just added dead sand

[maxpain]

Ok I just took all the cc out and added the dead sand to the tank. Now the water is very brown and cloudy. The live sand from swf.com is comming tomorrow sometime. Now the water will settle with time right, and what should my steps be now? Like how long before I put the heaters back on and the power heads also? Then when I get my ls just put it evenly on top right?

 

[maxpain]

can anyone help me?

 

[petem]

I just set mine up yesterday. As soon as I put the LS on top of my dead sand, Then filled up with water, I started my filter, skimmer, heater, and PH. By this morning, the temp has climbed to 75 and it's cleared nicely. It still has some clearing to do.

 

[redwinger]

So the crushed coral method is out as a substrate ? The idea now is to use a dead sand/live sand combo ?
Just wondering because I am about to set up one of my 55s up as a mini reef so I want to be sure to start out right.

 

[drakken]

Run the heaters and powerheads now. You can run the filter to help clear the cloudiness. I hope you rinsed the sand before adding.

 

[petem]

Rinsed the sand? Oh, Oh. What size strainer do you use? I guess it's too late for me now. What can happen?

 

[cordell]

the tank just usually takes longer to clear up if you don't rinse the sand or stir it up alot when you add water. My aragonite sand says on the bag to not rinse, so I didn't.. had a cloud for a few days, but I was real careful when adding water. I don't think it will hurt anything other than that.
I don't think it's a good idea to put live sand in a dry tank, btw.. :thinking:

 

[copeseter]

Don't rinse the sand, it takes out all the really fine matter that helps the system settle in and get going properly.

 

[maxpain]

I just woke up today, the tank is still way cloudy, and the water is still brown, but I am turning on the heaters and ph's now and hopefully that helps, i will turn them off again when the ls gets here.

 

[cordell]

my tank didn't seem to clear at all with the powerheads on.. I turned them off and then I started to notice a difference, very slowly still.

 

[innsmouth]

I put 50 lbs of southdown in my tank Sunday and it's still pretty cloudy. From what I understand it takes a good while to clear. Possibly up to a couple of weeks.

 

[maxpain]

So it could tank a few weeks before I move my fish back into the tank?

 

[jeepboy]

If you cure the southdown sand before putting it in the tank it should only take one day to completly settle. Just takes about a week to cure. There is a good thread titled "Bang and Kip" that details how to cure sand.

 

[drakken]

What kind of sand do you have? If it is playsand or dry aragonite then you should rinse it. Only the live sands should not be rinsed.
If you haven't added anything to the tank then you can siphon out the water and sand and start over.

 

[clint_reno]

I put water in my new tank first, to make sure it was tight. I added the Instant Ocean. I ran the filter and heater until the salt had completely dissolved and the temp was around 70 degrees.
The Southdown was added in batches, each pre-rinsed in a bucket. This consisted of running warm water into the sand, while stirring it up with my hand. This would turn the water cloudy, and I would pour off the excess and repeat. This would also weigh the sand, so it would sink quickly in the tank. I rinsed until the runoff was partially clear, not totally clear.
It was tough to tell how level it was landing in the bottom of the tank, but I had a good idea how much was in there. I did not rinse the 10lb LS bag, which went on top, after I had around 2.5 inches of Southdown in the bottom. My tank was cloudy, but not a heavy thick mixture.
I ran my Marineland Bio-wheel and heater for 2-3 days. The tank cleared and it now looks sweet.
Drakken is, IMO, correct. It is a pain to drain the tank, but if you do, and do a partial sand rinse, you will, IMO, put yourself back on track. Best luck, maxpain.

 

[the gman]

Here is a nice trick when adding the LS. Really wipe down the whole bag to get the dust and finger oil off. Place the whole bag into the tank and cut it open while it is on the bottom. Spread it around from there. Not that much gets stirred up at all that way.
Glenn