How long for sand to clear?

89Foxbody · 04/29/2012, 11:32 AM

Hi all, I just added about 20lbs of sand to my 29g biocube last night and it's still extremely cloudy. I used Caribsea Aragonite, fiji pink. Also, all the equipment in the tank is covered in dust/slime. My skimmer is pulling some of it out but it seems like it should have cleared after 24 hours no? I have the return pump running but not my HK nanos.

Stolireef · 04/29/2012, 11:56 AM

Do you have a filter sock on the return? It can take a couple of days for the water to clear. Also, the dust that has landed on the rocks and everything else will get stirred up again when you move anything. That's the big drawback to fine sand. Run a good filter sock (and change every day or so) and stir things up a few times before you are ready to declare success on 'clear' water.

89Foxbody · 04/29/2012, 12:00 PM

I have some felt in the filter area of the overflow. I guess I could put something over the return nozzle as well to help clear it faster. It's so cloudy that I can't even see if I need to add more sand lol. So I may have to go trough this again. I didn't even use overly fine sand. Kinda annoying. Next time I will prepare enough water to cover the sand and do the sand first.

MarkGP · 04/29/2012, 05:45 PM

It helps a little if you rinse the sand first. A filter sock on your drain into the sump will clear it up over a few days. Change out the socks daily.

04/29/2012, 11:32 AM	#1
89Foxbody Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Norwich, CT Posts: 1,532	How long for sand to clear? Hi all, I just added about 20lbs of sand to my 29g biocube last night and it's still extremely cloudy. I used Caribsea Aragonite, fiji pink. Also, all the equipment in the tank is covered in dust/slime. My skimmer is pulling some of it out but it seems like it should have cleared after 24 hours no? I have the return pump running but not my HK nanos. __________________ Red Sea Max 130D Mixed Reef: ReefKeeper2, Rapid-LED retrofit, MiniMaxx Reactor, Tunze 9001 Skimmer, 2x Jebao RW-4, 2x Maxi-Jet 600 returns, 2x Koralia Nano 425

04/29/2012, 11:56 AM	#2
Stolireef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scottsdale AZ Posts: 3,180 Blog Entries: 5	Do you have a filter sock on the return? It can take a couple of days for the water to clear. Also, the dust that has landed on the rocks and everything else will get stirred up again when you move anything. That's the big drawback to fine sand. Run a good filter sock (and change every day or so) and stir things up a few times before you are ready to declare success on 'clear' water. __________________ I want to burn twice as bright and half as long. Oh, and a full tank crash is just an excuse for a new build. Current Tank Info: 125 Rimless Leemar, Apex, Trigger 30 Elite Sump, Vertex 180i Skimmer, 2 X Gen4 Radion XR30W, BM Doser, 2xMP40WES, 2xTunze 6095, Sicce Syncra 4.0.

04/29/2012, 12:00 PM	#3
89Foxbody Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Norwich, CT Posts: 1,532	I have some felt in the filter area of the overflow. I guess I could put something over the return nozzle as well to help clear it faster. It's so cloudy that I can't even see if I need to add more sand lol. So I may have to go trough this again. I didn't even use overly fine sand. Kinda annoying. Next time I will prepare enough water to cover the sand and do the sand first. __________________ Red Sea Max 130D Mixed Reef: ReefKeeper2, Rapid-LED retrofit, MiniMaxx Reactor, Tunze 9001 Skimmer, 2x Jebao RW-4, 2x Maxi-Jet 600 returns, 2x Koralia Nano 425

04/29/2012, 05:45 PM	#4
MarkGP Why do I do this? Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bristol, RI Posts: 1,015	It helps a little if you rinse the sand first. A filter sock on your drain into the sump will clear it up over a few days. Change out the socks daily.