Pre-rinsing pool filter sand

qquake2k

qquake2k

AC Members
May 3, 2006
121
1
16
Northern California
I saw a couple of posts on here by people who said they used pool filter sand as a substrate, and didn't pre-rinse the sand first. I should have known better. I just put it in my 16g bowfront, and what a mess! The water is so cloudy now, I can't even see through it. The poor little Cascade HOB filter wasn't doing anything. So I moved it to the side, and put the big Aquaclear 110 that I just bought on the back. Even its 500gph don't seem to be helping.

I would just replace the water, but the tank is in the middle of cycling, and I don't want to have to start over. I'm tempted to go get a canister filter...

Moral of the story is, ALWAYS PRE-RINSE YOUR SUBSTRATE NO MATTER WHAT!
 
You basically have to restart cycling now no matter what. Your bacteria is in your filter and substrate and you have replaced both, now you have to completely start over. The bacteria on the filter is dead and that's the only bacteria you had. The water doesn't help at all.

The bigger filter won't help either, the cloudiness is too small to be filtered by floss.
 
not true.... said moved it not removed it..... washing is always a good idea but there are things you can do to help it not cloud up. first empty the tank put the sand in and fill it up very slowly. you use like a plate so it doesnt kick it up. even wash its going to be cloudy and might take a day or two clear up. the fish are fine to put in there.
 
Got a canister

Well, It may not be the right thing to do, but I went and got a Rena Filstar canister. I've been thinking about getting one anyway, for my bigger aquarium. Hopefully this will filter the water better than the Aquaclear. It certainly has a lot more media in it. Three different kinds of mechanical, plus carbon. The last filter pad is a "micro filtration pad". We'll see.

I didn't want to let the muck settle to the bottom, it would just get cloudy again every time I vacuum or rake the sand. I'm hoping this wil actually clean the water.
 
Well, I was one of those people who posted in the other thread. I Did Not wash my pool filter sand before putting it in my tank. There was NO cloudyness at All. But I also stated in my post that I checked a Large bowl full of it to see if it needed rinsing! It did Not. I don't recall anyone saying to just dump it in before checking to see if it needed to be rinsed out first!
 
if you had access to a vortex or system 1 diatom filter that cloudy water would be crystal clear in less then 1 hour tops. i really like my system 1
 
I would suggest just draining it 100% and refilling, should help get rid most of the dust, and then letting the dust settle for another 24hrs before starting filtration up again.
 
I wrapped filter floss (walmart pillow stuffing) over the intakes to help remove the cloudiness from Estes marine sand & protect the HOB filters. It took a day or 2 in a 10g. You can also add it to the inside of the filters too
 
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