i need help! again!

seanpatrick · 04/09/2006, 10:55 AM

so i just got some live sand the other day from a guy who was breaking down his tank..i washed the sand as best as i could..however it seems that it wasnt enough...i put my liverock and baserock into the tank first, and then added the sand ..however it instantly clouded my tank...i turned on my filter and ran it with only some prefilter...then this morning i checked it..it had cleared up some, and what i think is detritus had settled in a very thing layer above the sand.... so vac'd up as much as i could with a 10% water change, however i couldnt get to most of it because of the large amount of live/base rock i have in the tank...so after the water change i washed out the prefilter, and added some carbon...and now comes my question...
what do i do next?
the water is still cloudy...should i wait a couple days for it all to settle?
or should i keep doing water changes...and if so, how often....or should i just let it all stay in the tank?
i have no idea really what to do, so any information u could offer me is very appreciated...thanks in advance,
-sean

Andrew · 04/09/2006, 10:56 AM

Give it a fews day to settle. Don't do water changes. It may take 3-4 days for it to fully settledown.

Sk8r · 04/09/2006, 11:26 AM

Any time you add sand to water, the water will be cloudy for days, just from the fine dustlike particulates. Eventually it should clear. Go ahead and run your pump, bring your temperature up---whether you do or don't do these things it will be cloudy for a while, but at least you'll have the water warm and running. I do hope you added salt water, not fresh. Don't salt your water after its on the sand and with the live rock. You do that before you put it in.

seanpatrick · 04/09/2006, 12:11 PM

yea i added mixed salt water to the tank...then i added the liverock/baserock...then i added the sand....so after a couple days....willi be able to move the rocks around and aquascape? or will the tank cloud up as soon as i move a rock?
thanks,
-sean

bertoni · 04/09/2006, 01:29 PM

After the sand has been washed, it's not particularly live any more, if that was important to use.

seanpatrick · 04/09/2006, 01:57 PM

yea i realize that some of it may have died off, but it will grow back right?
and the other thing is i have a whole other 5 gallon bucket full of live sand that i have not washed, however has sat over night(but with saltwater in it)...is this sand still alive? how long will it stay alive ? and should i add some of it to the tank without washing it? and when should i add it...because its just gonna make the water cloudy again

gofish · 04/09/2006, 02:04 PM

As someone stated already, sandstorms are normal when you add sand to a tank. You will probably need to wait a few days before aquascaping so you can see what you are doing. The sand will be stirred up again, so you may need to do bits at a time. If you are adding the rest of the sand, you may as well do it now so the sand can settle and your tank can cycle.

bertoni · 04/09/2006, 04:34 PM

I'd just add the sand in the bucket without washing, and deal with the cloudiness. The sand that has been washed might recover somewhat.

04/09/2006, 10:55 AM	#1
seanpatrick Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 17	i need help! again! so i just got some live sand the other day from a guy who was breaking down his tank..i washed the sand as best as i could..however it seems that it wasnt enough...i put my liverock and baserock into the tank first, and then added the sand ..however it instantly clouded my tank...i turned on my filter and ran it with only some prefilter...then this morning i checked it..it had cleared up some, and what i think is detritus had settled in a very thing layer above the sand.... so vac'd up as much as i could with a 10% water change, however i couldnt get to most of it because of the large amount of live/base rock i have in the tank...so after the water change i washed out the prefilter, and added some carbon...and now comes my question... what do i do next? the water is still cloudy...should i wait a couple days for it all to settle? or should i keep doing water changes...and if so, how often....or should i just let it all stay in the tank? i have no idea really what to do, so any information u could offer me is very appreciated...thanks in advance, -sean

04/09/2006, 11:26 AM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Any time you add sand to water, the water will be cloudy for days, just from the fine dustlike particulates. Eventually it should clear. Go ahead and run your pump, bring your temperature up---whether you do or don't do these things it will be cloudy for a while, but at least you'll have the water warm and running. I do hope you added salt water, not fresh. Don't salt your water after its on the sand and with the live rock. You do that before you put it in. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

04/09/2006, 01:29 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	After the sand has been washed, it's not particularly live any more, if that was important to use. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

04/09/2006, 04:34 PM	#8
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I'd just add the sand in the bucket without washing, and deal with the cloudiness. The sand that has been washed might recover somewhat. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

04/09/2006, 10:56 AM	#2
Andrew Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 13,640	Give it a fews day to settle. Don't do water changes. It may take 3-4 days for it to fully settledown.

04/09/2006, 12:11 PM	#4
seanpatrick Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 17	yea i added mixed salt water to the tank...then i added the liverock/baserock...then i added the sand....so after a couple days....willi be able to move the rocks around and aquascape? or will the tank cloud up as soon as i move a rock? thanks, -sean

04/09/2006, 01:57 PM	#6
seanpatrick Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 17	yea i realize that some of it may have died off, but it will grow back right? and the other thing is i have a whole other 5 gallon bucket full of live sand that i have not washed, however has sat over night(but with saltwater in it)...is this sand still alive? how long will it stay alive ? and should i add some of it to the tank without washing it? and when should i add it...because its just gonna make the water cloudy again

04/09/2006, 02:04 PM	#7
gofish Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: South of Boston Posts: 406	As someone stated already, sandstorms are normal when you add sand to a tank. You will probably need to wait a few days before aquascaping so you can see what you are doing. The sand will be stirred up again, so you may need to do bits at a time. If you are adding the rest of the sand, you may as well do it now so the sand can settle and your tank can cycle.