Here's my silly dilemma....

[thankgod4fish]

I recently set up my 55 with a southdown sand bed and some LR. Between adjusting the sand a bit and arranging the rock to my liking, the tank clouded up completely. This was a few days ago, and I'm finally able to see almost all the way through the tank now and the rock doesn't even look live any more; it's completely covered in settled sand.
So how do I get it off without causing the same sand storm that covered it to begin with?
Should I just leave it as is?
Will it all eventually settle to the bed?
Will the algae underneath die without access to light?
How frustrating. 200 bucks on LR and it looks like base stuff.

 

[aarone]

Just use a turkey baster. The algae does not need a high light concentration to survive, in fact i have read that lower light levels help algae growth. Just blow off a little at a time to prevent the sandstorm.
aaron

 

[thankgod4fish]

I'll give it a shot!

 

[texag04]

I had the same problem with my new 26 g. My water was milky white with a sea foam green tint to it. It was caused when I added the salt water onto my sand-bed. I went to my LFS and they gave me Kent Pro Clear (SWF.com has it). I used it, and it was only a matter of hours when the water cleared. Barely any sand got onto any of my 50 lbs. worth of LR (I have a 26 g tank!).l

 

[aarone]

im sure the proclear has a harmless bacteria that it introdues into the tank to weigh down the sand particles. I started my 30 gallon without LR. Had a major sand storm. Added LR and it went away in about a day.
aaron

 

[texag04]

The bottle says deionized water and polyelectrolytes. And heck everytime you put your hand in a tank it introduces harmless bacteria.

 

[aarone]

yup, bacteria will weigh down the particles alot. Not sure what polyelectrolytes are. Dont take college chemistry yet.

 

[harlequinnut]

Does this mean that everytime I do something to the tank the cloudiness will come back? Will it ever go away completely?

 

[aarone]

define something...
It will never always stay away. Mine gets cloudy every now and then from the current in my tank, but it settles after a few moments.
aaron

 

[moonrs]

My tank never gets cloudy anymore, after the initial setup. While it's true the sand was disturbed, it did settle down quickly. Also, with a good filter/powerhead for water circulation, the water really shouldn't be cloudy that long. Your tank is not doomed to be cloudy every time you do something to it, especially if your careful to disturb the sand as little as possible. Even if your rearranging the LR, the cloudiness should be minimal. Good luck, Moonrs

 

[harlequinnut]

Thanks.