Sand In Your Tropical Fish Aquarium

[metfan581]

hello
can some one reply to my post
dont mean to be a brat
thanks

 

[Erised]

You're not a brat, dont worry. After 2 days of waiting, I cant blame you for asking again!
As long as the filter intake is at least a couple of inches above the layer of sand, you should be fine. While changing though, the water will get cloudy, its best to have your filter of at that moment.

 

[metfan581]

thanks
Erised

but what if it gets in my filter

 

[yvez9]

your filter wil clog up if there's too mucg sand in it.

You just remove the cartrdiges and rinse it in old tank water or, worst case, replace the cartridge

 

[Jezah]

as well, when pouring water back in, pour it onto a plate...not directly onto the sand. Pouring it directly onto the sand stirs it up and can create fogginess. Pour it slowly onto a plate so it gently runs over the side of the plate.

 

[corbypete]

darn... after heavily washing my huge bag of sand until the water ran clear, i added it to the tank and filled her up....

16 hours later the water has cleared somewhat but its stil cloudy... do you think it will get better over time? no fish in it for a good 3 weeks yet, and technically the particals are heavier than water so they should eventually sink...

will my tap water conditioner help drop the particals?


or is it back to the washboard...

 

[Raechal]

darn... after heavily washing my huge bag of sand until the water ran clear, i added it to the tank and filled her up....

16 hours later the water has cleared somewhat but its stil cloudy... do you think it will get better over time? no fish in it for a good 3 weeks yet, and technically the particals are heavier than water so they should eventually sink...

will my tap water conditioner help drop the particals?


or is it back to the washboard...

Are your filters running? I added sand into my 120 gallon and without my filters on it stood there for 3 days and you couldn't even see through the tank it was so cloudy! Then we tried an experiment with my little sister's 10 gallon. I put sand in her 10 gallon and plugged in her filter and let it run and it cleared up nicely in one night. I have to get new filters so as soon as I do that I am sure my water will become clear. I think it might take a day or two for the sand to settle.

 

[yvez9]

some particles are so small they will just float around
you should run your filter if this happens otherwise you might have to wait a couple of weeks before it gets better...

i did it on my 20 gallon and i just rinsed the sponges afterwards

 

[Seb R]

Dunno about you guys but the water got alot smellier since I put regular washed fish tank sand in with gravel, seems food gets trapped easier in it. But my plants like it.

 

[silvershark]

ok so if i were to do the sand trick of wolfs and ran a couple of filters in there it'd clear in a few hours?

and would it be advisable to take a small bowl of tank water and put the matured filter pads in there using new ones to get the sand?

also would the sand be a good idea with sucking loaches?

 

[corbypete]

Dunno about you guys but the water got alot smellier since I put regular washed fish tank sand in with gravel, seems food gets trapped easier in it. But my plants like it.

probably the food trapped in your gravel before you added the sand.. remeber its now locked in any nitrate forming, you could get a sudden burst, like an oil field, killing your fish

 

[grayshark]

wow thats alot of typing nice work.

 

[novamadcars]

hi i used kiddie play sand £2.50 out of argos and it look grate

 

[LifeBear]

When I added laterite to my tanks (for plants) it clouded up like you would not believe, even after mucho rinsing. The tank water looked like tomato soup. I knew it would clear up, but I am not know for my patience. I left the filter running and put an old brine shrimp net under the out-spout. The water coming out of the filter left its laterite dust in the net. A regular fish net would not work, too loose of mesh. But the close woven brine net worked well.

Not much good for anything else afterwards though.

 

[Lexxa]

Excellent post Wolf!

One thing though. Very important thing to do before syphoning out the water.

Turn off the heater!

I learnt that lesson once the HARD way!!! lol.... i just forgot..but it's branded into my brain now. ..very good article btw!!! answered all my questions about converting from gravel!!!!