Cloudy new water

[HKfshkpr1]

I always fill the 60 gal drum with water before adding salt mix. Then run a 300 gph powerhead for a few hours. Let it sit for a day, then run the powerhead again for a few hours. Yet the water is still cloudy even after sitting for a few days. I always use regular Instant Ocean and RO water.

If I use the new water for a water change, the show tank water would become a little cloudy at first but would clear up after a while. My main concern is that when I use the water in my QT's the water never becomes clear. And lately I have had poor success rate quarantining new fish. They seemed to become kind of listless once they got into the QT. If I remember correctly the new water was not that cloudy before.............

 

[naterealbig]

I always fill the 60 gal drum with water before adding salt mix. Then run a 300 gph powerhead for a few hours. Let it sit for a day, then run the powerhead again for a few hours. Yet the water is still cloudy even after sitting for a few days. I always use regular Instant Ocean and RO water.

If I use the new water for a water change, the show tank water would become a little cloudy at first but would clear up after a while. My main concern is that when I use the water in my QT's the water never becomes clear. And lately I have had poor success rate quarantining new fish. They seemed to become kind of listless once they got into the QT. If I remember correctly the new water was not that cloudy before.............

I have used IO and RC almost exclusively the last few years. My experience is that the salt needs to mix a minimum of 24 hrs before it's clear (and sometimes depending on the batch it's not long enough). For context my mixing barrel is 90 gallons, and I use a 1200 gph pump.

Generally, the water is ok to use after a few hrs of mixing. If you use cloudy water for a water change, and the water does not clear up after a day or so, it is probably something else in the QT that is going on.

The problems quarantining your fish is a different conversation, but more info would help. What are the meds you are using, and what is your procedure for dosing them? What fish have you had trouble with?. How are you acclimating the new fish?