superstarburza
New Member
I need some help from smarter people than I.
I have a 29-gallon tank that I recently took all the gravel out of and put Caribsea Super Naturals Aquarium Sand (dry) into. I read both options of rinsing and not rinsing but determined that rinsing was the better option after some research. I rinsed the sand a lot, trying to make it so that it was not very cloudy when I set up the tank, I would say 6-7 times. Finally, I was able to get the water to a point of very low cloudiness. I put in the packet of "de-cloudy" stuff that was included and ran the filter for about a week. The water still looked a little cloudy, but I decided to test the water anyway. Nitrate, Nitrates, and PH are perfect, but the ammonia level was WAY too high. I purchased Ammonia-lock and tried that for a week, but still was getting bad ammonia levels. I rinsed the sand again several times and put fresh water in, ran the filter for a week, and was getting the same results. I eventually pulled all the ornaments out (driftwood, plastic plants, and rocks) and was going to test each in a bucket to see what was causing the spikes. I started with the sand, and sure enough, it is the sand. I tested the ammonia of some water before putting it in the tank, put it in with only the sand, then tested it again after a few hours. The ammonia was very dark green. I tried rinsing the sand again, 4 more times. At this point, I have rinsed the sand a dozen times. The water is still a little cloudy. Do I still need to continue to rinse? Will this help my ammonia problem?
My filter is a canister with foam/floss, nirta-zorb, established biofilter, and Seachem Purigen. I also run all my aquarium water through an RO system. I have a 60-gallon cichlid tank that is perfect, but this 29-gallon is making me feel so dumb! Help!
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
(obviously, I have no fish in the tank yet, thankfully)
I have a 29-gallon tank that I recently took all the gravel out of and put Caribsea Super Naturals Aquarium Sand (dry) into. I read both options of rinsing and not rinsing but determined that rinsing was the better option after some research. I rinsed the sand a lot, trying to make it so that it was not very cloudy when I set up the tank, I would say 6-7 times. Finally, I was able to get the water to a point of very low cloudiness. I put in the packet of "de-cloudy" stuff that was included and ran the filter for about a week. The water still looked a little cloudy, but I decided to test the water anyway. Nitrate, Nitrates, and PH are perfect, but the ammonia level was WAY too high. I purchased Ammonia-lock and tried that for a week, but still was getting bad ammonia levels. I rinsed the sand again several times and put fresh water in, ran the filter for a week, and was getting the same results. I eventually pulled all the ornaments out (driftwood, plastic plants, and rocks) and was going to test each in a bucket to see what was causing the spikes. I started with the sand, and sure enough, it is the sand. I tested the ammonia of some water before putting it in the tank, put it in with only the sand, then tested it again after a few hours. The ammonia was very dark green. I tried rinsing the sand again, 4 more times. At this point, I have rinsed the sand a dozen times. The water is still a little cloudy. Do I still need to continue to rinse? Will this help my ammonia problem?
My filter is a canister with foam/floss, nirta-zorb, established biofilter, and Seachem Purigen. I also run all my aquarium water through an RO system. I have a 60-gallon cichlid tank that is perfect, but this 29-gallon is making me feel so dumb! Help!
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
(obviously, I have no fish in the tank yet, thankfully)
