Frank Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 So tank has been set up now for 2 weeks not sure if it just me being impatient (Know better in this hobby) or what but tank still looks cloudy I ran very fine sand and see a lot of partials in the water have sock and have been changing them out tried so water clarifier and still looks the same I’m about at my end with it. Looking to see if anyone else has had this problem if so what did you do and how long did it last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Hows the water test? Nutrients can all make a hazy look. Ammonia to nitrates. Also phosphate. A good skim and carbon should help. Also, a uv helps if you have one. They are a good water polisher, especially if it is a bacterial or algal bloom in the water column. Does it get sunlight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Water is testing perfect no phos or anything else. Skimming great, Have carbon on it. No UV want to get one last one broke. It doesn’t get any sun light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Gotta just be fine particles, can u run through filter sock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Yep have two of them... They are 200 mic would think it would have cleard up by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Think I'm going to let it run 2 more weeks at the most then if not better the sand comes out... So I maybe on the look out for sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantherguy30 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Dunno if you can pull it off but maybe try and double up your socks. Sometime that helps. But if you have a chit ton of flow going through, it may force the the water over the top of them. Also extra water changes may help too. Just my .02 :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 do u have white skim coming out of your skimmer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Nope.. Black.... this skimmer is a beast never seen foam look so bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totoro Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 In geology, "very fine sand" is defined as consisting of grains in the size range of 0.0625 - 0.125 mm (1/16 to 1/8 mm). That's just above mud, which consists of silt (0.0039 - 0.0625 mm) and clay (0.0002 - 0.0039 mm). If your supplier follows the standard geological definitions, it should be no surprise that there'd be a lot of fines even in washed sand... There's a known mathematical relationship between particle size and the current velocity at which those particles will settle (or erode), and you need an average water velocity of under 0.1 cm/sec to get the smallest fines to settle. Doable in FW -- I've intentionally added microfines from dissolved clay to a planted FW tank experiencing a bacteria bloom in order to clear the water, believe it or not -- but not likely in a marine aquarium. The fines will eventually collect enough bacteria, algae, and biofilm goo upon their surfaces to facilitate settling. Provide a quiet little backwater somewhere in the system to encourage this. Reducing flow to whatever extent you're comfortable with should help speed the process along a tad, inasmuch as slower currents will reduce the kinetic energy involved when individual particles bump into something and make them more likely to stick instead of bouncing off. Also, the boundary layer is your friend here, so don't disrupt it -- if you've got powerheads in the tank already, remove them if possible. And it may actually help to back off on the filtration and skimming -- if there's stuff drifting around that's larger than the fines, some of them may bump into it, stick to it, and disappear along with it when you crank up the machinery again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 In geology, "very fine sand" is defined as consisting of grains in the size range of 0.0625 - 0.125 mm (1/16 to 1/8 mm). That's just above mud, which consists of silt (0.0039 - 0.0625 mm) and clay (0.0002 - 0.0039 mm). If your supplier follows the standard geological definitions, it should be no surprise that there'd be a lot of fines even in washed sand... There's a known mathematical relationship between particle size and the current velocity at which those particles will settle (or erode), and you need an average water velocity of under 0.1 cm/sec to get the smallest fines to settle. Doable in FW -- I've intentionally added microfines from dissolved clay to a planted FW tank experiencing a bacteria bloom in order to clear the water, believe it or not -- but not likely in a marine aquarium. The fines will eventually collect enough bacteria, algae, and biofilm goo upon their surfaces to facilitate settling. Provide a quiet little backwater somewhere in the system to encourage this. Reducing flow to whatever extent you're comfortable with should help speed the process along a tad, inasmuch as slower currents will reduce the kinetic energy involved when individual particles bump into something and make them more likely to stick instead of bouncing off. Also, the boundary layer is your friend here, so don't disrupt it -- if you've got powerheads in the tank already, remove them if possible. And it may actually help to back off on the filtration and skimming -- if there's stuff drifting around that's larger than the fines, some of them may bump into it, stick to it, and disappear along with it when you crank up the machinery again. that explains why it works in Dan's tank-established/aged Question is how long for that to happen and can you wait that long. I feel your pain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmike Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 just be patient, lol. The "fines" wont harm anything... In fact they are probably helping with the transition from MH to LED as a natural "dimming" Soon enough bacteria will colonize the sand keeping it in place.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 just be patient, lol. The "fines" wont harm anything... In fact they are probably helping with the transition from MH to LED as a natural "dimming" Soon enough bacteria will colonize the sand keeping it in place.... just be patient(laugh)(laugh)(laugh)(laugh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susiesinlove Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I had this happen too at about the two week mark. I was told it was a bacterial bloom and it cleared up in a couple of days. I did get the felt to help clean the finest particals too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Well it looks like it is getting better ran some new sock and seems to be slowly getting better...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefStar Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Those super socks works!!(laugh)(laugh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Yea need to get more tell Justin frags for socks...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Just wait! You should know it :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisW Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I would say wait another two weeks. Do you have livestock in the tank? Is it cycled? Did you add any type of "starter" bacteria? As the grains of sand get a "bio" coating on them, they will settle. It does sound like maybe silt particles floating around. Either that or it is a bacteria bloom of some sort. Are you dosing any carbon sources like vodka or vinegar? Did you say you tried a marine clarifier of some sort? These are anti flocculating agents and I've used one before that worked pretty darn well. The marine claifiers work by sticking to particulate matter in the water column and sinking them to the bottom. Since this didn't work well for you, Im thinking maybe it is some sort of bacterial bloom. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 I would say wait another two weeks. Do you have livestock in the tank? Is it cycled? Did you add any type of "starter" bacteria? As the grains of sand get a "bio" coating on them, they will settle. It does sound like maybe silt particles floating around. Either that or it is a bacteria bloom of some sort. Are you dosing any carbon sources like vodka or vinegar? Dennis Yea I have livestock I just transfer the old tank into the new one. All cycling is done I think id was just a lot of stuff floating around i did at first move the carbon pellets over but took them off line with it being a new tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 So update...... Tank is doing much better looks like the sand will stay.... Not still as clear as I want but can see its getting there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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