I recently switched my 40 breeder out to a 75 gal, and also went from gravel to "live ciclid sand". The two AC 70's I had on the 40 gal did not fit the 75 gal, so I went out and bought two brand new AC 110s for the 75. Well the AC 110s have been running for almost 24 hours and I see no change in the way the water looks.
I'm used to working with sand, as I've also had salt water tanks in the past, and I expected some initial cloudiness until the sand settled - but I don't recall ever having to wait this long for the water to clear up. It looks like I'm just looking thru a cloud of smoke in the tank. And what's worst, is that the LFS I bought the live ciclid sand from only had two 20 lb bags in stock, so I decided to take the two bags he had, order another 40 lb bag, and just start the tank with the two 20 lbs bags - which means I'm going to have to go thru this again when the rest of the sand comes in and I add it to the tank.
Is this normal ? Why is it taking so long for the sand to settle and the water to clear up ?
I'm used to working with sand, as I've also had salt water tanks in the past, and I expected some initial cloudiness until the sand settled - but I don't recall ever having to wait this long for the water to clear up. It looks like I'm just looking thru a cloud of smoke in the tank. And what's worst, is that the LFS I bought the live ciclid sand from only had two 20 lb bags in stock, so I decided to take the two bags he had, order another 40 lb bag, and just start the tank with the two 20 lbs bags - which means I'm going to have to go thru this again when the rest of the sand comes in and I add it to the tank.
Is this normal ? Why is it taking so long for the sand to settle and the water to clear up ?