Sand substrate- cloudy water?

I'm setting up my 120gal and added the sand substrate and water this evening. I have never used sand, I've always had a gravel substrate. I rinsed the sand well before putting into the tank and tried my best to keep disturbance by the water low when filling. Its a Cichlid sand that has a natural river bottom look to it. The water is really cloudy still. Any advice on how to clear the water? Should I just wait for it to settle?
I was thinking just doing water changes until it clears up and trying the dinner plate method on top of the sand so the water wont disturb it coming in. No fish at all in the tank and no decorations. Just the sand and water.

REDTAIL1928 said:

Use a white felt in ur filter either in ur wet dry drip plate or inside a canister filter. It lasts about a day or two yjen u need to rinse it off or replace it with a new piece. U can get ot at an arts and crafts store like michaels here in FL but u may find a different one where u live. Its cheap and works like a charm!!

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Thanks so much!! I will definitely try that. I have a canister filter so I will put felt in there.

So the water is a tad bit less cloudy today. It's still cloudy, but I can tell a difference.
I was going to get pool filter sand but my LFS talked me into the Cichlid sand that they carry. It is beautiful sand, hope I dont regret it
Thanks for all the help!

So here's a pic from last night. You can see just how cloudy it is. The blue hue is from the LED bar.


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