never used sand before

[eddieredbelly]

i have recently bought a 218L tank 4 my skool of baby red bellied piranhas and filled with sand insted of gravel well i added the water it went very cloudy but begun 2 settle within a few hours now (a day later) the water is just slightly misty how long before it will all settle.i have a fluval4 and am looking at an external filtre to any suguestions on what size i should use for my tank.thanks reply asap

[W_Oz]

I'd do a partial water change first off to help things along. After that I'd consider a Fluval 305 (I think that's the one), Penn Plax Cascade 700 or similarly rated canister.

Things that'll make your life easier when messing with sand will be to wash it (which I assume you did) then add water with a plate at the bottom that you are pouring your water onto. Once you have decor in the tank I usually just pick a piece of rock or wood to aim the stream of water at.

Sand will also make cleaning your tank a little more interesting, holding the end of your gravel vac a couple of inches above the sand will suck up anything lose while keeping you from sucking up your sand.

Your water should clear after 2 days, less if you have a good filter that's turning the tank over a lot with some floss filter pads.