New tank Cloudy water

[KentuckyKenny]

So full disclosure I am a newbie. This is my first reef setup. After months of research I took the plunge and got a 40 Gal breeder tank. I am in the process of setting up the tank and I have a problem with cloudy water. I have a HOB filter with a skimmer that may or may not be working. During the setup my sand got stirred up and I had quite a cloudy tank. Now there has been some settling but the water is still quite cloudy. Am I being impatient? It has been a week and a half now. Or did I make some sort of newbie mistake? But most of all what should I do?

 

[TuxUrchin07]

Maybe you should try running carbon. Helps keep to tank clean and clear

 

[SchrutesReefs]

How long has the tank been running? The skimmer isnt necessary since there is no bioload to skim, but running it for break-in purposes is good.

 

[Flux Capacitor]

If it’s the sand that is making it cloudy carbon isn’t gonna help much. What size filter are you using? You could get some filter floss and put it in the filter. That will remove the particles of sand, replacing it a few times should help.

 

[KentuckyKenny]

tank running about 10 days now. I assume I just add the floss into the HOB filter?

 

[NickSc]

Do you have any rock in the tank. Typically with new setups, if the sand is not washed you will get cloudy water, but the rocks help clear it.

 

[Flux Capacitor]

tank running about 10 days now. I assume I just add the floss into the HOB filter?

Yup, just add the floss to the filter.