Leni

In my finally nearly complete quest of mishaps and mind changing to get my 55g running, I bought 100lbs of play sand (way too much), rinsed it in a bucket, then put it all in a big rubbermaid container, stuck the hose into the sand and let it sit and pull particles out for a while. I put it in the tank and filled it but the water is super cloudy. How long should the water stay cloudy before I need to assume the sand isn't clean enough to be in the tank yet?

And since I'm almost certain Aquarist48 is going to answer this post ): What part of the lowcountry are you in, Ken?

Time

I have river gravel and it was never cloudy. I rinsed it for a good while. You have sand and I think that will make the water cloud very easily and may take long to sit. I wouldn't know though. I have never used sand before.

TFA101

Maybe a day or two at the most. But sand should not be clouding the water if you rinsed it properly. I think its safe to assume you might have "missed a spot"

Leni

I'll give it a day or two, see what it does. If it's not clear by then I'll rewash it. Thanks TFA.

aquarist48

Hello Neighbor! lol I just realized that you were very close to where I am. Leni I haven't used sand in my tanks before. From what I've read it may be the type of sand that is the issue. What is most recommended is "pool filter sand" instead of play sand. I think that may be the problem why your tank is so cloudy. Let's wait for some more responses though.
Have a good day today!
Ken

Charlene

As Aquarist has said it is all about what type of sand has been used.

I have just plain normal aquarium sand in 2 of my tanks. They both went cloudy, only because I didn't rinse it well enough. It takes a few days and water changes to get it clear. My fish love the sand but it is well worth the hassle to rinse and rinse and rinse............. the sand.

Leni

I drained and refilled the tank, churned the sand, did a bit of vaccuuming, and did this again and again for about 2 hours today. The sand is no longer clouding the water. I put some river rocks in on top of it to give it a more natural look, and it's looks very nice.

capekate

I also agree that the type of sand you use is the issue here. Play sand will go cloudy and it needs a LOT of rinsing. That is why I went with the PFS in my tank and it never clouded up. Your tank should clear tho.. it may just take awhile. Try not to swish it around in the tank as it may clog up your filter propeller and then you can have another type of problem on your hands.
Best of luck and I hope that it clears up soon.

aquarist48

Glad to hear your tank has cleared Leni!
Ken

Aldric

hi leni I used sand for the first time my self for my new tank just recently i used sand bought from my LFS but what i did was wash the sand in batches in my water change bucket and then gradualy added the clean sand to my tank, doing it this way my tank never went cloudy at all.
concerning the potential filter problem of the sand clogging ur filter or damadgeing the impeller what i did was this. I have very pale sand almost white so i got some small white stones and put them in the corner of the tank where my filter goes and hopefully this will creat a baryer to stop the sand harming my filter ( points to pic to show u what i mean )

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griffin

i;m currently using play sand with no issues. to keep the sand out of the filter, i put a prefilter on. pretty easy to make, just cut an x in the middle of a sponge and slip it over the intake. keeps sand out and makes maintenance of the filter easier