CaribSea Sand now crazy Cloudy

brittonv · 04/28/2015, 06:45 AM

Ok,

Added some CaribSea sand to my tank like a moron. I say like a moron as:
1. This is a brand new tank
2. I let it fill with water first
3. I just dumped it from the top
4. I trusted the "No Rinse Needed" label...
5. I didn't read the instructions as "How hard could adding sand be"
6. I purchased the finest grade sand apparently, Oolite

So now I have some questions.
1. What exactly is suspended in the water? Is it sand particulate or some kind of byproduct.
2. If I tried to filter it out would I be removing something beneficial to the tank.
3. Is it going to go cloudy like this for days every time i move something or do a water change?
4. Should I just remove this fine sand and start over?
5. If I do a 100% water change will I be removing something beneficial?
6. Is there a shelf life, I purchased this like 4/5 Months ago.

fishgate · 04/28/2015, 07:12 AM

It will take a full week to settle out and be clear. You can filter it - it is just dust. I used an HOB filter and a couple of canisters. It won't help much though, it will still take a week to settle. But it will eventually settle. Been there, done that!

tkeracer619 · 04/28/2015, 08:04 AM

happens to everyone at some point.

In the future you can keep this from happening by pouring the sand down a large pvc pipe and spread it around the bottom. Don't remove the pipe once you are done and keep the pipe against the bottom in the sand so it doesn't let the silt out.

I've done this over the course of an hour and then pulled the pipe out... whoops.

Personally I would keep your skimmer and main circulation pumps off. A small powerhead would still be a good idea but the sandstorm is very abrasive. I don't like running pumps in it. It doesn't really go bad.

hotelbravo · 04/28/2015, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishgate

It will take a full week to settle out and be clear. You can filter it - it is just dust. I used an HOB filter and a couple of canisters. It won't help much though, it will still take a week to settle. But it will eventually settle. Been there, done that!

I added 80lbs to my tank and it clouded up so bad. It only took a day to clear up. I then added another 20 lbs after the system had been running for a while with all the fish, inverts, ect in it and it again clouded up but took about 6 hours to clear up. Same sand as the OP.
The full week thing I disagree with

brittonv · 04/28/2015, 09:45 AM

Thanks all, well it' been 12 hours with pumps running and it really looks no better than it did last night.

If I turn my pumps off, how long do I have till I need to start worrying about all the bacteria I have been trying to culture in the rock?

tkeracer619 · 04/28/2015, 09:53 AM

If you leave just one pump going it's enough.

fishgate · 04/28/2015, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brittonv

Thanks all, well it' been 12 hours with pumps running and it really looks no better than it did last night.

If I turn my pumps off, how long do I have till I need to start worrying about all the bacteria I have been trying to culture in the rock?

Yeah like I said. 1 week.

ryeguyy84 · 04/28/2015, 11:01 AM

I bought tropic eden reef sand from premium aquatics. practically no dust. it was awesome!

amandaxl3 · 04/28/2015, 11:27 AM

I recently added two 40 pound bags of CaribSea live sand to my tank and it took quite a while to clear up (over a week), but I also didn't have my filter or anything going. The worst part for me was getting all of the foam out that had settled on the surface of the water. 2 months later and I am still cleaning that gunk off of the edges.

billdogg · 04/28/2015, 12:01 PM

If you have (or can borrow) a canister filter, stuff it full of pillow stuffing (exactly the same as filter floss at about 1/100th the cost). Run it for about a day and then change the floss. Keep at it and it will eventually clear up. As it begins to clear, stir the sand some to kick up more silt to avoid dust storms down the road. If it were me, I'd leave all the pump on to keep stirring things up as well. It's way easier to do it now while there's nothing in the tank that cares!

Next time, rinse the sand in a 5g bucket a little at a time until the water runs clear - THEN put it in the tank!

brittonv · 04/28/2015, 12:26 PM

so what is suspended in the water is undesirable? It's not like beneficial bacteria calcium or something?

tkeracer619 · 04/28/2015, 12:37 PM

Its very small sand dust. It's beneficial to an extent but you cannot wash it all away so I don't see any issues pulling it out of the column. Usually it isn't a problem but I have seen my fair share of equipment impellers and shafts screwed beyond repair from build up of suspended sand. I see no reason to risk all of the pumps when you barely even need one.

