Help my sand poisoned my fish

[Salty&Onion]

I have to start my whole cycle over again at least I only have 11 small little fish in there and will have some live plants so it shouldn't spike the ammonia too bad

Ohhhhh.... I had to restart my cycle all over again and when my sponger comes in I have to cycle AGAIN

 

[Salty&Onion]

Looks like one of my snails died. I'm assuming there was copper in it.

Yes, definentely.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Ohhhhh.... I had to restart my cycle all over again and when my sponger comes in I have to cycle AGAIN

Aw man! That's frustrating.

 

[Byron]

Thank you. I smelled the sand it in smells like cheap jewelry, a sort of copper or nickel smell. Could that have caused the issue?

I've no idea. I just went to the Sakrete website to see if I could find anything, but aside from silica there is no mention of possible minerals. They do suggest that it may affect the pH which is interesting. And they also mention that pool filter sand [which is often touted for use in aquaria] is coarser than play sand, which means not advisable in fish tanks for that reason if you have substrate fish.

 

[Salty&Onion]

Aw man! That's frustrating.

Yeah and I'm running very low on Prime Can't get it for about next two weeks

 

[Salty&Onion]

I've no idea. I just went to the Sakrete website to see if I could find anything, but aside from silica there is no mention of possible minerals. They do suggest that it may affect the pH which is interesting. And they also mention that pool filter sand [which is often touted for use in aquaria] is coarser than play sand, which means not advisable in fish tanks for that reason if you have substrate fish.

Didn't find there anything else too

 

[Martyn87]

I wouldn't toss the sand yet. Are your fish safe. how big was your aquarium? How are you adding the water back into the tank? What filter do you have? What are your parameters? Red inflamed or bleeding gills is a common nitrate/ammonia issue.

 

[Byron]

Yeah and I'm running very low on Prime Can't get it for about next two weeks

You don't need Prime. And you won't have any re-cycle. Our water is very soft and acidic, and provided you let the pH remain low, and you have plants, end of story.

 

[JuiceBox52]

I wouldn't toss the sand yet. Are your fish safe. how big was your aquarium? How are you adding the water back into the tank? What filter do you have? What are your parameters? Red inflamed or bleeding gills is a common nitrate/ammonia issue.

55gallon aquarium. Had just done a water change. Parameters before the change were ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 7.

I siphon the water out and add the water back in with my bucket used only for fish with dechlorinater

 

[Martyn87]

Are the fish still in the aquarium now? And are the nit/ammonia readings the same?

Is the water when you add it back in stirring up the sand? Was the sand you purchased inert?

You can get bacteria and waste locked in the substrate which as noted above, when you changed substrate may have been released and is now upsetting the fish. Might also be worth running active carbon incase the sand was contaminated but your big water changes and washing should have cleared that.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Are the fish still in the aquarium now? And are the nit/ammonia readings the same?

Is the water when you add it back in stirring up the sand? Was the sand you purchased inert?

You can get bacteria and waste locked in the substrate which as noted above, when you changed substrate may have been released and is now upsetting the fish. Might also be worth running active carbon incase the sand was contaminated but your big water changes and washing should have cleared that.

My fish are now in a 5g bucket with an air stone. I didn't test again and already drained it.
When I added the water I was careful not to stir it up

 

[JuiceBox52]

The water was like mud colored, not just cloudy

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Got sakrete sand. Washed it 40 times. Put it the tank. Tank is now super cloudy. 1 snail might be dead. The otos have red gills. The rummynose nose is gray

Help
I put them in a bucket and and totally draining the tank. Should I toss the sand and go back to gravel? Help

Do an immediate 50%+ water change.

Quikrite sand is not poisonous. It is safe for kids to eat.

I have helped @Deanasue out with this as well. You should have washed it really good, put it in your tank, filled it up 3/4 of the way with tap water, and then drained it.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I see you originally did not get Quikrite sand.

Why would you get another brand of sand that you knew wasn’t 100% safe for your fish?

 

[JuiceBox52]

Do an immediate 50%+ water change.

Quikrite sand is not poisonous. It is safe for kids to eat.

I have helped @Deanasue out with this as well. You should have washed it really good, put it in your tank, filled it up 3/4 of the way with tap water, and then drained it.

I did. I washed it 40+ times. Added it to the tank. Drained 75% of the water. Filled it up. Suddenly became mud colored. Next morning color was no better. Did 2 more 75% changes. Fish were obviously sick so I removed them and put them in freshwater. Did one more water change, the color didnt improve hardly at all so drained it