Something wrong??

I think I've done something wrong! I have washed the gravel and put it in the tank (flooded the place because I didnt take water out of the tank first and it overflowed ), and got the filter running but the water is really mucky looking - you can barely see from one end to the other!

What have I done wrong or is this normal??

I dont think there's much to worry about because you havent got any fish in there yet have you? It could just be that you haven't washed the gravel enough, but I am sure someone else will confirm that for you

cam wrote:

I dont think there's much to worry about because you havent got any fish in there yet have you? It could just be that you haven't washed the gravel enough, but I am sure someone else will confirm that for you

Thats probs it. Thats happened with most of my set ups. It should clear by tomorrow. Do some good gravel vacs so the dusty stuff doesn't stay in the gravel

There is a hell of a lot of dust in a bag of gravel, and it takes an awful lot of washing to get rid of it. You can either leave it and do as matt suggests, or take it out and give it a really good washing.

Either way, keep an eye of your filter because the muck in the water could block it and stop it working.

I wash mine too Diana. I'm not that lazy

Oh I think I'll empty it all out and start again. It took me hours to figure out the filter set up, so I couldn't bear anything happening to that.

TBH i wouldn't bother. It should be fine. ALl my new tanks go cloudy and (touch wood) i have never had a problem

Matty wrote:

I wash mine too Diana. I'm not that lazy

Ahh, Matt, I wasn't suggesting that you were!.. I just meant that elj could leave the gravel in situ and give it a good vac!

Oooh!!!

I found the best way to clean gravel is to put handfuls of it in a metal sieve and then use the shower head to rinse water through it until the water runs clear. Put the washed gravel in a bucket and then once you've it all done, just give the bucket a few swirls with clean water to make sure any leftover dirt is removed and then pour off any excess water.

Btw, always add the gravel to the tank before you add the water otherwise the gravel goes everywhere as you've found. If I were you, Elj, I'd drain the tank, take out all the gravel and give it a thorough clean as described above. It's a tedious process but works a treat.

I did exactly the same thing when I was setting up my tank - didnt wash the tank half enough and had to remove it all and start again. i think its the best way to do it coz it does talke a lot of rinsing under the tap.

But your sorted now driver (Just seen your sig, fill up that Clearseal tank )