We have machines that use similar methods for smoothing out internal passages during manufacturing. Abrasive suspended in a fluid is very effective.

brittonv · 04/28/2015, 03:13 PM

Thinking I may do a water change, that would have to export a lot of this, no?

serbusfish · 04/28/2015, 03:43 PM

Run filter floss and keep changing it out when it gets clogged. I have the Caribsea Fiji Pink live sand and my tank totally clouded up. I ran poly filter media and it took it out eventually, there will still be some in the sand bed that has settled so its a good idea to run something through it every now and again so the floss catches it.

brittonv · 04/28/2015, 04:04 PM

Noob so what is filter floss and how does one run it?

brittonv · 04/29/2015, 09:21 PM

bump

fishgate · 04/30/2015, 04:49 AM

"Filter Floss" is what you used to buy for filtering the tank. It was a big bag of fluffy cotton like material that went into your HOB filter. You can still probably buy it today but when someone says "run floss", they mean just run the mechanical portion of the filter media like actual fluffy floss or the sponges that go into your canister. Not the carbon or biological media or anything else. It will help to clear the water.

ReefsandGeeks · 04/30/2015, 07:44 AM

for filter floss, I go to the knitting/fabric section of walmart and buy the cylinder bags of "quilt stuffing". It's just polyester fill, same stuff as pillow stuffing or filter floss, but is rolled out in a thin sheet that can easily be cut with scisors. 1 queen size roll lasts me about a year

JMorris271 · 04/30/2015, 08:42 AM

This floss is put in a HOB filter or a remote canister filter? I don't know what a canister filter is except the one that sits outside for a pond

Sk8r · 04/30/2015, 08:56 AM

SMall plastic bucket and a rock. Put small pump in bucket, put plastic grid (ceiling lighting grid works great, all reefers need a sheet) atop, put floss atop grid, weight with rock. THis is a basic pot filter, which will be a useful skill to have in many situations.

I would add, if this tank is to have a high flow rate such as reefs need, I'd get rid of the oolite sand and go for much coarser aragonite. I installed oolite in a reef---it never settled, blew this way and that and killed several hundred dollars worth of corals before I (over a 2 year period) slowly removed it and installed medium grade aragonite.

brittonv · 04/30/2015, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

SMall plastic bucket and a rock. Put small pump in bucket, put plastic grid (ceiling lighting grid works great, all reefers need a sheet) atop, put floss atop grid, weight with rock. THis is a basic pot filter, which will be a useful skill to have in many situations.

I would add, if this tank is to have a high flow rate such as reefs need, I'd get rid of the oolite sand and go for much coarser aragonite. I installed oolite in a reef---it never settled, blew this way and that and killed several hundred dollars worth of corals before I (over a 2 year period) slowly removed it and installed medium grade aragonite.

Ugh, This is the experience I was fearing. Thanks for sharing, looks like I am going to be removing a bunch of sand from my tank...

tkeracer619 · 04/30/2015, 12:50 PM

If I may be completely honest.

You dumped sand in your tank and now you need to wait. Do the crime do the time.

There is nothing wrong, you just need to wait. If you cannot wait through this you are in for some real trouble with this hobby. It's been 3 days.

Get something to drink, reduce the flow in the tank, and wait. In terms of newbie mistakes this happens all the time, it is no big deal.

brittonv · 04/30/2015, 03:29 PM

You seem to be question my patience, I've been at this since November and I just put water in my tank... LOL!

What triggered my response was the statement that with high water flow It would be a problem... I have a Sicce 5.0 and 2 MP10, I think I may have high water flow.

That being said I am not doing anything yet. Going to wait for things to settle then make a decision once all my pumps are on. The way things are going that looks like it should be all settled by tomorrow.

