Need to vent

So I've been setting up my new tank for the last month at least. I'm getting so frustrated with the sand that it's making me want to take it all down and throw in the towel. I got 120 lbs of sand from Marco rocks and my tank has looked like milk now for over a week and a half. I leave everything off and the one dust settles but the the slightest touch to the rocks in there an it's right back to milk. I need to break down my otter tank at my other house and it seems like I'll never be able to do it because of this f-ing sandstorm that comes up at the slightest of movement. Ive tried everything short of emptying everything out. Filter socks do nothing since the dust is so fine. I'm just getting so fed up with this crap and I'm in a situation that I need to get things moved over and every time I turn around, that is seeming to further and further away. Anyone have any ideas?? Sorry for the ranting

 

Leave on the powerheads, and start cycling the tank. The bacteria that develop will help hold the sand down and together.

 

Sorry your having a problem. I have the same sand in my tank and have had absolutly NO issues once it cleared up originally (took about 24 hrs).

 

Have you started it cycling?

 

+1
it sometimes takes a bit longer
24 hours as mentioned by Yamaharider sounds very quick based on my experience

I have had issues like this take a couple of weeks before I achieved perfect clarity
as blackraven states, once life starts accumulating on and in the sand bed it compacts slightly and you dont get these cloudy water issues

my last set up looked excactly like your image for the 1st few days
and took almost 2 weeks to clear

I have 2 sand sleeping wrasse and although I do get a bit of a storm at the start of every day (when the guys wake up and get out of bed)
these only last a few minutes now and everything settles quickly again

Steve

 

Any one have any idea what that "bio-clarifier" stuff is that come in carib sea sand.

might be something to look into. i used 80 lbs when i upgraded a few months ago. it was cloud free in hours. might have been a coincidence though.

 

CaribSea Bio-Magnet Clarifier

you mean this product?

Steve

 

You just need to get things running and cycle through the dust. Keep it circulated and turn your skimmer on. Filter socks come in different fineness... you can certainly get a filter fine enough to filter it out. It will clear up, just keep going.

 

yeah that stuff, the bags of sand i used came with a really small packet of that stuff in them. Ha, i even fished one bag out months later i must have forgot to get out before i dumped it in.