Cloudy tank

[alessia55]

Newbie problem- I cleaned the sand 3 times before putting it in the tank. Now the tank has just water and sand...and it's very cloudy. I'll admit I just poured the sand in. It's been 2 hours and I thought the sand would've settled by now. Any way I can fix this? I won't be putting any fish in the tank until the end of the month anyway.

[Aaron_S]

Just leave it overnight. Takes a long time for it to settle.

Personally, I would have put the sand in first.

If it doesn't settle within a day or two just do 50 percent water changes every few days until it does. It won't harm anything since there's no fish.

[alessia55]

Just leave it overnight. Takes a long time for it to settle.

Personally, I would have put the sand in first.

If it doesn't settle within a day or two just do 50 percent water changes every few days until it does. It won't harm anything since there's no fish.
I'll see what it looks like tomorrow morning... Just need to leave it and forget about it for now

[BryanB]

I have had it take up to a week to be clear so i have learned some setup tricks like sand first then a plastic bag over it and drop water on that and remove it after.

[Lankyrob]

I always used to put the "substrate" in first, then put a plate on top and pour the water onto the plate, stops a lot of the substrate being disturbed ;)

[alessia55]

Well, this is what it looks like this morning... It is MUCH better than it was last night. I'm thinking it'll just settle on it's own...

http://pics.campl.us/f/9/9364.1fc2c3bb886b221080af74bb0446753d.jpg

[Trent]

I wouild put a nice background on the tank...give the fish a sense of security;)
Looks like its coming along!

[alessia55]

I did a 10-15% water change, thoroughly rinsed the aquarium decor with warm water and put it in. Hard to put stuff in there when I can't see what I'm doing!! Water is still cloudy. I'll let it be for a few days now I suppose. Or should I do another water change?

http://pics.campl.us/f/1/13893.18f34cc314b331b6fb155855befed172.jpg

[Lankyrob]

Everytime you disturb the waterit will make it worse, leave it be :)

[alessia55]

Everytime you disturb the waterit will make it worse, leave it be :)
I figured someone would say that... lol... I need to be patient now

[jarich]

Honestly, Id really recommend the live plants if you have access to them. Its very simple to get them growing well and they help with your cleaning and cycle so much.

[Terranaut]

Well I haven't done fish for years but I do know if the ph is off the water can cloud up. Also I used an under gravel/sand filter and that kept my water clear as glass.

[alessia55]

It's been 2.5 hours, looks a bit better

http://pics.campl.us/f/3/30923.1dc80752bdd807612130ef49a3828f6e.jpg

[Corey209]

If you haven't chose a good beginner fish I found some nice ones online.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41B%2B2eIlaHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[Aaron_S]

Let it settle overnight. If you need to, I'd do a 50 percent water change on Tues or Wed. Since there's no fish the larger change will allow more of it to get out.

When you add the new water. I'd slowly pour it in so as to not disturb the sand too much.

[alessia55]

It's been another 3 hours... I can see through the tank now... woooot! Can't wait to see what it looks like tomorrow morning. I can also see what a spotty job I did at the decor without being able to see through the water, hah

http://pics.campl.us/f/1/18490.875aa4800a87b31eebfde3d982f3ef60.jpg

[Squirtle]

I'm not too sure, but I think you're supposed to let it settle on its own; at least that's what the pet store guy told me when I was keeping turtles a long time ago.

[EmilyS]

Looks great! I bet I could see a roll of toilet paper through that water! lol

[alessia55]

Looks great! I bet I could see a roll of toilet paper through that water! lol
They're 2 rolls of paper towels actually :p

[EmilyS]

Ahh XD

What fish did you decide on?

[alessia55]

Ahh XD

What fish did you decide on?
None yet. There's a great place here with a lot of fish choices... will decide later in the month. I want to research, learn, etc. first ;)
So far all I know is I prefer lots of little fish rather than fewer big fish.