It was just was a comment that that shared experience seemed to indicate that I will be changing out my sand.

tkeracer619 · 04/30/2015, 04:13 PM

I know you're taking your time but i was worried your patience was wearing thin. Just trying to slow things down since i saw posts about doing drastic things.

bruindave · 04/30/2015, 06:09 PM

so just to make sure, you should rinse the "live" sand even though it comes in water and tells you that you don't need to rinse it? i asked this question in another thread and was told not to wash it. i'm about to put in the sand into my tank in maybe a few days.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2490311

04/28/2015, 06:45 AM	#1
brittonv Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 227	CaribSea Sand now crazy Cloudy Ok, Added some CaribSea sand to my tank like a moron. I say like a moron as: 1. This is a brand new tank 2. I let it fill with water first 3. I just dumped it from the top 4. I trusted the "No Rinse Needed" label... 5. I didn't read the instructions as "How hard could adding sand be" 6. I purchased the finest grade sand apparently, Oolite So now I have some questions. 1. What exactly is suspended in the water? Is it sand particulate or some kind of byproduct. 2. If I tried to filter it out would I be removing something beneficial to the tank. 3. Is it going to go cloudy like this for days every time i move something or do a water change? 4. Should I just remove this fine sand and start over? 5. If I do a 100% water change will I be removing something beneficial? 6. Is there a shelf life, I purchased this like 4/5 Months ago. Last edited by brittonv; 04/28/2015 at 06:52 AM.

04/28/2015, 07:12 AM	#2
fishgate Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Damascus, MD Posts: 3,340	It will take a full week to settle out and be clear. You can filter it - it is just dust. I used an HOB filter and a couple of canisters. It won't help much though, it will still take a week to settle. But it will eventually settle. Been there, done that! __________________ 125RR in-wall, 40B Sump, CS180 BM Skimmer, ATI 4x80 watt, eheim 1262, custom wrap around rock wall, ReefKeeper Elite 120g in-wall, 40B Sump, PC 54wx4, Jabao DC-6000 (full siphon), future seahorse t Current Tank Info: 125g, 120g, 2x40b sumps, ATI 4x80 T5HO

04/28/2015, 08:04 AM	#3
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	happens to everyone at some point. In the future you can keep this from happening by pouring the sand down a large pvc pipe and spread it around the bottom. Don't remove the pipe once you are done and keep the pipe against the bottom in the sand so it doesn't let the silt out. I've done this over the course of an hour and then pulled the pipe out... whoops. Personally I would keep your skimmer and main circulation pumps off. A small powerhead would still be a good idea but the sandstorm is very abrasive. I don't like running pumps in it. It doesn't really go bad. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

04/28/2015, 09:53 AM	#6
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	If you leave just one pump going it's enough. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

04/28/2015, 12:01 PM	#10
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	If you have (or can borrow) a canister filter, stuff it full of pillow stuffing (exactly the same as filter floss at about 1/100th the cost). Run it for about a day and then change the floss. Keep at it and it will eventually clear up. As it begins to clear, stir the sand some to kick up more silt to avoid dust storms down the road. If it were me, I'd leave all the pump on to keep stirring things up as well. It's way easier to do it now while there's nothing in the tank that cares! Next time, rinse the sand in a 5g bucket a little at a time until the water runs clear - THEN put it in the tank! __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

04/28/2015, 09:45 AM	#5
brittonv Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 227	Thanks all, well it' been 12 hours with pumps running and it really looks no better than it did last night. If I turn my pumps off, how long do I have till I need to start worrying about all the bacteria I have been trying to culture in the rock?

04/28/2015, 11:01 AM	#8
ryeguyy84 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,753	I bought tropic eden reef sand from premium aquatics. practically no dust. it was awesome!

04/28/2015, 11:27 AM	#9
amandaxl3 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Ohio. Posts: 8	I recently added two 40 pound bags of CaribSea live sand to my tank and it took quite a while to clear up (over a week), but I also didn't have my filter or anything going. The worst part for me was getting all of the foam out that had settled on the surface of the water. 2 months later and I am still cleaning that gunk off of the edges.

04/28/2015, 12:26 PM	#11
brittonv Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 227	so what is suspended in the water is undesirable? It's not like beneficial bacteria calcium or something?

04/28/2015, 12:37 PM	#12
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	Its very small sand dust. It's beneficial to an extent but you cannot wash it all away so I don't see any issues pulling it out of the column. Usually it isn't a problem but I have seen my fair share of equipment impellers and shafts screwed beyond repair from build up of suspended sand. I see no reason to risk all of the pumps when you barely even need one. We have machines that use similar methods for smoothing out internal passages during manufacturing. Abrasive suspended in a fluid is very effective. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

04/28/2015, 03:13 PM	#13
brittonv Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 227	Thinking I may do a water change, that would have to export a lot of this, no?

