Need help guys on my tank

[kevinly]

So the story is I bought a new filter and got it running in my tank. I added aqua clear and everything. I then added gravel but i forgot to clean the gravel, so it made my tank cloudy. I then realized I forgot to wash the gravel before putting it in my tank. So I drained out all the water but didn't clean the gravel and the water is still cloudy.

So I guess my question is:
Is me not cleaning the gravel causing the water to be cloudy? I added stress zyme to help cycle quicker.

I plan on draining the tank once again and take out the gravel and rinse it throughly to make sure I got out all the dust. I was wondering how long after i fill the tank up again, that I can add my fish in there? Again the filter has be running for about 1 and a half weeks now.

[aggrocichlidfan]

u messed up i think if you completely rince all the gravell it will naturally be cloudy for a day or 2 but i think you should change your filter pads/cartirage or etc after you thouroly rinse the gravel

[76dragon]

Yes, it is the gravel. Either you take out and clean it or let it settle and let the filters do the work.

[FrontosaurusRex]

i emptied my 65g tank out last night. i put in brand new PFS and filled the tank up. I didnt wash the sand before putting it in the tank. When the tank was full i added the correct amount of StressCoat and turned on one of my filters. The water was VERY cloudy, but after about 5 hours of running through the filter, it was about 50% clearer so i added my second filter and in another 5 hours my tank was crystal clear. I added my fish and everything has been great. Some people on here swear by chemicals, but if you get right down to the basics, you dont need all that extra crap. the only chemical i've ever used was StressCoat and i've never had problems with my tanks. Hope some of this helps. Good luck

[cichlid1409]

time for water to clear definitely depends on 1) tank size 2) amount of filtration. what do you have?

[cichlid1409]

Some people on here swear by chemicals, but if you get right down to the basics, you dont need all that extra crap.

+1

[algarciajr]

It may take two or three days for everything to settle.

[kevinly]

time for water to clear definitely depends on 1) tank size 2) amount of filtration. what do you have?

okay first i have a 75 gallon tank. i bought a new aqua clear filter. i added gravel after i had the filter running approximately 2 days tops. water is clearer after i added a piece of old filter medium from another tank i have. then i added stress zyme today. maybe it is me and i have a black background, water is not cloudy but you can say dusty like there is a lot of dust floating around in the water. also i need to get a top for the tank maybe to reduce dust getting in the water

[cichlid1409]

what size aqua clear? if its a 70 i'd get another one and run them both.

[kevinly]

what size aqua clear? if its a 70 i'd get another one and run them both.

i have an aqua clear 110.

[cichlid1409]

turnover between 6-7 times per hour is kind of the minimum and you can get away with it but still another 110 would get you 13+ alot better. IMO you can never have to much filtration. Now this is not something you need to do but .... it will decrease time for water to clear , hold more bacteria , create more water flow ,and add more surface area to extract detritus though.

[wesleydnunder]

Some floss added to the filter will speed up the clarification, but every time you or your fish disturb the substrate it will kick more dust into the water. Over time with lots of water changes and gravel vacs the dust will be gone. Stresszyme is snake oil and won't cycle your tank any faster than without it. Putting mature media from another filter will speed things up.

Mark

[wesleydnunder]

is not something you need to do but .... it will decrease time for water to clear , hold more bacteria , create more water flow ,and add more surface area to extract detritus though.

Your biofilter will have as much bacteria alive as there is available food for. Increasing surface area will not grow more bacteria than there is food for.

Mark

[stevenallenbarnard]

i did this before when setting up a 125. I just let the filters do their job and I vacumed the gravel a lot for about a day

[eklikewhoa]

Just drain the tank while cleaning/stirring the gravel.

If it's a new tank it won't matter much.