Murky

[wvfish1]

I am setting up a tank and added live sand to tank and stirred up a mess of murky water.
Do I run my filter to clear or let it eventually settle.
No fish right now. Just beginning.

 

[KrisReef]

Did you happen to rinse the live sand to remove the fines before you put the sand in the tank?

If you have a filter sock on the system it won't hurt to run that to remove the dust out of the tank.

 

[wvfish1]

Did you happen to rinse the live sand to remove the fines before you put the sand in the tank?

If you have a filter sock on the system it won't hurt to run that to remove the dust out of the tank.

I didn't rinse. I was afraid of removing beneficial bacteria.

I dont have a sock.

 

[miPapareef]

What do you have for a filter? I don’t really think it’s posible to just let it settle and then not ever disturb the sand bed.

I used socks, stirred often and in 9 to 10 months the water cleared.

 

[wvfish1]

What do you have for a filter? I don’t really think it’s posible to just let it settle and then not ever disturb the sand bed.

I used socks, stirred often and in 9 to 10 months the water cleared.

I have a Fluval fx4 canister.

If it takes 10 months, I would drain and start over.

 

[miPapareef]

I have a Fluval fx4 canister.

If it takes 10 months, I would drain and start over.

Knowing what I know now about how much and how long it takes to eliminate all that silty cloud, I would definitely rinse all sand.

I literally stirred sand every few days and then replaced socks. Also used Phython to vacume sand during the weekly water change. And it did take 9-10 months before I could stir the sand and not get a huge silk cloud. I used caribsea Fiji pink live sand.

 

[wvfish1]

So, if I buy a vacuum with fines sock, it will still be silt in water.

So best option is to drain tank. Rinse sand. Start over with water fill.

Am I correct. Please help

 

[wvfish1]

So, if I buy a vacuum with fines sock, it will still be silt in water.

So best option is to drain tank. Rinse sand. Start over with water fill.

Am I correct. Please help

Is my best option to drain and start over

 

[5altkreep]

If you dont want cloudy water every time your sand bed is disturbed, than yes, that's probably your best option. Easier to deal with now before your reef gets rockin!