Its All Here!

[Behold]

My Filter and heater turned up and i finally sourced some ammonia.....

Can i start my cycle before getting my sand? or should I wait???

 

[Scunny]

if i was you id put the sand in before i fill the tank with water...never used sand in a tank, but i can imagine it being quite hard to put in right after the waters in.

Might be wrong though

 

[-germ-]

Could always freeze it?
Best putting it in before the water, put a dish on top of the sand and then pour the water in reallly slowly...

 

[Rooster]

NAh - start it now... its the FILTER you are cycling, theres not a lot of what we need in the substrate... and if you wash the sand before putting it in, it will not cloud the water at all... but i do recommend you turn off the filter whilst putting the sand in, as any sucked into the filter may trash the impellor !

 

[Puffdaddy]

NAh - start it now... its the FILTER you are cycling, theres not a lot of what we need in the substrate... and if you wash the sand before putting it in, it will not cloud the water at all... but i do recommend you turn off the filter whilst putting the sand in, as any sucked into the filter may trash the impellor !

I would have to disagree, sorry Rooster. No matter how much you rinse sand it will always leave the water a little cloudy, especialy if you put it in with water already in the tank. I would but the sand in first then fill with water and let the fine sand particules to settle before you turn on the filter and begin the cycle. The sand should settle over night if washed thoroughly. An extra 24 hours isn't that long to wait (better safe than sorry).

 

[Rooster]

I use playsand in all my tanks, and has NEVER clouded the water ! .... takes about 10 seconds to settle to the bottom too.
If your sand still clouds the water after rinsing, then I wouldnt use it - sorry.

 

[clinton ><>]

i agree with rooster i do the same and i have no problems

 

[Puffdaddy]

It must be a childrens play sand thing, I have never used it. I'm a stubborn SOB and only use Caribsea products for substrate and will most likely never use anything else.

 

[Rooster]

... and I have Caribsea Eco-Complete under the sand ! (gee, this is fun ! roflmao)

 

[Puffdaddy]

Well it seems as though this is turning into a play ground shoving match. So I would have to say Behold is list the exact kind of sand you are going to use and ask if anyone has used that specific kind and get there opinions. Boy I was starting to feel like a kid again "My dad can beat up your dad"

 

[Davidtq]

Ive had different experiences with sand the worst was a night mare that can still cloud the tank 5 years after it was setup if the sand gets kicked up! The best after a quick rinse doesnt cloud water at all. Depends entirely on the sand I think. Unfortunately I didnt keep track of what brand the non clouding sand was in my tank Shame Im going to be needing a lot of it soon.

 

[Behold]

So the rule is everyones dad is the best!!!

i think i will start the filtering and then add the sand. If i do a bit of a stir up in the water before the 90% change and that doesn't clear the cloudyness then nothing will.....

Thanks all

Behold