Live sand

[direfishking27]

So I'm new to the hobby and I think I made a mistake if I'm adding live sand should I have used saltwater to add to the tank instead of dechlorinated tap water have I just killed the live sand because it won't settle and it looks just as bad as it did 2 days ago. Should i take out the water and basically start the tank as if it had regular sand and wash the sand and all that

 

[Reefing Madness]

Yea, you should have added the sand, then added saltwater. But, everyone usually encounters the cloudiness when first setting up a tank. Fret not, are you running any powerheads, skimmer or filter? Do you have live rock or dry rock in the tank? All these will have an impact on how long the tank remains cloudy. Usually only lasts a week or so anyways.

 

[direfishking27]

I have a power head and a canister filter but neither are running and I have no rock currently I hit my current limit for spending money on the tank but once get paid I will definitely be buying live rock

 

[direfishking27]

And I have still not added the salt should I

 

[vic67]

Yes, you need to cycle a tank using saltwater.

 

[direfishking27]

Should I be worried about sand particles in my canister filter?

 

[Reefing Madness]

No, no need to worry about sand particles in the filter, your pads should get most of it out for you.

 

[Jimbo662]

One thing to remember and get in the habit of doing right away is making sure you keep the canister clean...at least once a week. If not, it'll just cause you problems with high nitrates.

 

[wakeboarder552]

+1 jimbo make sure to keep the canister clean or nitrates will drive you up the wall.
If it was me I would add salt and turn on filters, powerheads etc. And let the tank run about a week and should be getting more clear. It's normal to have a cloudy tank at the start up of a new tank. After a week check the salinity and depending on what set up you want it should be 1.024(reef type) or 1.021ish for Fowlr (fish only with live rock) and you should be on your way with cycling. Please give us more input on your set up, always helps along the way to understand everything your working with. Good luck!

 

[direfishking27]

Thank you so much guys my tank looks so much more clear now but I'm still waiting to buy some live rock here's my tank currently it's a little baby 25 gallon that's all I can fit in my room right now hopefully someday I'll get a much bigger one