Sand substrate and cloudy water

[Oldroamer]

I have used sand substrate in my tank as I want to keep corydoras, sand purchased from a reliable national chain of fish keeping shop, said to be completely inert and washed. I washed the sand a number of times in a new bucket but when I filled the tank the water was immediately cloudy. After 48 hours with heater and internal filter running the water was still cloudy so I assumed I had not washed the sand sufficiently. I stripped the tank back down, washed the sand numerous times and refilled the tank. Again the water is immediately cloudy.
How long should it take for the water to clear? Would I be better off using gravel and giving up on the expensive sand?

 

[dmpfishlover]

It can take a while for the cloudiness to clear, depending on the sand. What brand of sand did you get?

You can used play sand that you can buy at a hardware store, but it does require A LOT of rinsing. I have pool filter sand in my tank, and I rinsed it in a bucket, stirring it around with my hand and a garden hose then drained the water and repeated this (~ 12 times) until the water being drained/poured out was as clear as I could get it. Play sand would likely take even more rinsing.

Some types/brands of sand just require more rinsing than others. I would imagine that it might take a few days for the cloudiness to clear up. I would have patience, as sand is a better substrate than gravel, especially if you plan to keep fish like Cory catfish.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I would drain the whole tank. When I'm using new sand, I will put the sand in the tank how I want it. Then I will fill the whole tank up with tap water. After I do this, I drained it and then I will fill it back up with de chlorinated water. This helps me very much so.

 

[Byron]

It could be the sand, or partly the sand, but it is more likely a bacterial bloom. This is common in new tanks. The tap water contains a lot of dissolved organics and the various species of bacteria that feed on organics (different bacteria from the nitrifying species) reporduce very rapidly, every 20 minutes roughly, so this clouds the water. Leave it and it will clear, though the time varies from a few hours to a few days or even longer.

 

[Oldroamer]

The sand is Maidenhead Aquatics brand, and between the first attempt two days ago and then again today after I stripped the tank down I must have stirred the sand in a bucket about thirty to forty times draining the water between each time.
PKZ, I have drained the tank down and cleaned the sand again.
Byron, I considered bacterial bloom, but as the cloudy water occurred immediately on filling the tank I thought this unlikely.
I am going to let the tank stand for a few days, at least a week, and observe what happens.
Thanks for the help guys.

 

[dmpfishlover]

Is Maidenhead Aquatics Sand a Crushed Coral sand?

 

[Essjay]

Maidenhead Aquatics sells a range of sands which is why we need to know which one (the link also includes gravel)

Search results for: 'aqua range sand'

www.fishkeeper.co.uk

 

[Oldroamer]

I cannot find a specific name on the bag but from the website I would say it is the speckled sand. I have a small amount left in the bag so I will pop along to MA with this and ask them.

 

[Oldroamer]

Hi guys,
just thought I would update you on the progress. After stripping the tank down, cleaning the substrate very thoroughly and then refilling the tank appeared cloudy again. This improved day by day, now four days on the water clarity is excellent.
I mention this as a glimmer of hope for anyone else who is having a similar issue.