Murky tank from sand... (Axolotl not in there yet))

Nano

Nano

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I was setting up my new tank and I had the water conditioned etc. in there already but I put aquarium sand in after (It was in a sealed pack) it has made the water go all cloudy and murky.
:( Do I need to empty the tank and start again?
:confused: Or will it eventually settle?
 

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It probably would of been better to give it a rinse before putting it in just to remove any small particles but it will eventually settle down
 
It said on the back to rinse but annoyingly I read it after I put in the sand. Thank god I don't have to empty all that! :D
 
I would start again. The muckiness will never settle.
You need to wash the sand until your arm falls off, then you need to wash it some more
 
I hope you're not right Leanne... I'll see how it is in the morning.
 
make sure you put the washed sand in first and then pour the water on top of it. DO NOT put the water in and then tip in the sand because it will murk up.

I have found putting the sand in, then putting newspaper all over it and pouring the water on top of the newspaper stops the water going cloudy. You oull out the paper when your finnished.
 
yellowpebble said:
make sure you put the washed sand in first and then pour the water on top of it. DO NOT put the water in and then tip in the sand because it will murk up.

I have found putting the sand in, then putting newspaper all over it and pouring the water on top of the newspaper stops the water going cloudy. You oull out the paper when your finnished.
Click to expand...

Would the chemicals in the newspaper ink be a concern? I know that with hamsters and things that you shouldn't use pages with coloured inks:confused:
 
Carl said:
Would the chemicals in the newspaper ink be a concern? I know that with hamsters and things that you shouldn't use pages with coloured inks:confused:
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I imagine the risk of inks from the pages to be quite minimal, especially if they're only in there for a very short period of time. If you have carbon in your filter I believe that would probably quite quickly remove any of the ink chemicals from the water.
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!

As for the sand - depending on what brand/type of sand it is, Leanne may be right and it may not ever settle down completely. I think most of the time it does, but the problem is then that every time you or one of your axolotls stirs up the sand it will result in a huge dust cloud that might hang around for a while and look unsightly. The other problem is that the small sand dust particles can build up in your filter and cause problems later.
My filter randomly stopped working one day and it took me forever to figure out what was wrong, I had to dismantle the entire thing and rinse it all out because there were sand particles blocking parts of it up (and I rinse my sand thoroughly before I put it into my tanks).
 
i heard on a website that you could use newspaper but i have always used printing paper, even then that is treated. I have never had a problem
 
I had the same problem with my first tank when I put play sand in a tank full of water. I had washed and washed it and as soon as I put it in POOF!! Cloudy water. My tank didn't settle and I had to drain all the water and refill it and let it run a few days before it looked good... The bummer was that I have the tank upstairs and had to haul it in a bucket *yuck*.

It may settle however I have a feeling that you'll need to drain it and refill...

Good luck! >{^_^}<
 
I'm afraid that you really should start again. I may seem like a pain now but once it is done you will be so glad you did when you stare in your crystal clear tank. Otherwise as mentioned above you will be forever dealing with cloudy tank whenever one of your axolotls moves around.

I've brought plenty of kinds of sands and even the ones that say they are washed need washing many more times before the water runs clear. I find it is a lot easier to wash a small amount at a time in a bucket. If you try and wash too much at once the silt manages to still be trapped at the bottom of the bucket and reappears when you add the sand to the tank.


Regards Neil
 
Rinse the sand very very good!
When you rinsed, but the sand in the tank, then put a dinner plate on top of it. Now when you add water, make sure you pour the water on top of the plate. Your water will be shiny clear (and I think it is less risky then a newspaper.. :D)
 
Alioth said:
Rinse the sand very very good!
When you rinsed, but the sand in the tank, then put a dinner plate on top of it. Now when you add water, make sure you pour the water on top of the plate. Your water will be shiny clear (and I think it is less risky then a newspaper.. :D)
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why didn't I think of that:rolleyes: I used a bowl when I filled my tank but the water just sloshed over the sides and washed the sand away round the edge:( but I suppose a plate with a larger surface area would be perfect:happy:
 
When I set up my tank, I used a plate (more like a saucer, since it was a 10g tank), too.

It got a little stirred up, but it cleared up quickly. :)
 
I rinsed the majority of mine out thoroughly before pouring mine in, but missed about a third due to trying to rinse too much at once. My tank went cloudy, so I put a power filter suitable for the tank in, and let it do it's job (cleaning the sponges every couple of hours and the whole thing whenever I felt it needed it). The water was clear again after about a day or so. If you haven't rinsed any of it, I would suggest to agitate the sand whilst doing this, and it should be fine.
 
It turns out it was the actual sand, even when I thoroughly rinsed it multipule times it was still colouring the water. I am going to call the help center tomorrow so my axolotl will have to do without sand for now.
 
Nano said:
It turns out it was the actual sand, even when I thoroughly rinsed it multipule times it was still colouring the water. I am going to call the help center tomorrow so my axolotl will have to do without sand for now.
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I thought you said you hadn't rinsed it? What brand of sand were you using?
 
Nano said:
It turns out it was the actual sand, even when I thoroughly rinsed it multipule times it was still colouring the water. I am going to call the help center tomorrow so my axolotl will have to do without sand for now.
Click to expand...

Almost all sand will cloud your tank up no matter how much you rinse it, the difference is that if you've rinsed it well enough it should clear up in a matter of hours or left to sit overnight. You literally have to rinse it like 15-20 times or more for it to seem clear and even then, it's still probably going to cloud up your tank ...
 
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