Cloudy Water...Need Advice

M

mikeandcari

Okay, so i set up my 55g. I filled the tank with saltwater on monday afternoon and allowed the salt to mix for about 24 hour. Then yesterday afternoon I put in 40lbs of arganonite sand and 20 lbs of arag-alive. The water immediately clouded up. The cloudiness has gotten somewhat better but not by much. I know that it will take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to clear up but I have a order of live rock coming on thursday and didn't know if the cloudy water would hurt the live rock. Also I should receive my protein skimmer on friday, will the skimmer help at all to clear up the cloudiness.

So should I worry about the live rock, and is there anything I can add to filter or water to clear it up. I read that activated carbon polishes water to make it clear. What does this mean??? Thanks for the advice.

Another dumb question...once the cloudiness does settle will the water cloud up everytime the sand is disturbed like when I lay the live rock in the sand bed.
 
It should clear up pretty quick. It will probably kick up again when you add your rock but dont worry, it wont hurt the rock. Just get a turkey baster and squirt it off the rock every now and then if it bothers you. It wont take long before the sand is saturated with bacteria that will hold it down.
 
It should settle down in a couple days. The more live rocks you have will help it clear a lot quickly. Adding a protein skimmer will also help as well. Patient is they key word when starting up a new tank.
 
I ordered 40lbs or live rock and am getting a used prizm protein skimmer from another dfwmas member. Hopefully that will help. Is this going to be enough live rock. Also I am running a emperor 400 with just the pads that came with it. Is there anything I could add to the filter media trays to help the cycling process. I am not putting any fish in until the middle of august so I will have plenty of cycling time but I don't know if those pads that came with the filter are enough for filtration. It came with two pads and two empty media trays. I was thinking about getting two more pads. Will this help or can I fill the empty media trays with something else.

Sorry to post so many crazy questions. I am new at this and just getting my bearings. Thanks for the help everyone.
 
the 40pd. is probably a good start. Once you see it in your tank you will want more though. Just let the tank run its course. Dont try speeding it up. Also you are going to want to clean those pads very frequently.
 
In time, you will not need the emperor equipment. I would agreed with John that 40 lbs is a good start. I would add 2.5 lbs per gal.
 
Maybe I missed something.... You have some rock coming in Thursday, you just put in sand, and a very marginal used skimmer will arrive friday and you plan to use a canister filter. hmmmm! IMO I think you may want to slow down a bit, the cloudiness will settle down with time you should get your rock and sand in and get the cycle going first. The usual rule is at least #1 LR per gallon, #40 is fine if that's all you can get right now and you have a good DSB in there already. You will probably want to get a good skimmer, filtration is not where you should try to cut cost. The canister filter is also not the best choice, it will become a nitrate factory in time. If you have the space in your cabinet, I will donate a old sea life systems wet/dry filter that you can easily convert to a sump/fuge, I give you the skimmer as well and you can easily modify it also if needed. If your tank is not reef ready, you can find a overflow pretty cheap, get a 20g or 29g tank and make a sump/fuge very easily and very cheap. Let me know if you want the wet/dry.

Edit: I meant rock not livestock, I misread it

Cheers!
 
@bimmerzs wrote:
I give you the skimmer as well and you can easily modify it also if needed. If your tank is not reef ready said:
Ron, you are the man. Helping out a young fellow reefer!!! Did you ever get that toadstool?
Click to expand...
 
Tri,
I did get it and a huge devil's hand leather which was too big for my tank, it would have been perfect for the big tank.

Everybody helped me, so I just want to return the favor if I can.

Cheers!
 
i just add more arganonite sand to my tank and i wonder did you even rinse it many time before putting in your system? It only took my tank 2hr or less and the tank is clear again.
 
I would love the equipment but I can pay you something for it. If you could show me how to set it up I would love to have it but I don't know the first thing about setting up a sump system.

thanks, I am not planning on using a canister filter. I am using a hob emperor 400 bio wheel filter right now until I get the skimmer and the cycling done. eventually probably in two or three months I am going to stop using the filter unless i need to. I honesty wouldn't know how to set up the sump/ refugium system but would appreciate the old equipment and your expertise.

my number is 361-815-6066 if you want to call me. Thank you so much for the great help
 
I am far far far from an expert. I learned by researching and asking tons of questions and looking at how others had their systems setup. It's actually not too hard, there are quite a few folks up your way that will help you out and that one of the reasons why I joined the club. I started out just like ya'll and I just got so much help from everyboby that I was amazed. I mean folks would let me come check out their setups and explain everything and I wasn't even a member. There is a lot of passion in this hobby, that's for sure. I can't accept money for the wet/dry or the skimmer, they were both donated to me by a member....so if you want it then it's your's. Just to let you know, Denton is not real close to me but I could meet you half way if you like. Here is what I have now, a 20g aquarium sectioned off with a 8g section for a refugium. In back is a 29g tank that is just a refugium(my lil pod farm) I'm sure someone in the Denton area could help you out. Also check out this site that our club president maintains, it is one of the resources I used. http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html Just pic-up a 29g off the forum, since you will be using your bio-wheel(which is also not so good and could become a nitrate source) for a couple of month's, I'm sure you will find one posted for sale before then.

Cheers!
 
Hey, I just wanted to post these pics to show everyone. The water has cleared up quite a bit since I saw my tank this morning. Patience is a virtue!!
 
Looking at pics of your tank, you may want to remove the glass top since it traps heat into the water. Temp above 84 degrees will usually wipe out your fish and corals.
 
Mike and Cari, I attend UNT monday and wednesday nights and commute from Dallas. I am willing to give you a hand with setup if you choose to get the wet/dry from bimmerz. If anybody else wants to donate anything and lives close to Dallas, I can pick it up from you and deliver it to them. Let me know if I can help in any way.
 
@K-PO wrote:
Mike and Cari said:
I can meet you with the wet/dry today if you are going up tonight and then they could pick-up from you or meet you. I'm about to go down to the Fish Gallery, I could bring it with me if you want to pick it up. LMK

**edit** The wet/dry is 30L x 12W x 18H

Cheers!
Click to expand...
 
Bimmerzs, I will not be going back to UNT until monday. I have not heard from Mike and Cari to see if they even want this yet so I'll just wait and see.
 
I could pick it up anytime this weekend but I can't pick it up until maybe friday at the earliest. I have to go to garland tomorrow to pick up the live rock and have a final on friday. so friday evening would work. I was supposed to buy that used prism skimmer on friday from a dfwmas member but it sounds like i won't need it. I am available all next week to set up the sump system, but I don't know if that 30" long would fit under my tank since their is a cross supporting bar so I don't know if it will even go under there but I am not really sure. what other equipment would I need to set this thing up. The guy at the lfs said I might be able to use the wet/dry as the sump and skip the whole filtration process...if that makes since... i think he meant use one part of wetdry as the protein skimmer part where the water goes in and the use the opening where the bioballs go as the refugium section. does this make any sense. I am still a little confused about how all this works...and I would need a return pump right.
 
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