Cloudy Water From Sand

[eowyn]

Right now I'm in the process of replacing gravel with sand. I put down approx 1.5" of flourite and have sand on top. The tank is only filled about 25% with water and it looks terrible. I guess I didn't realize how bad this would look. How long before it clears? Will it harm the fish? The point of doing this is for my two cories. Now I'm having regrets about starting this project.

 

[OldMan47]

It will clear in a day or two once you stop stirring the dirt in the sand with fresh water. The water will look much worse if the sand was not cleaned well enough. In my 55 gallon, it took almost 3 days to clear completely. The bit of suspended material that makes the tank look cloudy will not harm the fish. I would worry more about making sure none of the fluorite is exposed where the cories can get into it. I recently bought some fluorite for adding to my planted tank and when I got it home and examined it closely, I realized that I did not want it in my cory tanks at all. It will be going with me to the next club auction in case one of the plant people wants it.

 

[konigwolf]

It can also help if you lay down a large dinner plate and add the water direct onto that, it really minimises the stir up

KW