Help With Adding Sand To Aquarium, Pleaseeee

[Cal116]

Hi,

I really need your help. I just added two 5 pound bags of black sand to my 10 gallon aquarium. I am setting up a new tank. I washed out the sand in a bucket before hand but the sand is full of air bubbles and looks somewhat clumpy at the bottom and the water is very dark (barely can see through it). I stuck my hand in the tank to even out the sand bed at the bottom and a bunch of clumps of sand came up to the top of the aquarium. I am really worried about this. Did I do something wrong while adding the sand? All the directions said to do were to put the sand in a bucket before hand and wait until the water is smooth and uniform. I am running the filter currently to clear up the water clarity.

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[fatheadminnow]

I would turn the filter off, as the sand will destroy the impeller.

It will take a couple of days for the sand to settle and for the water to clear, trust me it will clear.

OR

You can siphon all the water out, yes, all the water.

Then take a glass plate, and place the plate on top of the black sand inside the aquarium.

Then when you add water back to the tank, pour the water right onto the plate. The plate allows the water to enter the tank without disturbing the sand.

If you do this, the tank will be much, much more clear!

-FHM

 

[Cal116]

Thank you for your help. I actually called a local fish store and they gave me the same advice about the plate. I will probably wait a couple of days and see if it clears on its own before trying it. As far as the air bubbles that are all on the foundation and on top of the sand, those will go away on their own right?

This is the aquarium I'm setting up: http/www.tetra-fish.com/sites/tetrafish/catalog/productdetail.aspx?id=1276&cid=5426

IT comes with a Whisper Internal Filter, hopefully I didn't ruin it by running the filter at first.

Also, when I put fish into the tank I know gas bubbles may form, how do I stop those from killing fish and what other precautions should I take? Sorry about all the questions but thanks for your help. I know you are knowledgeable and resourceful.

Also, is that how all water changes should be performed then...with a plate?

 

[Cal116]

In the future if I decide to rearrange the sand to make it more even in the tank will that cause problems like clumps of sand floating up to the top of the tank, etc?
When can I arrange the sand like you do with gravel? I'm definitely going to run into this problem while adding decor/plants and when trying to even out the sand bed in the tank so it looks aesthetically pleasing because right now it doesn't.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Give it a couple days to settle, then you should be able to do whatever you want with it.

When you do a water change, depending on size, just pour the water back into the tank very slowly. But you can use the plate method if you prefer.

-FHM

 

[Cal116]

Thanks for your advice. I have 2 Corys in my 20 gallon tank that I plan on adding to this tank. Would they be enough to stir up the water for me so gas zones or whatever they are called that kill fish don't develop? I don't want my Betta to die, I bought this tank for him for as a bigger home and I'm concerned.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Yes, the cories will do just fine.

-FHM

 

[Cal116]

Okay, thanks for everything. I appreciate it. How are your Krib's fry and how are your Kribs doing?

 

[fatheadminnow]

Everyone is doing great!

The fry are getting pretty big and will reach a sellable size soon!

I am going to go into a little business selling Kribs; supplying them to LFS and what not.

-FHM

 

[Cal116]

Nice, picking up some easy cash I see. I have 2 Kribs but their colors are weak and it's upsetting me. I've had them for a long time now too, prolly since October or November. I bought them as babies though. They still aren't full size.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Hopefully once they get to adult size they will start coloring up.

Is one a male and they other a female? They are really neat to watch when they spawn!

-FHM

 

[Defiance]

Hiya',
Not got one handy, but years ago a made a submersible small pump/draining/filling pipe affair

Filter on it when removing tank water, no filter for topping tank up

Real simple

The part i made though might interest you (gotta be a maker somewhere selling what i've used i guess)

A simple U shaped out of plastic bends, pvc i guess as it glued with that glue

Not got around to make another but might do shortly (used to use a massive setup for koi pool work years ago)

Anyways all's you do is have a power switch handy to you (rcd plugged in makes most sense (residual current device)) then to fill a tank use the pump and the u bend in conjunction with a plate etc (i always use a stainless steel colander as this helps to difuse the water input into it, ideally on a plate as suggested would be maybe better

The plus to the U bend is when topping up after a weekly water change etc is you really don't disturb anything in you tank/s

Tony

 

[Cal116]

I'm having problems again with this sand. I decided to do a water change because the water was still dark. When I tried to move the sand to distribute it more evenly throughout the tank, air bubbles began to form on the sand and clumps of sand began to rise to the top of the tank. Now there are a million little bubbles on all of the sand again at the bottom of the tank and I fear that touching it will cause the same problem. Any advice?

 

[Cal116]

I feel like this pattern is going to continue. The brand name is Estes Ultra Reef marine black sand. Do you know anything about it?