Sand creating too much cloudiness

[Jc0187]

Hi. I've just recently jumped back into salt water aquariums and I'm having difficulty with how cloudy the water has become. Yesterday I set my tank up. 75 gallon. I used 50lbs of live sand (didn't rinse) and 30lbs regular salt water aquarium sand (rinsed). It took about 12 hours for the sand to finally settle and have a clear tank. This morning I wanted to arrange my LR but not made it half way due to it clouding up completely again. Now I'll have to wait till tomorrow to finish probably.

I'm not sure if it is normal for it to cloud this much. 6/7 years ago when I was heavily into salt aquariums I never had this issue. Sure it would get cloudy but would also settle an hour or two later. I can't remember if I had used a mixture of crushed corral or if it was all sand, and, I never used live sand until now. This time around it's all sand. Should I throw in some crushed corral to help with it clouding so easily?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Did you add more flow since putting in the sand? Could be some dust kicked up with flow increasing or it could be a bacterial bloom that happened, but seems to have happened pretty quick. Not out of the question though.

Running a filter sock will help with the dust and should settle quickly, if that's what it is. If it's bacterial bloom, you'll have to wait it out and it should clear soon as well.

 

[Jc0187]

Did you add more flow since putting in the sand? Could be some dust kicked up with flow increasing or it could be a bacterial bloom that happened, but seems to have happened pretty quick. Not out of the question though.

Running a filter sock will help with the dust and should settle quickly, if that's what it is. If it's bacterial bloom, you'll have to wait it out and it should clear soon as well.

I'm waiting for my power strip to arrive later today so I can add all of my powerheads in. Right now I have just one 800 gph powerhead and a 75 gallon HOB filter running. The cloudiness cleared up over night but once I started getting the LR moved around a bit, it just kicked right back up. Should I have rinsed the live sand? Some say to rinse it while others say I shouldn't. In any case, if I add crushed corral, will that help with the sand being kicked up?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Just me, I'd just vacuum the sand bed to remove the dust and replace the water.

Long time ago when I used "live" sand it was just a pain to deal with because of the dust issues. I've since only used dry sand and just rinsed it till clear and in it goes.

I wouldn't add course grain sand because it's a nutrient trap and especially if you plan on keeping sand sleeping wrasses.

 

[Jc0187]

Just me, I'd just vacuum the sand bed to remove the dust and replace the water.

Long time ago when I used "live" sand it was just a pain to deal with because of the dust issues. I've since only used dry sand and just rinsed it till clear and in it goes.

I wouldn't add course grain sand because it's a nutrient trap and especially if you plan on keeping sand sleeping wrasses.

I thought about vacuuming the bed but I'm worried it will suck all of the sand out no?

 

[Flippers4pups]

I thought about vacuuming the bed but I'm worried it will suck all of the sand out no?

If you haven't done this before, there is plenty of videos on YouTube on how to do it. No, if done right you will not lose any sand.

 

[Jc0187]

If you haven't done this before, there is plenty of videos on YouTube on how to do it. No, if done right you will not lose any sand.

Awesome! I'll look em up. Hey, I really do appreciate the help!

 

[madweazl]

It will clear up over time. I get a little more each time I vacuum the sand (not to tough just reduce suction by pinching the hose). The diamond goby kicked up a ton initially but now it's basically nothing.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Awesome! I'll look em up. Hey, I really do appreciate the help!

Your welcome.

Happy reefing!

 

[Jc0187]

It will clear up over time. I get a little more each time I vacuum the sand (not to tough just reduce suction by pinching the hose). The diamond goby kicked up a ton initially but now it's basically nothing.

Will it be at all effective to just stir up the sand a bit, wait an hour (for sand to settle) and then do the water change? I figure the vacuum will suck most of the stuff up without needing to actually touch the sand bed.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Will it be at all effective to just stir up the sand a bit, wait an hour (for sand to settle) and then do the water change? I figure the vacuum will suck most of the stuff up without needing to actually touch the sand bed.

Stirring it up will just redistribute the dust all over everything, including the water! Vacuum the sand to remove the dust.

 

[madweazl]

Stirring it up will just redistribute the dust all over everything, including the water! Vacuum the sand to remove the dust.

If the tank has a sump, kicking up the junk will aid in moving it to the sump (potentially filter socks).

 

[Jc0187]

Stirring it up will just redistribute the dust all over everything, including the water! Vacuum the sand to remove the dust.

Ok. Should I wait for the first water change to do it (1-2 weeks) or just do it now?

 

[Jc0187]

If the tank has a sump, kicking up the junk will aid in moving it to the sump (potentially filter socks).

No, no sump. Just a HOB filter. I know I know, I couldn't afford a tank w/sump. Maybe in a couple years.

 

[madweazl]

No, no sump. Just a HOB filter. I know I know, I couldn't afford a tank w/sump. Maybe in a couple years.

It will still get sucked into the HOB. One of the reasons we have flow within the tank is to keep the detritus, food, etc. suspended in the water column so they can be exported to some form of filtration.

 

[Jc0187]

It will still get sucked into the HOB. One of the reasons we have flow within the tank is to keep the detritus, food, etc. suspended in the water column so they can be exported to some form of filtration.

Ok. so the cloudiness will eventually get scrubbed out of the tank via the filter?

 

[madweazl]

Ok. so the cloudiness will eventually get scrubbed out of the tank via the filter?

Most of it will settle but subsequently get removed via critters kicking it up, you siphoning it out, and water flow bringing it up.