New with cloudy water problems

Hello All,

I am new to the hobby and am having some newbie problems...maybe someone out there can help!

I recently set up a new 35 gallon deep tank. I added the water first (which I am now regretting) and turned on the two pumps, the protein skimmer (hang-on back type) and the heater to get the water circulating and temp to 76 before adding salt! I then added the appropriate amount of salt and got the salinity correct. Then, I added the Carib-Sea Sugar sized sand to get a sand bed of about 3-4 inches. The problem began and still remains that I have really cloudy (milky) looking water. It has been this way for about 5 days now. Therefore, I added a hang-on carbon filter (whisper) that I thought would aid in taking some of the cloudiness out, and still nothing! Any tips on how to get rid of the cloudy/milky looking water without replacing it all...that RO/DI filter takes forever to make water and I would hate to have to buy the salt again and go through the whole process.

Thanks,
Mike

 

I would just turn off the skimmer and any other circulation pumps.  Wipe the glass to get any particles back into the water column and simply run the Whisper filter.  You might even be able to remove the carbon and just use some filter wool instead.  It really should start becoming clearer within 24 hours.

John

 

I agree with John the Whisper filter should work fine but dump the normal filter media. Then pack the filter with filter floss. The carbon won't do you any good (for the cloudiness anyway).

 

What is filter floss, and should I be able to get that at my LFS????

Thanks,
Mike

 

Yup, any fish store should have it...it looks like white cotton candy stuff....just put it in your whisper, and toss it every day or so as it becomes clogged. It is pretty cheap..

 

Thanks birdlady...I will be buying some filter floss today! You have helped me before and are always a good reference!

-Mike

 

But don't forget the tank still has to go though it's normal cycling. It took my tank a good three months before it became Crystal clear. :

 

What I plan to do is this:

1) Get the filter floss and get a lot of the milky cloudiness out.

2) remove the whisper filter and turn on my two pumps and protein skimmer.

3) Let cycle for a week and make sure pH and Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrates are levelled out.

4) Add about 30 lbs live rock and some live sand/sand activator.

5) Let cycle for about 3-4 weeks checking every so often for balanced levels of pH, Nitrite, Nitrate, and Ammonia.

6) Start adding fish...

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Mike

 

It sounds like you have a plan to me. Waiting a month and a half before you add fish, you could probably do it sooner. I waited a mouth. I also put the LR in right away. (waited 3,4 days then added)

The rock will help cycle the tank quicker.  

 

well, you can never say the right time before. Just keep on testing, wait for the ammonia spike to come and go and then the same for nitrite. As soon as ammonia and nitrite are 0 again carefully test everything else to see if everything's all right. Then add the fish.
It's just a little waiting game