Just filled my first tank up today and having problems!!!

[gsxrguru2]

Wow!!! off to a great start! Well, I just cleaned up my 30 gallon tank that a friend gave me and went to petsmart to get some supplies. I bought the whisper powerfilter 30, and some aquarium gravel in the form of black sand. Well, i didn't realize I was supposed to rinse the gravel until after i filled the tank up. Now i have a grayish haze throughout the tank that after a couple hours of filtering has not improved. I was wondering if i should empty it and refill it or just give it a few days to clear up? Thanks!!!

[TomK2]

you could water change some of the haze out. then when refilling, add the water into a pot or bowl placed inside the tank on the bottom to keep the added water from stirring up too much stuff. The water in stream directed into the pot will keep it from stirring the gravel. Unless you get exceptionally clean gravel, some cloudiness usually occurrs and settles in hours to a day. The only gravel I have not had that problem with, even with rinsing, has been Estes gravel. Too bad I discovered Estes after I ran out of tanks to fill. It will settle down on its own given enough time. You will be vacuuming out silt when you gravel vac for some time.

edit: Oh, and welcome to AA!

[Fishyfanatic]

It will clear up in a couple hours, if not days. You may want to do a partial water change, not disrupting the sand. To refill, put a bowl in the bottom of the tank and pour water into the bowl so the sand doesn't become displaced. I wouldn't do a complete water change. Maybe a 75%.

[Fishyfanatic]

HAHA, Same advice, different person giving it.

[TomK2]

beat you by one minute!

[gsxrguru2]

Great! well thanks for the advice, looks like I'll have something to do with it tomorrow.

[Fishyfanatic]

Yeah but we were typing at the same time.

[TomK2]

Yeah but we were typing at the same time

I can't tell you how many times I have posted, only to find that while I was typing someone else was posting the same advice. Not only do I type slow, but sometimes I ponder my answer too much. Trying to cut back on the number of edits I end up doing

[TomK2]

Great! well thanks for the advice, looks like I'll have something to do with it tomorrow.

Thats the positive aproach! Now you get to play with it tomorrow instead of just looking at it! Bet it ends up so much clearer by tomorrow you skip the water change tho.