Instant Ocean - water still cloudy after 36 hours

[muppet]

Hey folks. I'm setting up my 55 finally, getting ready to move my inhabitants over from my 14g nano. I've got everything plumbed and I've even got a ball of chaeto growing in my sump/fuge along with some LR (found a 2" bristle star hitchhiker!).

The problem is that the water is still a bit cloudy even after 36 hours. I thought Instant Ocean was supposed to be the fastest dissolving stuff out there. I got a "treats 200 gallons" box on clearance at the LFS for a good price, but now I'm thinking that the salt may have absorbed some moisture while it was in the bags.

I've got everything circulating right now, from overflow to sump to return. There's a big aerator in the sump, which I thought might help.

Last night in a fit of desperation and impatience I added some CaribSea Biomagnet Clarifier (in case it was silt sand and not salt), but it didn't help much (it seems to have possibly helped a little).

I've got a dense filter floss pad (some small nm rating) in my sump where the flow is high. It seems like as the water becomes less cloudy, the SG goes up, which seems to indicate that it's salt that I'm seeing clouding the water and not the sand.

Any suggestions? Just wait?

I started with 0 TDS water from an AquaFX Octopus RO/DI.

[89Foxbody]

That's really unusual as I've never had an issue with undissolved salt using IO. I use the Reef Crystals and they are gone within a minute of stirring. This might be one of those things where you just have to wait it out.

[greech]

Sand can take 2 to 3 days to clear up. Betting it will clear up soon. Can't explain the SG but the 55 will evaporate much more than a 14G biocube with a tight fitting lid.

[muppet]

I was hoping to get my tank denizens moved over today since the 14 has been leaking saltwater in a steady flow onto my hardwood floor for weeks (months) now. Is silt going to harm my clowns? I haven't got any corals.

I would imagine it might make them a bit uncomfortable and stress them out.

[spieszak]

May not work with your PW, but when have added sand, or on a new tank, I throw a water polisher pad over my pw intake and shut everything else off until the silt settles out.

[spieszak]

May not work with your PH, but when have added sand, or on a new tank, I throw a water polisher pad over my pw intake and shut everything else off until the silt settles out.

Forgot to add, clean it often if it's picking up the silt... or it'll block the flow and you'll burn your power head out

[Sk8r]

How are you on cycling? 'Expanding' the tank may not be cycle-less. Best just put the clowns into a qt for a while, or can you clarify? Silt is relatively harmless except it will irritate gills (like dust in the air) but I'm seeing things here that alarm me on the potential ammonia front.

[SushiGirl]

Did you mix it in the tank?

[muppet]

I put a polisher pad under the aerator in my sump. My overflow goes to a slotted length of PVC that drips down onto a tray with a grid pattern of perforations. The water falls from the pipe to the pad as a low pressure spray, then through whatever filter medium is there and into the grid holes down into the sump. It doesn't seem to be getting much, if any, silt out. Maybe the pressure is too low.

[muppet]

sk8r - I'm pretty confident I can expand this tank without triggering an ammonia cycle after doing a lot of research and talking to guys with decades of experience.

I'm not adding any new bioload to the community, just transplanting it from the 14 to the 55. The added water volume shouldn't give a problem, but I'm expecting that I might see diatoms again.

I'm using all cured rock that is already spread across my two tanks currently and just moving the clowns and inverts right across the room. Shouldn't be any time for die-off in the rocks, etc.

About the only thing that concerns me is the algae because the nitrates are gonna take a dip initially, but I can throw in some polyfilter or dose with Stabilize if I see any NH3 show up.

I think I'm covered. I'm worried more about the silt.

[muppet]

SushiGirl - yep, seemed to make the most sense. I mixed all 70 gallons (sump and DT) at once and just turned on the circulation while I agitated the bottom of the DT with a big ladle. ;-)

[muppet]

Trouble is, I'm not sure now whether it's silt or salt. I added the sand before the salt had completely finished "settling" because I figured if the water's gonna be cloudy anyway, may as well just let it all work out at once.

It's probably silt at this point, I'd imagine.

[SushiGirl]

I always mix salt outside of the tank. I know it's a pain, but once you get your livestock in there you will not be able to mix it in the tank anymore.

My guess would be it's silt and salt. You may have salt pockets in your substrate now because it wasn't fully mixed when you put your sand in.

[muppet]

There may be some salt layered on top of the substrate but I made very sure that there were no clumps or any precipitated (settled) salt on the glass when I did it.

In other circumstances I'd definitely have waited longer to add the sand, though.

[Sk8r]

muppet, you and others are right theoretically, and I am relieved that you are aware of the potential problem. You know your bacterial colonies are going to be concentrated in the rock and not very dispersed into the tank in general, and of course the bacteria have to be where the nutrient IS to deal with it. Treat that tank very, very gingerly at first re feeding and just watch to be sure all food is consumed. Have a bottle of Amquel on hand to help you out if you do get a surprise. Test very often---twice a day is not too often re the first 5 days: I did a move and re-setup, and it took my tank 5 days, though I had some additional problems related to a delay in setup in early summer heat.
Wish you the best, and pm one of the RC Team if you run into trouble; we're here to help.

[GT3]

I use 100F water to mix my salt, dissolve in 5 min max.