Sand not settling?

Shickley · Mar 24, 2016

I have a 55 gallon tank I am going to cycle (I've had fish before) but I can't seem to get the water to stop being murky. I used basic sand from Home Depot for the substrate. I've done 3-4 %100 water changes and it's still murky even after running the filter 24 hours. I thoroughly rinsed it before I put it in so I really don't know why it would be this way still. Any thoughts?
Thanks

Canecorsonewt · Mar 25, 2016

I dont know if it will help. They sell a clumping agent for the aquarium sand it might help you.

Shickley · Mar 25, 2016

I'll give e it a shot. Thanks

AxolotlChris · Mar 25, 2016

Exactly what sand did you buy??

I always put my sand in a pillow case and run water through it mixing the sand and squeezing the pillow case until the water runs clear. I filled a 60L tank with an inch or two of sand and it took 45 mins until the water ran positively clear out the bottom of the pillow case.

Shickley · Mar 25, 2016

So I tested the ammonia and it was off the chart so I'm going to let it cycle for a while and see how that turns out. That's what my lfs said to do and it makes sense too. Thanks for all the replies.

AxolotlChris · Mar 26, 2016

Cycling is irrelevant to sand making your water murky. Unless the murky water is being caused by a bacterial bloom due to your tank cycling.

If your going to cycle your tank you should remove your Axolotl and keep it in a separate container until your tank is cycled since cycling with your Axolotl in the tank is exposing it to high levels of ammonia and nitrites ehich is stressful and damaging. While your Axolotl is in the separate container you should perform daily water changes with dechlorinated water so that no ammonia from its waste can build up and harm your Axolotl.

If it is your sand that is causing the murky water then use the method I described in my previous post.

Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling
Caudata Culture Articles - Water Quality

Shickley · Mar 26, 2016

I don't have anything in the tank except the sand. I think the reason it's foggy is because of a bacterial bloom so I think if I just let it cycle it will be fine. Thanks again

Jack P · Mar 28, 2016

Shickley said:
I don't have anything in the tank except the sand. I think the reason it's foggy is because of a bacterial bloom so I think if I just let it cycle it will be fine. Thanks again

I had a problem when I put my sand in and if I could give you one tip it would be to take all of the sand out of your tank, and wash it then add it back. This helped for me, dont use soap and make also running a small net through your water can make the sand settle a little bit! This helped for me and also if you have sand bubbles, this will help alot!

Thanks,
- Jack

Shickley · Mar 28, 2016

I ended up letting the water sit for a few days and it is now crystal clear. I'm adding stability by seachem and that seems to be helping speed up the process.

AxolotlChris · Mar 28, 2016

I've tried bottled bacteria, didn't work.

You'll know if it actually does anything soon enough, it could cause odd results

Shickley · Mar 28, 2016

It seems to be helping. What kind of odd results?

Donna001 · Mar 28, 2016

Sometimes it's just a matter of patience when it comes to letting sand settle, and with cycling tanks. :happy:
Keep going and I'm sure that your tank will be worth the wait.

ttmf · Mar 29, 2016

I had the same problem when I used sand the first time. I just let it sit a few days and let all the sand particles settle with the filter off and it cleared up eventually, then I turned the filters on. I used the home depot sand for concrete. People say pool filter sand is better.

AxolotlChris · Mar 29, 2016

Shickley said:
It seems to be helping. What kind of odd results?

I've read threads of other users getting odd test results, false positives. I myself had a pretty much stalled cycle for weeks when I used it. Cycling naturally is much more reliable.

Sand:
Rinse it thoroughly before adding the sand and you only have to wait for it to settle slightly over night. Plus removes unwanted dust particles that would otherwise potentially be stirred up if your ever cleaning or moving items in the tank. Keep the sand loose the dirt.

Shickley · Mar 29, 2016

Hmmm. Good to know. I think I'm well on my way to acquiring some of these wonderful animals. Thanks for all the help!

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