How long will it take my aquarium to clear up after adding sand substrate?

I'm setting up a new freshwater aquarium with sand substrate. I've had the tank filled and the filter running for two days but the water is still a little cloudy. I used sand that was intended for use in freshwater aquariums and the directions did not say to rinse it first. Will the water clear up soon?

Its gonna depend on what filtration you have and how much that system stirs up the water. One that filters a lot of water, but moving the water slowly will clear it faster. Some of the fine sand will settle down between and under the larger pieces. You might wanta turn off the filter for a while and let it settle. Depending on size of tank and amount of gravel, it should be clear in one day. Directions or not, you should have rinsed the gravel. You might wanta take it out and start over. Siphoning out the water, while stirring the gravel, will remove some of the finer stuff. Dump the gravel into a large clean bucket, tote it out side or set it in a bathtub. Poke a water hose down into the gravel, turn water up enough to almost spill gravel over rim of bucket, stir it around with hose and hands let bucket overflow carrying fine stuff out till overflow is clean. There are products available at pet shop that claim to clear cloudy water. Some are basically "binders" that latch onto fine particals making bigger chunks that settle or are filtered out. Most work better on biological or chemical causes of cloudiness rather than physical ones and results in your case may not be worth the cost. Aside from the fact that the less chemicals you add the better. Best bet; drain tank while stirring gravel, remove and wash gravel. Wipe down sides of tank replace gravel, refill water slowly, let it settle, turn on filter. My source: about 50 years of maintaining fresh water aquariums. Definition of aquarium: Glass box full of water into which one throws money.

Could take 24 hours, could take a few days. I suggest turning off the filter or it's gonna kill the filter.

I rinsed my sand first, it may be a bit cloudy the first few days however it should clear up soon. It also depends on your filter