Hi Everyone- I'm an idiot!

[Reannon's Servant]

Hey, I'm a newbie here, just needed to get some advice on a situation I got myself into today!

I was having pH problems ( too high) and after trying a pH down and getting no results I thought it could have been the gravel I was using. Since I want a nicely planted aquarium I decided to get Flourite black sand.. great.. so I take my fish out, take my gravel out.... dump in new Flourite....... I'm sure you all see exactly where this is going right???

Yeah.. so my tank looks like the black lagoon. I want to set it back up so I don't have to disturb it anymore and it can settle to the bottom, however I can't SEE inside my tank to put anything where I want it! And then, on top of that.. I have a bunch of fish that are now homeless! What I really want to know is when can I add the fish back and it be safe for them??

Thanks everyone!

Nicole

[James]

Having never used flourite, but it should settle out in a few hours I would think. Depending on what filter you use, you could put some polyester in it to help polish the water.

[KnaveTO]

Your best bet in this situation is a couple of things

1. Keep the fish you have in some large container overnight and keep the water aerated
2. If you have a spare sponge filter put it in the container with the fish
3. Set up your filtration system on your tank and let it run for 24hours. Make sure you add lots of filter floss to the system to catch the small particles that will be missed by the other filter material in your filter.
4. Every 8 hours or so stir up the water and change the filter floss in the filter
5. After about 24 to 32 hours you should have got most of the small particulate matter in the tank.

Hope this helps.

[Melody]

:Welcome: You're not an idiot - we all started right where you are.... actually, that sounds like something I'd pull and I've been doing this for eons...lol.

What kind of fish do you have? Most common fish are very adaptable as long as they're acclimated properly. Definitly avoid the chemicals if you can - they cause too many pH swings. It would be better to let the fish acclimate to the high pH than to have it constantly swinging.

Looks like you've received sound advice so far, good luck!

[Reannon's Servant]

Thanks everyone for the advice so far,

I have been getting conflicting answers on whether or not to have the filter on in the tank. Some say to leave it off and let everything settle, others say like you have, put it on and let it catch and clear the water LOL.

The reason I am worried about my pH is because it's at least 7.8 and I would like to add a few more fish over the next while. at the moment I have tetras, gouramis, platys, and corys, and would like to add a couple of rams and some more tetras. However adding new fish is a challenge due to the high pH in contrast to that at fish stores...otherwise I'm not too concerned because my fish are all currently happy and healthy

[Melody]

I think you'll find they'll do well with a slow acclimation & definitly much better than they would with pH swings. Platy's love high pH levels so you're fine there - most common Livebearers do for that matter. It is very difficult to lower pH and keep it stable when its that high. Ask the store to put lots of water in the bag. I like icecream buckets for acclimating - I put an inch or so of my dechlorinated water in, then add the fish in the bag water, then add more of my water every hour or so. Use the lid - little buggers jump a mile when they're afraid.

Conflicting info online is the norm. What I usually do is take it all under consideration, research if applicable and then do what my gut says. In this case, I'd say use the filter because if you don't, the minute you turn it on it will get stirred up again at least to a point. Plus the particles will get stired up when you do waterchanges - I'd want to get rid of it and be done with it. Some particles are also too light to settle. That's my opinion anyways :smile: .

[blainep]

I'd say the best way to get the tank cleared up would be to use a filter stuffed with floss.

Waiting for Flourite to settle will take weeks, if not months ..... :err:

[Reannon's Servant]

well I did a partial water change which got rid of some of the floating particles and then put the filter back on, and it IS clearer, I can actually make out some of the objects in the tank now LOL. I don't have any extra filter floss but I stuck a dish towel in the filter to add a little bit more of a screen and it's helping hahaha. I might just be able to get everything set back up tomorrow sheesh

[KnaveTO]

I know that you think that putting the dishtowel is helping but in actuality is could be doing more damage than good. Dish towels are washed... in detergent... and as such it leaves a residue in the towel that now could be slipping back into your tank water. That soap residue could potentially be lethal to your fish. I would take that out right away and hit your LFS first think in the morning and pick up some filter floss... let the filter run overnight without the extra filtration till then.

[Reannon's Servant]

right, forgot about the detergent issue, whoops. Hopefully it didn't screw things up

[amaruq]

I did the florite thing. I had a mess for weeks. GET THE FLOSS!!!!! You could also take out the stuff and rinse it?

I also had to put a top layer of sand because everytime the flourite was moved BOOM mud in the tank again.

Because the flourite caused such bad water quality it also caused issues with some of the fish. Ich being one of them.

I set up another tank and swore NOT to use the florite. I didn't and it was a pleasure not to have the mess or the worry.

[James]

The filter floss I use in all my filters is Polyester quilt backing,,or for pillows. Its cheap and you can just throw it away when you clean the filters. Other than bio material it is the only thing I use in my canister filters.

Just make sure it says 100% pure Polyester Material.

[Melody]

I use quilt batting - huge bags for a few dollars at Walmart. As long as its not chemically treated, it works just fine. I wash it in plain water just in case, squeeze it out a time or two and that's it. If anything, the crafting stuff is more dense & durable so it does a better job than something designed to last a week or two. ::D: