Cloudiness

your tank is cycling so its normal for it to be a little cloudy this will pass.

Sanderson said:

I just set up my first planted tank. It is 100 gallons and I used miracle grow and pool sand for the base. I have had it running for a week but still have some cloudiness. Any suggestions?

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Actual cloudiness (like white water) isn't normal for a cycle. It's probably dust from the sand that didn't get washed off, if you washed it. When I set up my 5 gallon, I used Flourite Black and the water was always crystal clear throughout the entire cycle.

Put tons of filter floss in the filter to catch the particles. In addition, do a daily water change to remove the cloudy water and replace it with clear water. It doesn't really matter if there's nothing in the tank, or just plants. It's cycling so I assume there are no fish in there... It probably doesn't matter other than for your sake of wanting to enjoy the tank.

GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy said:

Actual cloudiness (like white water) isn't normal for a cycle. It's probably dust from the sand that didn't get washed off, if you washed it. When I set up my 5 gallon, I used Flourite Black and the water was always crystal clear throughout the entire cycle.

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That's because you used fluorite.

Cloudiness is common in a new dirted tank. Your dirt has to get biologically stabilized for its new aquatic environment. There are a ton of free nutrients floating around in your tank right now (miracle grow is probably overkill) and the bacteria in there is having a nice big party. If you want to speed things up, throw in some floating plants to soak up excess ferts.

And don't do water changes when your tank is cycling. That is completely counter-productive. Guppy*5 is giving you high tech tank advice. In a dirted tank, cycling starts before any fish go in because of the high nutrient content of soil.