How much longer?

[TigerBarb56]

Hey, so yesturday i turned my 38 gal. substrate from gravel to sand, Well when you pour sand in it get pretty foggy, Mind you well i'am doing this i have fish in a 4 gal. bucket! I pour it in and it is just like this thick white fog. So i left it over night, this morning i can see the sand relatively well and i can barely see the filter intake on the other side of the tank.

What i'am asking is can i put the fish back in now or should i wait until it completely clears up?

Thanks so much everyone, i know i can ask some annoying questions some times, so thanks for not getting pissed *DRUMMER*
So thanks!

 

[snoce]

did u rinse the sand like 5,000 times to clean it....u need to clean the dirt(sounds kinda funny)u need to get out all the dust and dirtyness out....i would put the fish back in yet....i dont think it will just clear up...it may but i think everytime the fish get into it or u do water changes u will probably get the same type of fog pop up.....i am not totally sure but it seems u may have to take the sand out and clean it

 

[vinodhv]

i think that you should test the water parameters. I'm a newbie but i believe that the gravel substrate housed bacteria your tank needs. and i definitely wouldnt put the fish back in. you could try to hook up your filter to the bucket for the mean time.

 

[GoldLenny]

You should have put the wet sand in first, then pour the water slowly onto a plate so it does not mess up the sand too much.

Since you already have it mixed in, turn your filter off for an hour at a time to give the sand a chance to settle down. Don't leave your filter off for more than an hour at a time so it does not affect your nitrifying bacteria.

 

[snoce]

just like any new substrate that you put in your tank especially sand has got to be rinsed and cleaned.....

 

[SANND]

Somebody in another thread, I think it was Lotus, suggested putting a sponge or something over the intake so sand doesn't get into your impeller.

All of my fish have survived the sandstorms I've created but I can't imagine that it was comfortable for them. I wouldn't like breathing in all that!

 

[TigerBarb56]

i put the sand in a big bucket and poured a bunch of water on it and left it that way for like 30 minutes so i don't think that counts as rinsing, But do i really have to take all the sand back out my mom was so, so pissed at me cuz it was all over, and it is such a big deal to take it all out and put it back in. Plus i have 9 fish in a 4 gal bucket and they have been there over night!

 

[snoce]

how much sand did u put in...you really only need about 1 inch or so covering the bottom....what you needed to do is place the sand in a bucket and rinse it over and over many many times...till the water becomes cleaner...you will see once you start how dirty it is.....mixing the sand around in water real good then dump the water the do the same over and over...since u have it in your tank give it a few days to see how it clears up maybe you wont need to start over