Sand + water cloudness

[paul]

hey all, i am in the process of putting sand in my tank as a substrate, as i predicted the water is cloudy an i have read this will stay for a few days, are my axolotl and plants going to be able to be put in this cloudy water or will it affect them, as i have no where else to store them...

 

[joan]

You should wash the sand well before adding it. Mine went cloudy for a few minutes and cleared up. I would not put them into super-cloudy water. Put them in large bowls in the fridge if the water stays cloudy more than 2 hours or so. The plants shouldn't have a problem, as long as they still get what light they need.

 

[paul]

it has stayed cloudy for a day now, ive been told i can use a item called 'aqua clear', i cleaned the sand 5 times through an also boiled it

 

[hayley-jane]

Paul I washed my sand for a full hour, really thoroughly and it still took nearly 4 days to clear.

I keep my axie in a tub in the fridge until the tank was clear as it can't be good for them to breathe all that cloudiness in.

 

[paul]

thanks haley, just out of curioisty was it a milky cloudy colour

 

[joan]

It would be milky if your sand was white (like mine). Hayley has red sand, I believe.

I wouldn't use any chemicals for anything. Just let it settle, and keep the filter on.

 

[paul]

thanks joan, it is starting to settle and i think it may be all settled by tomorow in 24 hrs, im just concerned my axolotl will stir it all up an make it cloudy.

 

[joan]

It might make small clouds, but it wouldn't be able to stir up enough sand to make the whole tank cloudy again. What you could do is get a siphon and just suck up the 'dust' off the top, the really small stuff that's settled.

 

[paul]

i have put her in the tank and it is now 90 percent clear so thanks for all the help guys, it was worth the wait because now i know she cant die on ingesting gravel and also the tank looks alot nicer, ill post up pics soon...