# HELP soil turned water cloudy



## Cherryx (Oct 5, 2020)

Setting up a 10 gallon planted tank with HELP soil. I've never used aqua soil before; the pack clearly said do not prewash the soil. So I didn't. Now the water is cloudy with the filter running for 2 days.

Am I looking at the inevitable manual removal of the cloudy water a few times until it runs clear?

Or is it a futile method? Given I will stir up the water when replacing removed water.

A more important help I would be grateful for would be on the two things below:

1. Is the cloudy water good/safe for plants (I have anubias, eleocharis parvula, water wisteria for now? I can see some particles settled on anubia's mighty leaves!)
2. I'm planning to add 7 ember tetras into this tank. If the water is still cloudy (supposing the cycling has taken place, as I'm using cycled filter media, rock & plants ++ bio starter before the cloudiness problem is solved) would it be bad for the tetras?

Thank you in advance for any help.


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## mattk1919 (Nov 17, 2020)

Don't put tetras in cloudy water. Let the filters and plants cycle longer. Use a ppm meter. Most plants won't care as long as the Ph isn't off and they are getting enough lumens, can get a cheap lux meter to estimate. The fish are more sensitive.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

What is HELP soil?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

hoppycalif said:


> What is HELP soil?


Help. Soil

I think lol


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Cherryx said:


> Setting up a 10 gallon planted tank with HELP soil. I've never used aqua soil before; the pack clearly said do not prewash the soil. So I didn't. Now the water is cloudy with the filter running for 2 days.
> 
> Am I looking at the inevitable manual removal of the cloudy water a few times until it runs clear?
> 
> ...


Wait a few days to clear up, water changes, or you can add flocculants like seachem Clarify.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

It would help us to know exactly what "aqua soil" you are using. In the meantime, if the package said not to rinse the soil before adding, I would take a wild guess that eventually, this will clear up with several water changes. When replacing water, take care not to disturb the substrate (pour into your hand, or onto a small plate, etc.). 
To directly answer your questions:
1 - Should not be a problem for plants, except sediment settling on leaves can cause some issues (blocking light, providing an extra surface for algae to grow, etc.).
2 - Cloudiness (turbidity) isn't an issue for fish unless it is due to something toxic to fish. If the tank has cycled and water parameters are all safe for the fish, then any remaining cloudiness isn't necessarily an issue. Many of our favorite aquarium species come from somewhat turbid waters anyway. I have a 29-gallon right now that is EXTREMELY cloudy (ever since I set it up a couple of months ago) due to my substrate, and my fish are doing great (as are the plants).


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## Cherryx (Oct 5, 2020)

Thanks guys - very helpful
HELP soil a decent alternative to ADA Amazona, which I could not find where I live. Highly recommended by (*Guess who) the LFS! Their website and some online reviews seem to suggest its a quality brand. 
https://www.help-advancedsoil.biz/english/

It has cleared up slightly. I can see the plants clearly from front but not through the sides. I'll keep doing WCs.

Good to hear plants and fish would be fine - I need to do a bit of brushing on the anubias - they are 'soiled'.

I don't plan to add tetras until the tank is cycled fully - I was only checking if others using aqua soil also experience the same cloudiness problem each time they disturb the substrate (e.g. plant something) or their cories do their cory things. If so, I need to get another carpeting plant (Something like Marsilea Hirsute) and cover up the entire substrate.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Thanks for the additional information. It has been several years since I've used ADA Aquasoil, but I don't remember it clouding the water as you describe with the HELP soil. Maybe for a couple days there was cloudiness, but it cleared up quickly, from what I remember. But again, this was several years ago.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Cherryx said:


> Thanks guys - very helpful
> HELP soil a decent alternative to ADA Amazona, which I could not find where I live. Highly recommended by (*Guess who) the LFS! Their website and some online reviews seem to suggest its a quality brand.
> https://www.help-advancedsoil.biz/english/


Thank you! I had never seen this advertised anywhere. It seems to change the water the same way Saf-T-Sorb, a floor sweeping compound, does. I used ADA Aquasoil for a couple of years not too long ago, and never had any cloudiness problems. But, many times I have had cloudy water for a day after setting up the tank, with other substrates, and the filter cleared it up in a day.


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## Cherryx (Oct 5, 2020)

This morning when I checked the water in a white cup, the colour is light brown/tan - like how a cattappa leaf litter or a driftwood would leach tannins. But I also see sediments on top even after 3 WCs!

In the various forums I checked, adding another layer of gravel is suggested other than using AC in the filter for clarity. I don't know i can have any more gravel (I've already used it for elevation at the base - now I wonder if I could have reversed it) Plus I've already lined 40% of the substrate with dwarf grass (eleocharis parvula) - which make things a bit more delicate.

Dave - curious what do you use for your plants, if not aquasoil? I've only used gravel with root tabs for my rooter plants. Otherwise I always favored stem/rosette plants.

I'm begining to think I may have to live with cloudy water for a while - I could treat it as a basic South American biotape; also found ember tetras are fond of the tannin colored water. Perhaps its a good thing. I am not so sure about my plants though- I've got a few coming in today!
-ceratopteris thalictroides
- Saggitaria subulata
if anyone familiar with thse, it would be great to know the cloudy water isnt bad for them. The soil is supposed to bring down the PH (my tap water is neutral) - other than the water is pretty stable.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

It sounds like a bad batch of soil, or the brand just isn’t stable.
Many years ago I regularly used something called “aquatic plant substrate”, which was a fired clay product (not too different from kitty litter or “Oil-Dri” or “Saf-t-Sorb” or “Turface”). It isn’t made any more...or rather it isn’t packaged under that name. 
Recently when I re-enterted the hobby after several years of a break, I tried another old-time favorite, Flourite, but it had been a cloudy disappointment. So, I just went back to “Oil-Dri” and I love it. But it’s light weight, so hairgrass may have difficulty staying planted until the roots are developed. Eco-complete is a decent one that my brother likes, as well as “black diamond sand”.


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## Cherryx (Oct 5, 2020)

Thanks Dave. For some reason I didn't realise you replied (It was on page 2 and I didn't see this). Apologies for the late acknoweldgement.

The cloudiness has gone now because I've topped it with a bit of gravel (wafer thin layer). It does turn a bit tannish after a few days, but I am OK with it. I have Purigen - which has strong credentials in fixing the colour changes which I can use once the tank is cycled and I add fish.

So far all plants (water sprite, wisteria, bacopa, sag dwarf grass) seem to do well- EXCEPT eleocharis parvula, which I wanted to use as carpeting plant. None has shown signs of yellowing but there is not difference to it after nearly 3 weeks. I'm learning patience so I'll keep waiting.

I heard a lot of negative reviews on Flourite for the cloudy mess it creates. That's why i did not go for it. I should have gone for ADA Amazonia - I just didn't find it then, but now I can see some stores here having it in stock.

Anyway thank you for all your help


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