how do i get sand to calm down so my water is clear

i've decided that my dirty water problem is due to the black sand - i've had the tank up and running for over a month now but cannot get the water clear even after multiple 75% water changes so it has to be the black sand as i'm not having this problem in my tanks with black gravel - using filters both eclipse and sponge and have changed the filter mutliple times after washing off multiple times - i'm setting up a 5 gallon to house a dragon fish in and i cannot get the sand to calm down - am on my third fill up and drain now - is it because it is black as it leaves a residue on the tank sides too?

Did you wash the sand before you put it in?

no as i thought (wrongly I now know) that when Grr said it was already cleaned that meant it was tank ready so now what do i do - suck it all out and keep adding and dumping water until clear?

Yup

well Ho!Ho!Ho! and Merry Christmas to me as this is what i'll be doing tomorrow

id say it is a little late to wash it now. do some water changes, clean your filters and feed less.