http://forum.aqua-fish.net/ A forum devoted to aquarium fish, plants, techniques and fish keeping as a whole. en http://forum.aqua-fish.net/?topic=new-tank-issues-cloudy-water-snails#1 Hello, I purchased a 45g used aquarium set up off craigslist.org - which came with a gravel/sand mixture, filter, heater, light, etc. Two days ago, I pulled out the gravel, put down a layer of ecocomplete and added the gravel back in and filled it with water for the first time. After two days the water is still cloudy and I have counted 20 or so snails. I plan to create a planted, community tank - I have never had snails in my other tank - should I try to get rid of them in the new tank? Will they eat plants/cause trouble? What is going on with the cloudy water? I do not recall my other tank taking this long to clear. I am fairly new to fish/plant keeping and appreciate any advice. Porkchop 2008-06-02 http://forum.aqua-fish.net/?topic=new-tank-issues-cloudy-water-snails#2 one thing at a time. how deep is the gravel on top of the eco complete,it should be at least 1.5-2 inches.Using fertiliser substrates will cloud the water for a period of time,the best way of polishing the water is to add some filter floss to the filter,keep replacing it on a regular basis till the water clears. With the snails ,you must have inherited them with the tank so there is no way of knowing if they are plant eaters.Best thing to do is remove them by hand,may take some time but you will win eventually.Another way is to add some form of loach to your tank when it has cycled,they love eating snails. Good luck with your planted tankand dont forget to post some pics when it is set up mickey 2008-06-02 http://forum.aqua-fish.net/?topic=new-tank-issues-cloudy-water-snails#3 Do you mean these snails? These are Ramshorn snails and it is nearly impossible to get rid of them. You must use some fish which eat these snails (YoYo loach for example), and you must also remove them from the aquarium manually. I wrote something here: http://blogs.aqua-fish.net/aquarium/2007/11/07/how-to-get-rid-or-snails-in-your-aquarium/ Regarding cloudy water: Did you use the original gravel? Do you have filter in the tank? Filters can make the water clear after approximately 6-7 days after turning them on. If you used new gravel, then you had to clean it before. All in all, running a filter will help you. last modification by jan jan 2008-06-02 http://forum.aqua-fish.net/?topic=new-tank-issues-cloudy-water-snails#4 another option is to add some floating plants,they will provide some shade,reducing the ammount of light reaching the algal spores and their roots will soak up a lot of the nitrates, more so than rooted plants. mickey 2008-06-09