update to DSB conversion ( sorry for the legnth of the post )

[slimtim260]

i have spent the last 5+ hours taking out all my live rock, crushed coral and critters. while it was a BB i siphoned out 20 gallons of water. i went to the store to get some RO water. got back and put 10 gallons in then added sand. i used 4 30-35# bags of sand it is at 6" now. i have a few problems. i cut open the bags and dumped them in there (after trying several other ways of putting it in without clouding the water). i added the live rock last because i didnt want it out of the water for too long. its so cloudy now that you cant even see the live rock or the back of the tank. i expected this but from your expierence how long will it take to settle down? i realize that when it does and i rearrange the rock the same thing will happen. this is only a 46 bowfront that is just under 21" tall. i have a mag 7 return pump with 2 outlets and around 8' of head. so the flow isnt a problem im just worried that its gonna keep the small particles from settling for a while. i thought about keeping the pump off until it settles but since i did a huge water change i need the heater on to warm up the water. i dont know if i like the look of the 6" DSB i might siphon out 2" or so. it looks like about the top 1/4" of the sand is fine particles and there is some foamy stuff on the top of the tank and sump. what is this stuff ? i have a rio 2500 pump for my skimmer should i turn off the pump to make sure no sand particles get into the pump ? i am thinking about turning off the pump and moving the heater from the sump to the main tank and let it settle and the water can warm up at the same time. i also added some cycle to get the bacteria growing faster in the sand. i welcome anyone to chime in here on what to expect with the cloudyness or the depth of the sand bed.

 

[slimtim260]

assuming the tank cycles what is the time frame for the sand to become live ? i know its hard to get a exact answer but a ballpark figure would help

 

[jjmg]

Once I added the rock to my tank and did not have the skimmer running it was still very thick after 2 days. I then turned on my skimmer and it cleared pretty much overnight. When I rearranged I was as careful as possible and with the skimmer running it cleared in several hours.

Hope this helps some. I'd keep the skimmer going and have it making wet skim.

 

[slimtim260]

yeah i cleaned it up to make sure there wasnt any sand i nthe venturi. it is definatley doing its job. i also bought some carbon and white pads from the fish store. i stirred it up again after changing the pads and i can already see a outline of some of the liverocks (stirred it up about 1 1/2 hours ago)

 

[NCreefwannabe]

I think i posted this in your other thread maybe?? but if you have a hangon filter around somewhere. pop it on the tank for a day or so with some pantyhose covering the pads. This helps filter out the smaller sand particles.

This with my skimmer running cleared my tank overnight, and I used southdown sand lol. I now can stir up my sand as much as i want and it clears totally in about 2 hours. Once you have more bacteria growth in the sand, it will settle alot faster for future occasions also.