Sand that wont settle

I have a new 55 that I put sand in about a week ago. I added the sand and the water took about 24 hours to completely clear. But still, every time the sand is even slightly agitated, it kicks up a plump of merky yuckiness and the whole tank becomes cloudy. Is the sand going to do this forever? I plan on getting a goby. Will it make my water merky every time it sifts? :-/

 

Sand needs time to settle, Granted it settles out of the visible area, but from my experience it needs some time to fully settle on the bottom, My tangs occasionally kick up a sand storm now but it settles in less then a minute. where as almost half a year ago, if they would kick up sand it would linger for a few hours.

I believe it just needs some more time to get the tiny particles settled to the bottom. It also may be the size of gains of the sand you have as well. Not a 100% But just throwing in my two cents!

 

what do u have in there? when u add new sand to your tank, that thin layer of dust settles on the top. over time and when u eventually u add a CuC, that think layer if "dust" will slowly start to move towards the bottom of the sand bed. It wont cause any harm in the beginning. It takes time... no worries

 

PS....Are u planing on giving ur tank some time to cycle before adding that fish??? atleast a month with frequent testing....

 

Thanks for your advice!!! I just added live rock today (the epoxy was a huge headache :-/) But yea, I am letting the tank cycle for a good 6 weeks before adding any fish. I am planning on growing coral and will probably start that before fish also.

I really want to do this right, I get really attached to the fish (based on my experience with freshwater). If you have any other advice, tips, tricks etc. I am all ears!

p.s. I am currently shopping for lights (support coral) and protein skimmers so if you have any recommendations for either PLEASE let me know!

Thanks!
Danielle

 

Sounds great! What are your tank specs? size, filter, lighting plan, etc.?? Anytime between 4-6 weeks if your tests show ur ready, i would add fish first....coral tends to call for a more established system....Once u have a fish in there for some time i would then move on to zoas, mushrooms, etc. In the mean time watch your live rock thrive. Over your cycling period you will get to see all different kinds of animals start to come out. Im pretty new myself,ask questions and read.....im still learning a bunch every day.

 

Check out our lighting and skimmer links....you will surely find what your looking for in there

 

For a skimmer I'd go with the Aqua C Ramora if your looking for a hang on the back or possible a backpack skimmer from Octopus. As for the lights look for a 4 or possibly 6 bulb T5 setup. There are a lot of good brands but look for one wiht indavidual reflectors for each bulb.

 

try putting some sort of floss or filter socks on the lines to the sump.. then stir up or blow with power head, some of the finer sand, the socks should catch it, then rinse them out, then repeat.

 

thanks so much for your help. I will def get a t5 lighting kit and hope that my cuc will clean up the dust.