[jonathan]

Hello everyone. This is my first attempt at a planted aquarium. It seems I have jumped into this before actually being intellectually ready. Now I'm on the internet looking for answers. This community looks amazing. I plan to stick around.

I have a 29 gallon and Eheim classic 250 canister filter(unestablished).

Question:

I purchased fluval strathum substrate. The directions say to rinse lightly. I did this, and I can tell the water wouldn't be instantly clear. I filled my aquarium as gently as I could but the water is quite muddy. I cant really see anything in the aquarium. I don't want to turn on any filtration because I dont know if I should wait. I'm not quite sure what I should do at this point. Any tips are very welcome. Thank you in advance. I'm sorry if this question is super boring.

 

[Darkblade48]

Turn on your filter and let it do its thing.

The dust from the substrate will eventually settle.

In the meantime, you can look around for articles regarding cycling your aquarium so that it can support fish/shrimp/other livestock.

Finally, welcome to TPT.

 

[GeToChKn]

stuff floss in your filter, it will collect all the particles and clear up in no time.

 

[Diana]

You can do a few water changes aimed at removing more of the cloudy water if you want. It is like rinsing the substrate in the tank. Keep the vacuum intake as low as you can, and dig in a bit where you can.

If the tank is not yet planted then I would drain it for planting, mist the plants, then refill.

Then turn on the filter. Run it with some floss or quilt batting and check it daily or every other day. Rinse and reuse.

You can start the fishless cycle while working to clear the water.

It really is not a lot of work to get the water clear. Mostly just waiting.

 

[jonathan]

This might seem trivial but I'm not sure what you mean by stuffing the filter with floss. Quilt batting I understand. Is floss something like that ? What should I look for ?

The tank is not planted yet so I will definitely remember to drain before planting. Thanks for the tips !

 

[Darkblade48]

This might seem trivial but I'm not sure what you mean by stuffing the filter with floss. Quilt batting I understand. Is floss something like that ? What should I look for ?

Filter floss is essentially quilt batting. Aquarium stores just name it (and price it) differently.

If you are buying quilt batting, just make sure that you are buying the one that does not have flame retardant. You just want plain quilt batting.

The floss/quilt batting acts as a fine polish to remove particulate matter, such as the dust from your substrate, from the water column.

The tank is not planted yet so I will definitely remember to drain before planting. Thanks for the tips !

Definitely; as Diana mentioned, draining the aquarium prior to planting makes things much easier. You can have the aquarium filled as well, but it is more of a hassle.

 

[jonathan]

I guess I don't have to buy the filter floss ?? I don't know how or why but my aquarium is perfectly clear now. Thanks again for the tips.

 

[Java Moss]

+1 on the filling the canister full of floss.

If you have established bio-media already in your canister and have an extra heater on hand, throw the bio-media and heater into a Homer bucket let it sit. I've always felt that leaving the bio-media in the canister after such a drastic change in the tank setup and running it may compromise the bacteria.

 

[Diana]

If the water has cleared, then no, it is not necessary to use a lot of floss.