Milk in my water?

[firnobulax]

Hello all, I got a dilema .... This is my second reef setup so
I thought I would try something new. I went with a DSB of
CaribSea Aragonite Sugar Sized Sand. This is a big problem.
I just figured that I would add the sand then add the water.
To my dismay I now have a tank of "milk" that has not settled
in over 48 hours... Does anyone have any suggestions for
clearing up the "Milk"
Thanks,
Firnobulax

[hr]
55 gal
5" DSB
Amiracle HOB Skimmer/wetdry
(More to come)

 

[ron-j]

I set my tank up in July and used the same sand. The milky suspension will settle out, but it took my tank about 5 days to become completely clear.

 

[reeftanknewbie]

Argonite is a pain to clen it took me about 20 hours to clean 80#s so it will settle just give it time. If you really want you can drain it clean the argonite more with just fresh water continually rinsing it til the water stays clear even after mixing it up swirl your hand in it to mix it if the water stays clear you are good to go. i did mine in 5 gallon buckets using one bucket to clean and the other to store the clean stuff. you would also have to use clean water to wash the inside of your tank and plumbing. there are other things you can do and there are more experianced people here to answer your questions. Just be patient. Good Luck

 

[bang guy]

The fine grains of Aragonite won't settle down until they have a bacterial coating on them. I'd suggest adding a bunch of uncured live rock.

 

[firnobulax]

Thanks for the responces!
I have a few ideas to try now and will probably
use a hybrid combo method:
1/3 waiting, 1/3 LR, 1/3 clean it out!
Reef tanks are not for the impatient.....
- firnobulax

 

[nickoz]

Ive also just added sand to my tank. I expected this behavior. I know have several raw shrimp in my tank with 70-100lb LR.
My question is should I turn my protein skimmer on while I have the 'milky' water or should I wait until it clears up. Right now I have just a powerhead to keep water movement.
Thanks,
-nick

 

[simm]

It should clear up in a few days. I run extra carbon in my filters and this will help as well. As I have heard as well to what Bang Guy said, there is no bacteria in the tank either. When there is a bacteria build up it should clear up.

 

[jferrier]

strong mechanical filtration and it'll clear up in a few days.