How long to clear water?
 

I've had my tank running for a few days now with just a sand bed (Southdown). Salinity is 1.023 and pH is 7.8-7.9. My protein skimmer was working overtime to get the silt out of the water from putting in the Southdown, but now is pretty much got everything out of the water, at least, it's not producing the same foam it was over the last day or two pulling all the silt out.

However, the water is still cloudy. It's new saltwater, and mixed it IN the tank since it's a new system. It's been mixing since Monday now. Does it usually take a few days for new saltwater to lose its cloudiness?

It's a newbie question, but one I thought I'd just run by everyone and get opinions.

Cheers!

Andy :wildone:

Mine took over a week BUT I did stir things up after a few days. I didn't slope the sand bed until the tank was running for a few days. It cleared to the point where I could see that I didn't like the way I'd originally sloped it. Took about 4 days after that..... My live rock is coming today. I would imagine that I'll stir things up again putting that in. I'm hoping that it doesn't cloud to the point that I can't see what I'm doing! I guess it does that so we can appreciate the nice clear water we get eventually even a little more.... Leon

It will not totally clear until bacteria is added to the system. Once you add some live rock it will not take long at all as the bacteria attaches itself to the suspended particles and sinks them to the bottom. It is normal, if you are not using live rock you can add a raw uncooked shrimp to start the bacteria cycle I have never done this but it wil start your cycle and is recomended alot here on RC...

That's good news....

I may just add a cocktail shrimp or something to start the cycle just so I can have clear water to see what I'm doing when I add the live rock in a few weeks...

I think there's also a liquid or something that can be added to the tank that's concentrated bacteria or something like that, isn't there?

Hmmm...you know...come to think of it...perhaps I could go out and just get a piece of Fiji or Tonga Branch just to start the cycle.

Cheers!

Andy :wildone:

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by lger [/i]
[B]Mine took over a week BUT I did stir things up after a few days. I didn't slope the sand bed until the tank was running for a few days. It cleared to the point where I could see that I didn't like the way I'd originally sloped it. Took about 4 days after that..... My live rock is coming today. I would imagine that I'll stir things up again putting that in. I'm hoping that it doesn't cloud to the point that I can't see what I'm doing! I guess it does that so we can appreciate the nice clear water we get eventually even a little more.... Leon [/B][/QUOTE]


It will.


I have had water LR and SD in my tank for over a week and a half...aquascaping is a joke...lol I have had the sand settle about 3 times now and I go to move rocks around and POOOOOF! I have to wait about 2-3 days to move a few rocks around...Ill be done by January at the latest....=\

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by kaiyokanman28 [/i]
[B]
I may just add a [u]cocktail shrimp[/u] or something to start the cycle just so I can have clear water to see what I'm doing when I add the live rock in a few weeks...
[/B][/QUOTE]

From what I have heard, it is best to use a raw, UNCOOKED shrimp for this purpose. Cocktail shrimp is cooked.

Chemcial method to clear water
 

I just put 3 bags of southdown in my new 180. So far I hate this stuff, it's dirty and took forever to clean. I hope the bacteria will help with the clouds. Tomorrow I plan on adding 4 bags of caribsea over the southdown so that should keep this stuff down.

I found at the LFS a chemical by Coralife named Marine Tank Clarifier. Not sure what makes it works but it's the same concept as the bacteria. It attaches to the particles, weighs them down and clears things up. I got a clear tank after 5 hours with 5 teaspoons.

My tank cleared within hours of the addition of LR.

New tanks [i]usually[/i] take anywhere from 2 days to 3 weeks depending on bacteria bioload, type of substrate, etc.

The tank's completely clear now. The shrimp is still in there...I have a feeling I would just create a mess if I try to fish it out now. The sand is definitely live now, though I'm looking forward to adding the janitorial crew soon as they have a bit of a job to do. Oh well, all part of the cycle, I suppose. :)

STILL haven't had any measureable amounts of ammonia, though I came home from my weekend out of town to find the skimmer collection cup FULL of olive green liquid, so there's definitely SOMETHING going on in there. :)

The Southdown took a while to settle, but so far, after almost two weeks since I first put it in there, I have no complaints nor have there been any other sand storms. The water's clear as a bell.

Cheers!

Andy :wildone:

my tank just finished cycling. i used a small piece of uncooked shrimp at the same time i did my live rock. my ammonia spike never got that high but my tank just finished cycling this past week. all readings are 0. i thought for a higher ammonia spike using the shrimp. i added another shrimp on monday and it was gone by thursday so i know i have some stuff in there! :) i also have a ton of pods, walking jelly fish and some other stuff in there. pretty amazing to watch your tank come alive over a period of weeks. my sand bed is crawling with all sorts of things.

i just added some hermits and a few snails today to help clean up the algae and all. amazing how quickly they devour it.

as far as a sand storm. my tank has been cycling for about 4 - 5 weeks and now i can move a rock or whatever and the tank will clear back up in about an hour or two. the first few days it was pretty milky.

Caribsea mix
 

Just got done topping the Southdown with the caribsea. I mixed the two in some spots and it looks kinda cool. The tank has cleared up now, I just have to clean the filter bags and all of the surfaces as there is a coat of dust on everything. I'm going to take the the check valves and impeller apart as well just for a quick maintenance.