Help with silted out tank!

[Gorgar]

Heya everyone! I'm looking for some advice, I just filled my 220, mixed my salt in and am adding my sand and rock. I did it a little backwards I know but I had to fill it with RODI first directly from the unit so I didn't want to kill the live sand or rock. HOWEVER, now the tank is completely silted out and has been for about 8 hours now, do I continue to wait with nothing running or start running things and pretend like nothings wrong? Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Gorgar]

Totally forgot to add a picture my bad!!

 

[kkoranda]

It'll settle out, no worries, but it looks like you've got a nice sump with a filter sock holder - why don't you just throw a sock in it and turn the return pump on?

A sock will catch a ton of that fine particulate and clear it up in no time.

 

[codycolina707]

Heya everyone! I'm looking for some advice, I just filled my 220, mixed my salt in and am adding my sand and rock. I did it a little backwards I know but I had to fill it with RODI first directly from the unit so I didn't want to kill the live sand or rock. HOWEVER, now the tank is completely silted out and has been for about 8 hours now, do I continue to wait with nothing running or start running things and pretend like nothings wrong? Thanks in advance!!!

If you have powerheads run them to help mix the salt

 

[Gorgar]

If you have powerheads run them to help mix the salt

So the salt was already mixed before I added the sand and the water was pretty clear from that, this is from the sand!

 

[Gorgar]

It'll settle out, no worries, but it looks like you've got a nice sump with a filter sock holder - why don't you just throw a sock in it and turn the return pump on?

A sock will catch a ton of that fine particulate and clear it up in no time.

I wanted to do that but I was concerned that the silt would damage my pump (VarioS-8), or build up in my return/drain lines, should I be concerned about this?

 

[Hydrored]

It will settle, give it time. I wouldn’t worry about the pump and plumbing. I can’t even imagine the amount of crap that goes through my pumps daily

 

[Gorgar]

I suppose I'm just being paranoid, ill just sit down and be patient, thanks guys! (Still open to more advice though as always )

 

[codycolina707]

So the salt was already mixed before I added the sand and the water was pretty clear from that, this is from the sand!

If its from the sand only thing to do is wait and like other said let the filter socks help its always been about 24 hours for my new tanks to settle

 

[Hydrored]

I suppose I'm just being paranoid, ill just sit down and be patient, thanks guys! (Still open to more advice though as always )

Nothing good happens fast in this hobby, has taken me far too long to learn that.

 

[kkoranda]

It won't do anything to your pump, the grain size of anything still suspended there is absolutely minuscule. The pumps are built pretty tough, the only thing moving in there is the impeller, shaft, and magnet & the impeller and the shaft is the only thing that could be affected by abrasion. The shaft is probably plastic and this will do nothing to it - this won't be the only time your tank gets stirred up, I guarantee it.

If you put a filter sock in there and run the return it'll be clear in an hour.

 

[Rjukan]

Did you rinse the sand before putting it in there?

Nice looking setup btw.

 

[Gorgar]

Did you rinse the sand before putting it in there?

Nice looking setup btw.

Haha so no I didn't, i trusted the bag when it said no rinsing nessecary, only to later read that you definitely should rinse the sand no matter what.
Also thanks! Its been a year long project (mostly because of deployment) but im super stoked to be finally bringing it all together!

 

[kkelly007]

If it's live sand, rinsing it defeats the purpose. I would fire up your return pump and powerheads and just wait. One, two days tops, and it will clear up. I recently (tank wet on May 10) set up a 105g DT (132g total volume) and put in 80 lbs of Caribsea fiji pink and it initially looked like I dumped two gallons of milk into the mix. In a day or two it was very clear. Now with my four 100 micron filter socks and RSK 600 skimmer, my water is crystal clear.

 

[Rjukan]

If it's live sand, rinsing it defeats the purpose. I would fire up your return pump and powerheads and just wait. One, two days tops, and it will clear up. I recently (tank wet on May 10) set up a 105g DT (132g total volume) and put in 80 lbs of Caribsea fiji pink and it initially looked like I dumped two gallons of milk into the mix. In a day or two it was very clear. Now with my four 100 micron filter socks and RSK 600 skimmer, my water is crystal clear.

That's what I thought too, but there are a lot of people saying it doesn't matter if its "live" or not, you should rinse. Starting a tank with all of that particulate isn't a good thing, and it could help fuel nuisance algae in the future, which is what I experienced first hand.

 

[kkelly007]

That's what I thought too, but there are a lot of people saying it doesn't matter if its "live" or not, you should rinse. Starting a tank with all of that particulate isn't a good thing, and it could help fuel nuisance algae in the future, which is what I experienced first hand.

Hmmm. I've never read anything about the lingering impact of using live sand and algae. I guess experiences are all different, but (knock on wood) I have virtually no algae--I do run a small refugium and have a small CUC. However, it's probably impossible for anyone to pinpoint any one thing as the primary/sole contributor to the growth of nuisance algae. Especially something that happens so early in the life of a tank.

 

[Gorgar]

If it's live sand, rinsing it defeats the purpose. I would fire up your return pump and powerheads and just wait. One, two days tops, and it will clear up. I recently (tank wet on May 10) set up a 105g DT (132g total volume) and put in 80 lbs of Caribsea fiji pink and it initially looked like I dumped two gallons of milk into the mix. In a day or two it was very clear. Now with my four 100 micron filter socks and RSK 600 skimmer, my water is crystal clear.

Got it, soon as I'm home from work I'm kicking them back on, hoping for the best thanks for the input!

 

[anth]

Just to give u peace of mind, i did the same thing as u. I just ran the tank as normal with plenty flow and it all collected in the bottom of my sump and was siphoned out a week later. No damage done but may take a few days.

 

[sfin52]

Did you add the clarifer? I would run through filter socks it will remove all that particulates. I would never rinse live sand.

 

[Rjukan]

I wouldn't rinse something like TBS live sand, but from what I understand the bagged "live" sand is different. The bacteria that's the live aspect of it won't be rinsed off the sand itself, you're just removing the silt and particulate.

The test is if you drop a rock in your sand, or if you run your fingers through it, does it puff up a white cloud?