new sand substrate... cloudy water... filter question

[raceguy333]

i changed over to sand tonight in my 55gal tank. it has been about 4 hours and i still have a little bit of cloudy water. i can see the back of the tank, but the water is by no means clear. is it safe to turn on my wet/dry filter now, or will it hurt the pump? how about my HOB filter?

 

[Jdills1347]

Not sure about the wet/dry but I believe the HOB usually require you to get a screen to go over the intake so that a lot of the sand is not sucked in. If you don't have one you might want to look into it.

 

[raceguy333]

the intake is a good 6-7" above the surface of the sand.. i can even make it higher.. i just want to know if the floating stuff thats causing it to be cloudy will harm my filter.. :?

 

[Menagerie]

I highly recommend putting a sponge around the filter intake as a prefilter. I have them on all my sand substrate tanks. It looks a bit goofy, but I just put plants in front of it. And I have some fish that like to rest on it.

 

[raceguy333]

i may be able to get a sponge like.. tomorrow, but would it be ok to start my filters tonight before the water is clear? i'm really not fond of the idea of leaving my filters off overnight...

and thanks for all the quick responses... the internet is great

 

[Menagerie]

Sand in the impeller/motor=you buying a replacement part

 

[raceguy333]

nevermind... after sitting here at 3am.. wanting to turn the filter on.. i remembered that i have a replacement filter pad thingie that i rubberbanded around the intake tube.... i can already see some sandy powder building up on the new "prefilter"...

thanks again for the help... i hope that its clear tomorrow so i can turn the wet/dry back on..

 

[Menagerie]

Sounds good. Sponges for Aqua Clears work great too
Definitely remove the prefilter tomorrow and give it a good rinse and then put it back.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Unless you have actual GRAINS of sand floating through the water, it won't harm your HOB (I'm not sure about the wet/dry, though). The powdery stuff you see collecting on the pre-filter is too small to damage the impeller. You will probably have to give that and the filter pads an occasional rinse to clear the mess away until the water completely clears up- which can take a few days, or even up to a week or two to completely clear, so don't get discouraged if it stays murky after the first day or two.