Newbie question about silt

Fox · #1 01-13-2009, 01:28 PM

Hi All,

I put my live rock and live sand in last night and obviously there was a lot of silt and it really muddied the water. Just wondering how long that can take to clear up and if I should turn my powerhead off in order to help it settle. It seems that if I leave it on it will just keep circulating the silt and it wont settle.

The other thing I noticed was that after adding the rock and sand my salinity went up quite a bit...I presume I can just add some more unsalted water to level it out...

Thanks in advance!

Snaz · #2 01-13-2009, 04:36 PM

It should have cleared up over night, after 24Hrs I guess is your answer.

Fox · #3 01-13-2009, 04:42 PM

I had expected the same but this morning it was still quite cloudy which is why I am wondering if I should turn off the powerhead...By I didnt think that would be good for the rock...I guess I will see how it looks tonight!

Johnny Reefer · #4 01-13-2009, 04:43 PM

Do you have a canister filter? You can speed this up by running a canister with filter floss in it.

Fox · #5 01-13-2009, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Reefer

Do you have a canister filter? You can speed this up by running a canister with filter floss in it.

I do have a submersible fluval filter in my freshwater tank but I would need clean it out and get new media I suspect before putting it in the saltwater tank...I might have to look for that filter floss...

Thanks!

Snaz · #6 01-13-2009, 04:57 PM

What sand did you use?

Fox · #7 01-13-2009, 05:04 PM

I couldnt tell you the brand cause I have the bag at home...But it was live sand and if I remember correctly it was agragate or something to that affect...Does that help? I think I am going to snap if I wasnt sold the right stuff...

MikeP · #8 01-13-2009, 05:41 PM

My tank took a really long time to clear up. I forgot to rinse my sand before putting it in. What size is your tank? Do you have a sump? I found that pointing my powerheads towards the overflow and increasing the rate of my return pump helped clear up the water faster. As far as you salinity going up a bit when you added the LR, how much did it jump? And yes you can add some freshwater to level it out.

HTH

Johnny Reefer · #9 01-13-2009, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fox

... and get new media I suspect before putting it in the saltwater tank...I might have to look for that filter floss...

Media? What kind of media? You don't need media. Just stuff it with filter floss. Traps the particles. Throw the gunky floss out when done. Bob's your Uncle.

Snaz · #10 01-13-2009, 07:45 PM

Probably just got a bag of sand with lots of fine particles, filter floss will clear that up. Soon your tank will look crystal clear and fabulous and then the diatoms come and it looks like a toilet bowl.

Welcome to Reefing!