Cloudy Water

[gangeox]

Its me again!!
Ok so my pump is working (it wasn,t so i gave it a tap!) lots of movement now! moved the bog wood about, now i have very cloudy water! no fish yet as just got tank on friday with sand, didnt wash the sand lfs said doesnt need it.
Do i do a total water change or let it settle with pump on or off?
180 litre rio tank.

Do i add plants now or when i get the fish?

Thanks in advance.

 

[chickenlady]

When I put sand in I was told to wash it - and was amazed at how cloudy the rinsing water was. Took ages to get the sand clean enough to add to the aquarium. Maybe that's your problem with the cloudy water.

 

[doresy]

Always wash new substrate even if "pre washed" I would start again will take ages to clear then kick up again every time you disturb the bottom. Also you don't really know what the sediment contains

 

[DazedNCoNfUsEd]

One thing that helped clear mine up was wrapping the filter cartridges in pantyhose, lol yes pantyhose. I just kept overlapping them until I had about 3-4 layers. Then get a solution such as "Crystal Clear", it will help bunch up the particles so they get caught in the filter even better.

If your intake is close to the bottom of the tank be careful when stirring up sand around it, it will burn up your filter in no time if it gets sucked up.

 

[zoekin8yg]

The bogwood will colour the water the dust off the substrate. Are you going to do a fishless cycle?

 

[gangeox]

Yes, i'm fetchin some used media on saturday to get things going, i did 100% water change last night and cleaned the sand then a 90% water change tonight and things look a lot better.
There still seems to be 'scum' on the surface and when the powerhead starts up this seems to push the scum into the water then it just stays suspended in the water
Looking at the top filter sponge it does seem very very sandy from the first setup, should i replace this or just give it a good rinse?
I know the wood will tint the water thats what i'm after.

By the way can you fishless cycle with plants??

 

[zoekin8yg]

I would clean the filter as its not going to make a difference as you havent started the cycle yet. I think the plants will slow down the cycle as they also use the waste, but im not 100% sure, unless you mean fake ones which are find to add now.