My wonderful wife gave me a 36 gallon bow-front for my birthday. I have decided to try my hand at a planted tank because I love how they look. Ive decided to go with a sand substrate because it was cheap and available. I could not find any pool filter sand so i bought "washed" play sand.
I thought I would have to change the water a few times to get it to clear out, I have bought unwashed sand that was cleaner. Unfortunately I do not have a hose on the outside of my house so setting a buvket under the hose bib and ignoring it for a while while the water ran was not an option. I ended up running a hose from my sink and running my siphon out the window and using the sink to try and match the flow of the two. an hour later the tank was almost sort of clear.
I thought I would have to change the water a few times to get it to clear out, I have bought unwashed sand that was cleaner. Unfortunately I do not have a hose on the outside of my house so setting a buvket under the hose bib and ignoring it for a while while the water ran was not an option. I ended up running a hose from my sink and running my siphon out the window and using the sink to try and match the flow of the two. an hour later the tank was almost sort of clear.