedy51]

Also does anyone recommend tipi g the current sand with another type

 

[speedy51]

Jcolon what is PFS? I'm sorry but I'm not up on all the acronyms.

 

[librarygirl]

Jcolon what is PFS? I'm sorry but I'm not up on all the acronyms.

Pool filter sand.

I changed my gravel to sand recently too but used the CaribSea sand (I wanted black). I rinsed it a lot but when I put it into the tank it was still very cloudy but cleared overnight.

 

[speedy51]

Hey everyone thanks for all the advice and a special thanks to jcolon for all your advice. After reading more info on the subject I decided to change the play sand for PFS. I'll do this this weekend and when I'm done I'll post pics for everyone to see. Thanks all for the advice

 

[LyndaB]

Even with the pfs (which is a better choice in my opinion), be sure to rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse and repeat prior to placing it in the tank.

 

[speedy51]

Hi everyone I just wanted to update all on the revamp of my tank. As you all know I used play sand which turned out to be a huge mistake. I just finish redoing the entire tank. I removed all of the same and I got pool filter sand washed it and washed it until the water was crystal clear. Amazing what the right sand will do to the look of a tank.

I wanted to thank everyone for their advise and I include pics of my after it was completed. My fish never looked happier and healthier. Their Coles are really popping..

 

[jcolon]

Very nice! I'm glad to see and hear PFS worked out for you.