# Does muddy water settle?



## redfalconf35 (Feb 24, 2008)

the mud will settle eventually ***ASSUMING no agitation*** Sometimes something as small as a filter can continually kick up mud into the water.

For a substrate such as Flourite, it may be 2 or 3 days, for "dirtier" substrates, maybe a week.

Substrate goes first, and assuming that you prep the substrate correctly, adding water won't make the tank too dirty for too long. Try pouring the water onto a dish or frisbee to deflect the flow.

The professional aquasoil is more a gravel than a mud, so it settles much faster than mud. Some people have done tanks with mud before, so i'll defer to them when it comes to how to deal with that.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

You could try draining out the water and then mixing in some clay (read through the Mineralized Soil thread at the top of the substrate forum to make sure you get the right kind of clay). The clay can help bind the silt particles together and settle them out of the water.

Then, when you refill the tank, do it VERY carefully... I use a large bowl and pour water into that to keep it from disturbing substrate. I hear frisbees work well, too.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

turn off the filter. Let the mud settle. Cap it with clean sand or gravel (1" - 2"). The cap will help keep the sediment from getting into the water column.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I don't think a mud or dirt substrate can ever let you have clear water, unless it is capped with something like pool filter sand or Flourite. Then it can be just as clear as any tank. The finest particles, when the substrate is just mud, just never seem to stay on the bottom by themselves.


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