Alright, so I set up my fish tank with the pea gravel you buy at Lowes. I live in an apartment so didn't know how I could rinse the gravel, and I was in a hurry anyway. So I went ahead and added water to the tank. Now the water is muddy and is hard to see anything. It has cleared up somewhat, but is still pretty cloudy. Anyone know how to get rid of it? Do I have to drain the water and refill? Thanks for the help!
Adam
Muddy Water! Help!
Started by
Guest_NativeLover_*
, Sep 03 2007 03:39 PM
11 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_fuzzyletters_*
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Posted 03 September 2007 - 04:48 PM
This shouldn't be a big deal... it will eventually settle out. I think if you had an extra or you really wanted to you could put a little hob filter on the tank to get some of the particulate stuff out sooner, but otherwise it shouldn't take too long for things to right themselves. Do you have a day or two to wait before adding fish? If so, I think you'll see a big difference.
#3
Guest_NativeLover_*
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Posted 04 September 2007 - 01:24 AM
Thanks for the reply. It is getting better as it sits. Will it muddy again when I siphon the tank? Thanks.
Adam
Adam
#4
Guest_troutperch beeman_*
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Posted 04 September 2007 - 05:51 AM
Thanks for the reply. It is getting better as it sits. Will it muddy again when I siphon the tank? Thanks.
Adam
It shouldn't as long as you siphon gently, you should be able to suck out a lot of the particles’.
#5
Guest_drewish_*
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Posted 04 September 2007 - 10:07 AM
The muck will probably settle but will be easily stirred up if not removed. If the rocks are laid thick enough it may prevent this.
#6
Guest_dsmith73_*
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Posted 04 September 2007 - 10:35 AM
The muck will probably settle but will be easily stirred up if not removed. If the rocks are laid thick enough it may prevent this.
If the silt is allowed to settle and you do not disturb in for a couple of weeks, it will work its way down into the gravel and not be a problem. You can then remove it later with a gravel vacuum if you want.
#7
Guest_fuzzyletters_*
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Posted 04 September 2007 - 03:29 PM
Just don't gravel vacuum too vigorously or over too large a portion of the gravel or you can seriously damage your beneficial bacteria colonies.
#8
Guest_Irate Mormon_*
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Posted 04 September 2007 - 04:12 PM
Just don't gravel vacuum too vigorously or over too large a portion of the gravel or you can seriously damage your beneficial bacteria colonies.
That's an interesting comment - I used to think the same thing. John Gratzek once told me that the bacteria are stuck pretty strongly to the gravel itself - you can wash it and you won't dislodge them. Doing some water monitoring, I have found that you can take the gravel out, wash it in a bucket, put it back into the tank, and not disturb your nitrification.
#9
Guest_AndrewAcropora_*
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Posted 04 September 2007 - 07:51 PM
Leave the silt!
I always just rinse once to get the leaves and junk out and try to keep the smaller substrate particles-- they're essential for a well balanced sandbed!
I always just rinse once to get the leaves and junk out and try to keep the smaller substrate particles-- they're essential for a well balanced sandbed!
#10
Guest_NativeLover_*
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Posted 05 September 2007 - 01:46 PM
Which raises another question: Will it be beneficial to my plants?
#11
Guest_fuzzyletters_*
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Posted 05 September 2007 - 04:04 PM
That's an interesting comment - I used to think the same thing. John Gratzek once told me that the bacteria are stuck pretty strongly to the gravel itself - you can wash it and you won't dislodge them. Doing some water monitoring, I have found that you can take the gravel out, wash it in a bucket, put it back into the tank, and not disturb your nitrification.
Wow... sorry for the misinformation then :S
#12
Guest_hmt321_*
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Posted 05 September 2007 - 04:38 PM
I would think that the particles would help plants.
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