My tank is cloudy (new tank)

[lil.guppy]

46 gallon
I used half RO water and the other half tap
Instant ocean mix
heater is installed
Penguin bio wheel filter
power head with sponge filter
20lb bag crushed coral
3, 20 lbs bags of live aragonite sand

I set it up last night and the water is VERY cloudy
When I try to clean out the filters once an hour or so, all the stuff flows off of them before I can get them out of the water.

What to do what to do

 

[TimSchmidt]

Honestly just wait. :wlift The cloudyness is not an uncommon event. I would suspect something in the tap water and or the sand itself. Just give the tank time to settle down. With the reef setup make sure you clean any sponges or filter media frequently to help keep nitrates down. If you really really want super clean water they sell filter socks of different micron sizes to catch any particulate matter. I don't think you have a sump so you will have to get creative to use them though.

For the crushed coral - I've never used it, but many of the people I speak to who have regret using it. Apparently it gathers a large amount of detritus and is a constant sources of nitrates.

 

[corrales_305]

I think its normal to get cloudy water when you first set up a tank. Its also happened to me anyway. But you should try to stay away from tap water. Tap water is no good for anything in the tank.

 

[drnsee]

Agreed, cloudy water is common at first. If you want to rinse out any particulate matter and sand caught up in your filters, shut them off first. then siphon out the water from the filter box with the sand that does drop in there.

It's just a matter of time and it should settle. I did set up a tank with crushed coral. It's a pain...detritius like Tim said, gets stuck in it and any algae is hard to get rid off of it. I'm much happier with sand.