New Sand ?

SHAWNLX86 · 04/06/2007, 08:01 AM

I put 4 30lb bags of argonite sand in my new tank. I was in a bit of a rush yesterday and only washed 2 bags of sand, so my tank looks like a big glass of milk. I know this is somewhat normal. Is there anything I can do to speed up the clearing process. should I shut off my powerheads or leave them on? Will my skimmer help get rid of some of the dust? It's been about 18hrs and the tank does not look much different than yesterday. How long will it take for the dust to settle (no pun intended)

rustybucket145 · 04/06/2007, 08:06 AM

Leave the powerheads on. A hob filter will help clear it a little faster, so will carbon or a cannister filter. If you don't have either, it will be ok, it will just take longer. You could be looking at a couple of weeks before your water gets real clear.

drummereef · 04/06/2007, 11:01 AM

Time is the best healer for sandstorms. No need to worry, it will pass soon enough. Just leave the powerheads and skimmer on.

Dholmblad · 04/06/2007, 11:10 AM

my aragamax cleared up in half a day.

papagimp · 04/06/2007, 11:23 AM

I just did the same thing not too long back with some pulverized limestone for a 42g hex. Got nice and milky looking. Took about a week to clear up completely, and that was with me cleaning and rinsing the sponge filter in the HOB a couple times a day to get rid of that fine dust in the water.

SHAWNLX86 · 04/06/2007, 04:22 PM

I can just barely make out the rocks in the front @ 24hrs later, so I guess I'll just wait it out. The thing that stinks is my tank was filled about 1/2 way with h20 up the rocks when I dumped in the sand and it was hard to tell what it would look like once the tank was completely filled with water and now I cant see anythink and I'm dying to see if it looks good or not. Let the waiting begin!!

04/06/2007, 08:01 AM	#1
SHAWNLX86 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: MA Posts: 74	New Sand ? I put 4 30lb bags of argonite sand in my new tank. I was in a bit of a rush yesterday and only washed 2 bags of sand, so my tank looks like a big glass of milk. I know this is somewhat normal. Is there anything I can do to speed up the clearing process. should I shut off my powerheads or leave them on? Will my skimmer help get rid of some of the dust? It's been about 18hrs and the tank does not look much different than yesterday. How long will it take for the dust to settle (no pun intended)

04/06/2007, 08:06 AM	#2
rustybucket145 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: valdosta, ga Posts: 3,707	Leave the powerheads on. A hob filter will help clear it a little faster, so will carbon or a cannister filter. If you don't have either, it will be ok, it will just take longer. You could be looking at a couple of weeks before your water gets real clear. __________________ 400gals of various tanks in the same system. Current Tank Info: 2 175w MH, 2 VH0 Actinics, Lots of Live Rock, tons of copepods, a Fat Mandarin Goby, Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Bi-Color Pseudo, numerous soft, SPS and LPS Corals

04/06/2007, 11:01 AM	#3
drummereef Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: STL Posts: 14,754	Time is the best healer for sandstorms. No need to worry, it will pass soon enough. Just leave the powerheads and skimmer on. __________________ -Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system

04/06/2007, 11:23 AM	#5
papagimp COMAS Rocks! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 8,185 Blog Entries: 2	I just did the same thing not too long back with some pulverized limestone for a 42g hex. Got nice and milky looking. Took about a week to clear up completely, and that was with me cleaning and rinsing the sponge filter in the HOB a couple times a day to get rid of that fine dust in the water. __________________ 58g Softie & 75g Stoney Member, Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society Current Tank Info: 58g Mixed Reef Project - Started June 2011

04/06/2007, 11:10 AM	#4
Dholmblad Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Northern va Posts: 563	my aragamax cleared up in half a day.

04/06/2007, 04:22 PM	#6
SHAWNLX86 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: MA Posts: 74	I can just barely make out the rocks in the front @ 24hrs later, so I guess I'll just wait it out. The thing that stinks is my tank was filled about 1/2 way with h20 up the rocks when I dumped in the sand and it was hard to tell what it would look like once the tank was completely filled with water and now I cant see anythink and I'm dying to see if it looks good or not. Let the waiting begin!!