Floggy tank water after adding sand

[Berksou]

Hello,

Yesterday I changed my substrate to sand. I did not wash the sand before as I assumed it was clean. I also did a mistake by adding the sand while the tank is filled with water. Now its a big mess as the water is very shaked and not clean at all!!!

I am a beginner so excuse me for this mess. Will appreciate your help in fixing this. Should I remove all the water and fill again?

The tank has only some snails in it.

 

[kiko]

it'll clear up in a couple days...you can also use filter floss in your filtration system to help speed that process up
I wouldn't disturb the tank over that since all the gunk and stuff attached to the sand grains are already in the water column
you can just do the filter floss and 20% water changes every couple days and it should go back to normal...
in case any of it attaches to the glass you can use a dish cleaning sponge...take the green/blue rough padding out... so you only have the handle and the yellow soft sponge attached to it
this way you can clean the inside of the tank much easier

 

[Berksou]

Thank you! is it safe to turn on the filter? I’m afraid the sand particles will clog it.

 

[kiko]

Thank you! is it safe to turn on the filter? I’m afraid the sand particles will clog it.

the actual sand grains don't that long to fall...the cloudiness you see is mostly dust and smaller particles crushed up from the weight of sand on top of itself crushing the bottom
so even if you washed it you would still see those smaller guys..just the tank wouldn't be cloudy or at least a lot less xD
I would probably do a water change today....another one tomorrow and then turn on the filter
just so you're not just wasting filter media on sand dust

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. This isn't a problem. Just add an extra filter to the tank. A larger sponge filter is very cheap and will help clear the water in just a few hours.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Byron]

As there are no fish in the tank, the easiest thing would be to drain the tank completely down to the sand, then fill with fresh tap water (at the intended temperature) and do it by running the fresh water into a large bowl sitting on the sand. This stirs up very little of the dust in the sand.

As you do not have fish, you need not dechlorinate, but if it makes you happy, use it if fish will be added within the next few days..