Why is my new water mix so cloudy?

bizzygenius

bizzygenius

New Member
I need help! Saturday, I bought 25 lb bag of ultra reef (substrate), 25 gallon box of Instant Ocean for my new set up in my 20 gallon tank.
I think I may have incorrectly mixed way too much salt into the water, so I took out about half and then added fresh water. I started the pump and the thermometer. The tempeture steadied at about 78 degrees. My hyrdometer reading was about 1 mark away from the normal reading it should. I was fine with that for now.
Then I went to add my substrate. I read the back of the back and it said that the type of substrate I got didn't need to be rinsed first, so I took it by the handfuls and put it in the tank. It made the water extremely cloudy. So I went ahead to bed, and checked this morning, it's still very cloudy, not as much but enough. I wanted to ad a 20 lb bag of live sand later this week also.
My questions are what am I doing or where did I go wrong, and what can I do now to fix this so I don't waste my money.
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by bizzygenius
http:///forum/post/2466399
I need help! Saturday, I bought 25 lb bag of ultra reef (substrate), 25 gallon box of Instant Ocean for my new set up in my 20 gallon tank.
I think I may have incorrectly mixed way too much salt into the water, so I took out about half and then added fresh water. I started the pump and the thermometer. The tempeture steadied at about 78 degrees. My hyrdometer reading was about 1 mark away from the normal reading it should. I was fine with that for now.
Then I went to add my substrate. I read the back of the back and it said that the type of substrate I got didn't need to be rinsed first, so I took it by the handfuls and put it in the tank. It made the water extremely cloudy. So I went ahead to bed, and checked this morning, it's still very cloudy, not as much but enough. I wanted to ad a 20 lb bag of live sand later this week also.
My questions are what am I doing or where did I go wrong, and what can I do now to fix this so I don't waste my money.

You still should of rinsed the sand off. But nothing is wrong, give it time it will clear up. Check your filter sponge frequently and rinse it. This will help rid your tank of the particulates gathered in it.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
When you add the additional sand, get a piece of PVC pipe that will reach to the bottom of the tank. Put a funnel on the top of it and pour the new sand slowly into the funnel. You will be able to move the end of the pipe to the location where you want the sand to end up. Go slowly and you will not get as much clouding.
On the firt batch was it sold as live sand in a bag with water in it? If so you were correct in not rinsing it.
Your tank will clear in a few days.
 
bizzygenius

bizzygenius

New Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2466409
When you add the additional sand, get a piece of PVC pipe that will reach to the bottom of the tank. Put a funnel on the top of it and pour the new sand slowly into the funnel. You will be able to move the end of the pipe to the location where you want the sand to end up. Go slowly and you will not get as much clouding.
On the firt batch was it sold as live sand in a bag with water in it? If so you were correct in not rinsing it.
Your tank will clear in a few days.

No it didn't say it was live sand, and it didn't have any water in it. I probably should have went ahead and rinsed it. Thank you so much for the advice about the piping though!
 
bizzygenius

bizzygenius

New Member
Originally Posted by PerfectDark
http:///forum/post/2466406
You still should of rinsed the sand off. But nothing is wrong, give it time it will clear up. Check your filter sponge frequently and rinse it. This will help rid your tank of the particulates gathered in it.

Your right. I will, thanks a mil for the advice!
 
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