04/28/2015, 03:43 PM	#14
serbusfish Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 710	Run filter floss and keep changing it out when it gets clogged. I have the Caribsea Fiji Pink live sand and my tank totally clouded up. I ran poly filter media and it took it out eventually, there will still be some in the sand bed that has settled so its a good idea to run something through it every now and again so the floss catches it. __________________ 75 Gallon mixed Reef / Ocellaris Clownfish, Firefish, Royal Gramma, Bangaii Cardinal, Yellow Tang, Coral Beauty, Allen's Damselfish. Progress thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p

04/28/2015, 04:04 PM	#15
brittonv Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 227	Noob so what is filter floss and how does one run it?

04/29/2015, 09:21 PM	#16
brittonv Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 227	bump

04/30/2015, 04:49 AM	#17
fishgate Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Damascus, MD Posts: 3,340	"Filter Floss" is what you used to buy for filtering the tank. It was a big bag of fluffy cotton like material that went into your HOB filter. You can still probably buy it today but when someone says "run floss", they mean just run the mechanical portion of the filter media like actual fluffy floss or the sponges that go into your canister. Not the carbon or biological media or anything else. It will help to clear the water. __________________ 125RR in-wall, 40B Sump, CS180 BM Skimmer, ATI 4x80 watt, eheim 1262, custom wrap around rock wall, ReefKeeper Elite 120g in-wall, 40B Sump, PC 54wx4, Jabao DC-6000 (full siphon), future seahorse t Current Tank Info: 125g, 120g, 2x40b sumps, ATI 4x80 T5HO

04/30/2015, 07:44 AM	#18
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	for filter floss, I go to the knitting/fabric section of walmart and buy the cylinder bags of "quilt stuffing". It's just polyester fill, same stuff as pillow stuffing or filter floss, but is rolled out in a thin sheet that can easily be cut with scisors. 1 queen size roll lasts me about a year

04/30/2015, 08:42 AM	#19
JMorris271 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Foothills of SC Posts: 2,010	This floss is put in a HOB filter or a remote canister filter? I don't know what a canister filter is except the one that sits outside for a pond __________________ 120 gal mixed tank. Lightly stocked now but....

04/30/2015, 08:56 AM	#20
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	SMall plastic bucket and a rock. Put small pump in bucket, put plastic grid (ceiling lighting grid works great, all reefers need a sheet) atop, put floss atop grid, weight with rock. THis is a basic pot filter, which will be a useful skill to have in many situations. I would add, if this tank is to have a high flow rate such as reefs need, I'd get rid of the oolite sand and go for much coarser aragonite. I installed oolite in a reef---it never settled, blew this way and that and killed several hundred dollars worth of corals before I (over a 2 year period) slowly removed it and installed medium grade aragonite. __________________ 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%.

04/30/2015, 12:50 PM	#22
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	If I may be completely honest. You dumped sand in your tank and now you need to wait. Do the crime do the time. There is nothing wrong, you just need to wait. If you cannot wait through this you are in for some real trouble with this hobby. It's been 3 days. Get something to drink, reduce the flow in the tank, and wait. In terms of newbie mistakes this happens all the time, it is no big deal. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

04/30/2015, 03:29 PM	#23
brittonv Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 227	You seem to be question my patience, I've been at this since November and I just put water in my tank... LOL! What triggered my response was the statement that with high water flow It would be a problem... I have a Sicce 5.0 and 2 MP10, I think I may have high water flow. That being said I am not doing anything yet. Going to wait for things to settle then make a decision once all my pumps are on. The way things are going that looks like it should be all settled by tomorrow. It was just was a comment that that shared experience seemed to indicate that I will be changing out my sand.

04/30/2015, 04:13 PM	#24
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	I know you're taking your time but i was worried your patience was wearing thin. Just trying to slow things down since i saw posts about doing drastic things. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

04/30/2015, 06:09 PM	#25
bruindave Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 242	so just to make sure, you should rinse the "live" sand even though it comes in water and tells you that you don't need to rinse it? i asked this question in another thread and was told not to wash it. i'm about to put in the sand into my tank in maybe a few days. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2490311