Hello all, brand new to the forum, a friend recommended me since I just bought a new tank and decided to venture into the fish part of setups. Currently I have 3 turtles( soon to change) but I just bought a 55gal long tank and was going for a natural looking tank.
So far I haven't done much cause Im already at a roadblock. I went a purchased play sand for the bottom of my tank. I was told to clean it first to get all the dust out of it. Did that outside with the garden hose, then put the sand into the tank which was already about 4' filled with water. The water got cloudy but i kinda figured it would. Once the sand was in I continued to fill the tank 3/4 of the way full. Immediatly after filling it the water was turning a much darker brown, I let it sit for about 90min before leaving for work and I noticed that It had cleared up quite a bit more, but still visibility was about about 1-1.5'. I was wondering how long it would take for the tank to fully clear so I can continue my set up of the tank. I have yet to add a filter to it but I do have a fluval to hook up once the tank gets clear. Also what is a recommeded height of sand for a tank?
Also one final question would be what would be a good heating element to heat the tank. It does get quite cold in the room the tank is located and will need something to heat the entire tank. Looking for something generally compact so I can hid it within the greenery.
So far I haven't done much cause Im already at a roadblock. I went a purchased play sand for the bottom of my tank. I was told to clean it first to get all the dust out of it. Did that outside with the garden hose, then put the sand into the tank which was already about 4' filled with water. The water got cloudy but i kinda figured it would. Once the sand was in I continued to fill the tank 3/4 of the way full. Immediatly after filling it the water was turning a much darker brown, I let it sit for about 90min before leaving for work and I noticed that It had cleared up quite a bit more, but still visibility was about about 1-1.5'. I was wondering how long it would take for the tank to fully clear so I can continue my set up of the tank. I have yet to add a filter to it but I do have a fluval to hook up once the tank gets clear. Also what is a recommeded height of sand for a tank?
Also one final question would be what would be a good heating element to heat the tank. It does get quite cold in the room the tank is located and will need something to heat the entire tank. Looking for something generally compact so I can hid it within the greenery.
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