whats wrong ?

[murphysfish]

Ok I have had a 55 gal. salt tank for 2 months and wanted something bigger. I set the 55 without any help. I recently went on a live rock and sand buying spree from local enthusiast. I bought a 280 gallon reef ready setup . the sand at which point it sat in 5 gallon buckets full without any circulation for 5 days at least. I put the live rock in other tanks that i had and circulated it with powerheads. then I thought, today is a good day to put all the sand in the tank, I pulled the top off and put the first bucket in. I will never forget that smell. It was very bad and smelt of decaying fish and fish waste. I thought it would go away if i put water on it . well i filled my tank up halfway and it is so cloudy (looks like stirred up pond). Optimism is great until it blows up in your face.

there is a dark brown layer of stuff covering the sand bed and I have no idea what it is.

I want to know what to do to get the water clear like it was it is in 55.

do i have to drain it or what ?

my sump is not up and running or my fuge that i am trying to do.

so tank is at the moment circulating with powerheads.

any help is appreciated.. thanks blake

 

[Hop]

Time to throw the sand away... Sorry. I don't recommend using used sand, especially that sat in buckets for several days becoming an ammonia factory

 

[jdiddy8384]

I would get new sand like he said. The brown stuff on the sand is probably just diatoms that will go away with time. Ive found out the hard way that you have to be patient with saltwater tanks.

 

[murphysfish]

so why is the water all cloudy after its had time to settle?

 

[Hop]

Well it usually takes a few days for the sand to settle. In addition you may be looking at a bacterial bloom and a host of other problems with that sand in there.

 

[Lawnmower Blenn]

what kinda sand do most run in reef tank i like that fine stuff just cant find it

 

[abulgin]

I wouldn't throw out the sand--it's already in your tank, and you might as well use it to cycle your tank. The cloudiness is probably a combination of detritus that was trapped in the sand and a bacteria bloom caused by dumping a ton of dead sand in your tank. You're definitely in for a full 6-8 week cycle period . . .

 

[crsswift70]

That brown stuff i would guess is years of detritus buildup in the sand. When i moved my 29 to a 75, i reused my sand but i cleaned it thoroughly and also added about 3 bags. It had a LOT of that brown silty material in it. I am trying my hardest to keep the sand in my new tank stirred to try and keep it from getting as bad as my old tank. As far as what type, i used sugar fine sand.

 

[Hop]

It is absolutely my opinion based on experience to throw that sand out and start over. There is no amount of husbandry that is going to save you from the work ahead of yourself keeping that sand in there. JME The decision is yours now.

 

[abulgin]

I don't disagree, but since it's already in the tank I was thinking he might as well use it to cycle and then remove/replace.

 

[gulfstream]

dead sand

dead sand

your live sand went from live sand to dead sand
being out of the system for 5 days with out any circulation ,water
and lights has made all living organisms die......
if you want to keep it you will have to get most of it out of the
tank and rinse it well......Most people when starting a new set up rather use new sand.
you can choose to reuse it if you wish,but it will take a bit longer than few weeks before it clears alltogether.