Getting colloidal clay out of the water column

[ElleDee]

So I have a recently flooded tank (no livestock, no plants) that has an awful lot of colloidal clay suspended in the water column. I didn't even disturb the substrate when I flooded the tank - it worked its way above the cap when I got the filter running. I don't think it's a bacterial bloom because it appeared in about two hours and, more definitively, there's a ring of clay at the water line.

I've tried two rounds of Seachem Clarity and filter floss with no effect. I can add more flocculent, I can wait, I can do water changes... maybe there's something else I should try? I think the clay in the substrate will eventually aggregate on it's own, but I don't know the timeframe on that and I'm not sure about anything that makes it into the water column. I've read that it should settle eventually as bacterial colonizes the particles, but I've also seen a demonstration jar test that sat on a shelf for more than a year and still had suspended clay particles. I am also concerned that the water movement from the filter could break up any forming aggregates, but I want to keep the water oxygenated.

So what's the move here?

 

[Heelllooo]

Set up a whitewater biotope 😉

 

[Someoldguy]

Know anyone who still has a diatom filter that you could use for a day or 2?

 

[Tyko_N]

I've used clay (either mixed or pure) as a substrate quite a few times, and with plenty of algae and bacteria it tends to settle out within a week or so. If possible, you could add the gunk from a dirty filter directly to the water column, that might speed up the process. I don't think good cirkulation necessarily makes the process slower, but I would be wary of the clay particles causing abrasion on the impeller, could you run an airstone instead?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

and with plenty of algae and bacteria it tends to settle out within a week or so. If possible, you could add the gunk from a dirty filter directly to the water column, that might speed up the process.

That is what I would try as well.

Set up a whitewater biotope

I like <"your thinking">.

cheers Darrel