Live Sand Problem

I have a 90 gal corner (saltwater) and recently purchased 80 lbs of live sand. When I added it to the tank, it clouded up the aquarium so bad I had to drain while stirring the substrate in order to remove the fine particles. It's still pretty bad and everytime I mess with the tank it kicks up a bunch of fine sand.

My question is whether its all right to remove the sand and rinse really well with fresh water or will this kill the bacteria that are in the sand? The tank is new and there is nothing else in it but I've already replaced all the water once and I don't want to have to burn through my salt again.

 

Welcome to 3reef,

You should not have to drain the tank secondary to suspended particles from the sand.

Have you tried running some type of mechanical filtration like sponge or floss for a couple days. Some times it takes a couple days to clear, I would not worry unless on day 4 it was still really cloudy.

Lastly is powerhead placement playing a part in keeping things stirred up.

 

It's a DAS system with an overflow at the water line, no powerheads right now. It has cleared up but the major problem is the really fine stuff is just resting on the surface and gets kicked up with any disturbance. I've had to rinse my filter sponges twice. I have a clown in a seperate tank that will be transported to the 90 once its cycled and she loves to kick up the sand. I would like to get rid of the finer material so I'm not constantly having a sand storm in the tank. I was thinking of removing the sand into a large tote and running a hose (fresh water) over it while stirring up the sand but I don't want to kill any bacteria that in it.

 

Stop rinsing and start staring.

The finer the better when it comes to sand particles.

The finest particles form a distinct cloud in the tank - this is 100% normal.

It can take a few days to clear up depending on how much flow/filtration you have.

I would not rinse with any water as the finest grain sizes will serve as wonderful colonizing real-estate for denitrifying bacteria.

I know it's tough and not what you want in the tank - but this hobby is all about taking your time and letting things do their . . .well . . .thing!

 

Welcome to 3 reef Shamus

same thing happened to me, I chose not to rinse sand for above reasons given by M -Ocean Man

the wrasse I have kept my tank looking like a snowstorm for a couple of months
but as the bed ages, bacterial activity tends to bind the particles better and the problem does eventuall clear up IME

Steve