Sand

[jb12288]

i replaced my gravel substrate with sand today around 3:00 PM, it is now 8:00 PM and all of the sand particles have still not settled. there is less than 6 inches visibilty. how long will it take for all of the sand to settle to the bottom?

 

[dthoffsett]

IME it takes about 24-48 hours for it to completely settle. If you add some filter wool to your filter it will clear up faster (you may need to change the wool a couple of times).

 

[jb12288]

IME it takes about 24-48 hours for it to completely settle. If you add some filter wool to your filter it will clear up faster (you may need to change the wool a couple of times).

so i can turn on my filters without clogging them up?

 

[dthoffsett]

Yup, you might want to rinse the filter material (in old tank water of course) in a couple of days as they will probably have some sand in them, but the filters should be just fine being turned on, especially since you waited 5 hours (well, 6.5 now).

 

[jb12288]

ahh, well thanks, i didn't want to ruin my $80 filters.lol

 

[invader]

Another thing I have noticed, is that it take a few water changes to get the water crystal clear. It may seem a bit foggy at the beginning (after the main sand is settled), but it will eventually go away.

 

[jb12288]

i figured that. nolw i can see to the back of the tank good. but it is still cloudy. i think by tomorrow it should be ok, and then i can start my water change saturday or sunday.

 

[invader]

i figured that. nolw i can see to the back of the tank good. but it is still cloudy. i think by tomorrow it should be ok, and then i can start my water change saturday or sunday.

It's funny when it is finally crystal clear. It's like a veil is lifted from the tank.
It took a long time in my 125gl, since the cichlids I had in their are sand sifters, so when the sand was relatively new, they would stir it up and make it cloudy again!

It's finally settled down though and looks awesome.

 

[Madam Macaw]

i replaced my gravel substrate with sand today around 3:00 PM, it is now 8:00 PM and all of the sand particles have still not settled. there is less than 6 inches visibilty. how long will it take for all of the sand to settle to the bottom?

I was just wondering if you rinsed your sand first? When I replaced a good bit of my gravel with more sand, it didn't get half as cloudy as I thought it would, but I rinsed it thoroughly first.