Will My Water Ever Clear?

[jen20147]

We filled up our 150 gallon tank last week to make sure the sump was all done correctly and there were no leaks. Everything was good so we bought our salt and bottom sand Sunday. Decided to just drop the sand in and wait for it to settle. It hasnt settled yet. Will buying one of those chemical clearers work on this or do we need to do a total water change?

 

[SkiFletch]

is there any liverock in the tank, or is it just water and sand? you might be experiencing a bacterial bloom. what are your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels?

 

[jen20147]

is there any liverock in the tank, or is it just water and sand? you might be experiencing a bacterial bloom. what are your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels?

No its literally just water, salt, and sand. Its not even live sand.

The sand just cant seem to settle to the bottom. My bf and I have had a recurring disagreement on whether the sump should be on or off. I think having it on is making it worse.

 

[Aquascaper]

to the chemicals!

Turn off powerheads and the sump so that there's just a little flow (leave one powerhead on or something) above the sand level and allow the sand to settle. What kind of sand have you used? Did you wash it at all before adding it?

If when it's settled there is a lot of very fine powder on the sand surface (not salt as this needs to be completely mixed in the water) then you can syphon that off with a length of pipe. Once you have rock in the tank finer particles of sand will be trapped in and behind the rock so eventually there won't be any sand storms with the powerheads on.

 

[jen20147]

Its a really fine sand, I forget the brand name on it. How long would you think it would take to clear if the sumps and all were turned off?

I dont think we washed it enough, no. Thats part of the problem I guess. Didnt figure it would be that bad since our last substrate in our 72 gallon clouded up but was clear by the next day.

 

[Aquascaper]

Is this aquarium sand or actual crushed coral/argonite?

If it's normal aquarium sand then it's pointless and you'd be better off removing it as it will have absolutley no pH buffering capabilities at all. Add to that if it is very fine then it may cause problems for any filter feeders you may introduce into the tank, it will compact easily and cause anaerobic conditions possibly leading to the production of cyanide (amongst other things) and will prevent detritivores from moving through it.

 

[Navarre]

If its sugarfine snad then it looks great but its a true nightmare to keep on the bottom! I made the mistake of having sugarfine aragonite and regretted every moment. Turn off the power to the powerheads and let the sand settle. You are not cycling the tank at the moment as you have no life in there or toxins to cycle. at the very least, place a small powerhead hig up in the tank so its far away from the sand base and run this on a very low flow. Your tank should clear within 2 or 3 days

 

[jen20147]

The sand itself was recommended by our LFS and they are a good fish store one of the best in the whole area. The guy who recommended it uses it in his home tank. We are just going ahead with a water change now and cleaning it up.

 

[Aquascaper]

I'm still interested in what type it is, was there nothing on the bag at all about it?

 

[Navarre]

as longf as it has aragoniteon the label then that is fine with me if i were to putit in my tank.. No Aragonite then no way will it reach the base of my system )

 

[jen20147]

this is the exact sand.

http/www.marinescene.com/detail2.asp?id=1282

It is aragonite.

 

[Aquascaper]

Right, that's fine as its aragonite sand. The only problem you'll have is the fine grain of it. You'll need to be careful of powerhead positioning and direction when the tanks running otherwise it will be in constant movement.

 

[jen20147]

Right, that's fine as its aragonite sand. The only problem you'll have is the fine grain of it. You'll need to be careful of powerhead positioning and direction when the tanks running otherwise it will be in constant movement.

We have our powerheads placed near the top so well keep an eye on it. Thanks!

 

[Navarre]

yep thats fine. But as aqua has said, its so fine that it will easily be moved by current. As a marine tank needs high flow this obviously causes problems. You will need to have a minimum of 10x tank volume per hour turnover for your system.
Dont have the sand any deeper than about 1 inch. perhaps 1.5 but no deepr. because its sugarfine this means it will harbour less life because there is less oxygen in it

 

[jen20147]

yep thats fine. But as aqua has said, its so fine that it will easily be moved by current. As a marine tank needs high flow this obviously causes problems. You will need to have a minimum of 10x tank volume per hour turnover for your system.
Dont have the sand any deeper than about 1 inch. perhaps 1.5 but no deepr. because its sugarfine this means it will harbour less life because there is less oxygen in it

Yep we are sticking to about 1 inch.