Milky Water

[CheyDogFlies]

OK Boys & Girls,

Finally have my new in-wall plumbed, filled with RO/DI water, and salted to 1.024sg. Water was crystal clear. Added 4 bags of Arag-Alive as substrate, and instantly got down to 1-2 inches visibility with milky visibility. Skimmed maybe 1/2 cup out of that, and still have 2-3" milky vis. It does not appear to be air bubbles to me--perhaps something different?

Has anyone seen as much crud with Arag-Alive as me?

[Lifeaquaitic]

Please tell me that you rinsed it through thoruoghly before adding it? If not you are gonna have a huge headache with dusty stuff getting in everywhere. Good luck man.

[ChuckG]

On the positive side - it will settle down on its own given time. Could take several days though.

[Patrick™]

You will be fine. This is normal. Once the bacteria colonize the fine particles suspended in the water column they will settle to the bottom. However, this may take 3-7 days to happen.

[CheyDogFlies]

Originally Posted by Lifeaquaitic

Please tell me that you rinsed it through thoruoghly before adding it? If not you are gonna have a huge headache with dusty stuff getting in everywhere. Good luck man.

No, I figured I'd follow step one on the bag:
1. Do not rinse.

[emnmtony]

I used the Fiji Pink sand a few weeks back had the same issue .. the water was clear the next day though.. I also followed the first step.
Had a light diatom bloom but i added my cleanup crew and the tanks lookin good now..

[olsaltybastard]

Originally Posted by CheyDogFlies

No, I figured I'd follow step one on the bag:
1. Do not rinse.

Just like a military guy to follow the instructions!!


You'll be fine in a few days. Post some pics so we can all see your progress.

[DaveK]

Originally Posted by CheyDogFlies

No, I figured I'd follow step one on the bag:
1. Do not rinse.

You did things correctly.

Products such as Arag-Alive should not be rinsed. Doing so would destroy the bacteria you want in there.

Yes, it will settle down in a few days. What will happen is that the bacteria will colonize the systems, and cycle it, producing a bacteria film over everything. This will be especially true for any live rock in the system. This film is very sticky, and it will trap anything that doesn't settle out.

You can vacuum the top 3/4" or so go sandbed, once the tank is established. This will remove the material that is very fine and settled out, but this is not really necessary.

[trinisalt]

I had the same issue when setting up my 120 gal. Apparently argonite take about a week (maybe 2) to settle out compared to most sands that settle out in one night. However i think it's worth it cause it adds lots of spaces for bacteria to grow.

[CheyDogFlies]

We're about 90-95% clear today--looking great. It's been about 5 days.