The typical impatient noob...

[CommonlyBefuddled]

So I've caught the puffer bug, and I'm starting to set up a tank. But I already made a mistake...I read on the bag of argonite sand that prior rinsing was not required and I took the easy way out and just added water. (It is not 'live', just dry. I really didn't want to rinse and pour so much sand in my bathtub). We'll now I'm just wondering how to remedy the situation...it's a 20 U.S gal tank, and I've gotten the water a little bit clearer by doing a massive water change. Is wasting a lot of water the only way to clear up this problem? Should I just let it sit? And if it does get clearer eventually...is this dust harmful to fish?

Thanks!

[seventy]

Well its going to have to cycle anyway, whether it be a quick cycle or a week or two. I'd say that by the time it is cycled the water will have cleared up. When you buy certain brands of 'live' sand they come with a packet that's supposed to speed up this process. If it was just dry sand then you shouldnt have a problem after you run it with a filter for a little while.

When I was setting up a small 10 gal SW tank recently, I used 5 lbs of sand and it was cleared up in 24-36 hours.

What kind of puffer do you have?

[CommonlyBefuddled]

Well I'll gladly start cycling the tank...if the dust from the sand isn't going to ruin my filter. Thank you for your reply, just now, I tried to rinse the sand inside the tank, and pretty much did a complete water change and then some. If you think it's alright to start up my filter (Marineland box/power filter+biowheel), then I'll get too it. I don't have a puffer yet, but I'm thinking about a GSP, since it's the only brackish puffer I can find in this town (and they're only at walmart...SAD!). And I don't have any existing tanks as of now, so it might take a while for me to cycle this puppy.

[Hilly]

Had this problem when I set up my 1st brackish tank, to make it worse I used live aragonite which totally mesed up cycling in low brackish. Water remained cloudy for a while but it never harmed my Eheim nd fluval internals that were running in there. Water changes will help, I left mine and it eventually settled.

[Pufferpunk]

If it were me, I'd take it out ito a bucket, stick a hose in it & rinse, rinse, rinse, in the backyard.

[seventy]

Well I'll gladly start cycling the tank...if the dust from the sand isn't going to ruin my filter. Thank you for your reply, just now, I tried to rinse the sand inside the tank, and pretty much did a complete water change and then some. If you think it's alright to start up my filter (Marineland box/power filter+biowheel), then I'll get too it. I don't have a puffer yet, but I'm thinking about a GSP, since it's the only brackish puffer I can find in this town (and they're only at walmart...SAD!). And I don't have any existing tanks as of now, so it might take a while for me to cycle this puppy.

A biowheel will help because you can rinse out the filter daily and the good bacteria will remain in your wheel and it shouldn't hurt your filter any.

Or you can do what PP recommended and just get it over with before you go through 50 gallons of water[and lots of salt] by doing a million water changes. Since you dont have a fish in there yet you dont have to be super careful.

*IF* you have some kind of specialty store or local friends with healthy aquariums you can always borrow a bio-wheel and float it in your tank to cycle faster.

[CommonlyBefuddled]

Thank you all for your advice, I really appreciate it. But I have one more question...have any of you bought a hood and didn't have the proper tools to cut out the filter slots?? I'm kinda at a loss of what to do...I'm wondering if they could do it for me at Petco? Thanks guys!

[Iliveinazoo]

Thank you all for your advice, I really appreciate it. But I have one more question...have any of you bought a hood and didn't have the proper tools to cut out the filter slots?? I'm kinda at a loss of what to do...I'm wondering if they could do it for me at Petco? Thanks guys!

we bought a an external filter for a tank that came with an internal filter. the hood was plastic so i used my cutters (snips) and cut a hole just big enough for the tubes and made it look a bit tidier by filing with a curved file. It's at the back so wasn't really bothered about aeshetics.

[LilGreenPuffer]

I had a problem with the hood like this. I just worked on it for a good ten minutes with my best scissors.

[Pufferpunk]

Hacksaw?

[Dadof4]

I've had to use some sharp scissors and I also have used tin snips in the past. You can soften the plastic with very hot water poured over the area you intend to cut. Be careful not to hurt yourself!

[CommonlyBefuddled]

Well to my pleasant surprise, I was able to do it with an old, sturdy, butterknife. The plastic connecting the 'cut-out' areas was pretty soft.

[ghost_shrimp]

If you have a place to stick some filter floss in your filter, it will help clear up the cloudiness. You might have to change out the filter floss a few times.