OK I feel like a tard now...

[dedwards]

Ok some of you may know that I am new to this hobby and I just set up my tank. I had a 20 gallon tank with 20# of LS and 6# of LR so far...no livestock yet. I only had about an inch of sand and thought that I would go out and get some cheap play sand at Home Depot. Well I ended up at Ace Hardware (pretty much the same) and got some play sand. Well apparently it's not the same as the Tropical Play Sand that eveyone has been recommending. Anyway I moved my LS to the side and was planning on covering the playsand once I dumped it in. Well long story short the play sand has completely clouded my tank. I'm not talking about just a little cloudy I mean it looks like river water. Luckily I had removed my LR and put it in a QT before I decided to do this. So far 1 hour later it looks exactly the same as when I dumped it. Does anyone have any recommendations on what to do next? Should I empty my tank and start over or see how many days it will take to settle?
Sorry I feel like a tard after this lesson.

 

[malounsbury]

Usually when you pour sand into the tank like that, it will cloud up. A way to get around that is to wet the sand first before putting it in. It will take awhile for the cloud to go away, but it will eventually go back to clear water. Did you have any livestock in the tank? Also, you moved the LS to the side? Did any of the play sand get on top of it?

 

[dedwards]

Does it normally foam on top of the tank? It created a layer of foam as well. When I dumped the LS in the tank it did cloud but no where near like this did. Which got me questioning if this sand will even work. Yes I believe some of the play sand did cover the LS a bit. Not sure what my damage is fully since I can't see more than what is pressed against the glass. Oh and BTW there were no livestock in the tank...otherwise I wouldn't have even attempted it.

 

[j trigger]

Yes it will create foam at the top...
I had the exact same problem, everyone told me just to wait and let the sand settle, but I was too impatient. I drained all the water and refilled.. being more carefull. Place some plastic over your sand at the bottom and put a bowl on top... pour all the water into the bowl so it does not disturb the sand. Worked for me...

 

[dedwards]

Thanks Trigger. I did a search on the forums but couldn't find a quick answer. I will wait it out. I put the sand in after I had the water in so pouring the water in a bowl wouldn't have mattered too much. But good idea, I used to do that in my FW tanks so it didn't disturb the gravel and plants when putting more water in. Hopefully this doesn't take too long to settle. I would like to put my LR back in the tank and get it to cycle.

 

[sw65galma]

Originally posted by DEdwards
Thanks Trigger. I did a search on the forums but couldn't find a quick answer. I will wait it out. I put the sand in after I had the water in so pouring the water in a bowl wouldn't have mattered too much. But good idea, I used to do that in my FW tanks so it didn't disturb the gravel and plants when putting more water in. Hopefully this doesn't take too long to settle. I would like to put my LR back in the tank and get it to cycle.
Bacteria will form on the sand particles floating (causing cloudyness) that will weigh them down enough.
Long story short...turn of any power heads...and the sand will settle in a few days to a week! Takes awhile!

 

[dedwards]

Any good way to keep the sand from creating another storm when i turn my powerheads back on? I purchased the smallest particle size that they had thinking that it would be better. I moved just a little bit of LS last night and it was like a storm went off. I could see the cloud move through the tank and stirred it all back up again...lol

 

[beth]

Not all sands are the same and frequently sands at hardware stores is not the right stuff. The Southdown or Yardright sands are sands taken from areas that area basically the same as sands at the reef.
You need to find out what kind of sand that is. If it is full of silica you will have nothing but trouble. See what the package says about what the sand is, and, if necessary contact the manufacture.

 

[dedwards]

The package doesn't say anything other than Play Sand and the cubic feet. It was a generic Ace Brand so I think my best bet is to syphon it out and start over. Atleast this is only a $50 mistake with substrate instead of killing off live stock...lol