When do I turn filters on after adding sand?

[nah2o]

Remember that I did things a little "bass ackwards" by adding the water first (while searching for a good deal on sand). Well I finally got my sand and I have added the sand. I added it to the 38 gallon as well as the 75 gallon. I did turn off the skimmers, filters, and powerheads while I added the sand. The top of the water has a lot of foam on it now and in the 38 gallon it is starting to clear up. I am wondering how soon I can turn the powerheads and everything back on. I also added a few pieces of base rock (it was actually purchased as "live rock" for a previous setup and I have kept it in my various tanks for several years) to both the tanks. Again, when do I turn the filters and powerheads back on?

 

[thomas712]

IMO you can turn your filters on now, I ran mine when I setup my 90. I just had to keep switching filters every few days as it would load up with silt. You can wait if you want to on the powerheads untill it clears a little then turn them on as well. Some people also run carbon at this time, your choice.
Thomas

 

[jrein40806]

I have a 125 with 4 Maxi 1200 powerheads. I waited for 10 days and the water wasn't clearing. I watched closely and noticed that one of the powerheads was constantly stirring up the sand. I moved it and the sand settled in 3 days.
I also had the foam on top,I removed that with a fish net. I also changed my filter cartridges a few times. As the other poster wrote-try some carbon. In about a week your h2o should be really clear. Good luck!