Adding Sand To A Cycling Tank?

[razer121]

ok, so to cut a long story short, i used to have sand in this tank, i then had a bactira bloom of some sort and thought it was down to the sand....turns out i was wrong and it wasnt the sand so i stupidly changed from sand to pink and black gravel i hate the stuff, i mean with a passion it looks just....horrible!! so....ive started looking into getting sand again, i already have the sand i had before but im using it in anouther 2 tanks so thats a no go, instead i thought about buying some, alot of people use sand from argos i think it is but i just wanted to confirm some things first!

1, whats the best way fo cleaning sand? i had alot of issues with it looking mucky with bits of fish poop everywhere although since i got my plec a new home there has been a major cut down on it, was the plec to blame?

2, would it be ok to just add the sand ontop of the gravel and mix it in?

3, is it SAFE to add this sand when the tank is cycling.....how would i let the sand and such settle, should i remove the filter/switch it of, really dont know what to do here...

i can not think of anything else at the moment so any advice would be great! thanks!!

 

[ellena]

Do whatever you did when changing from sand to gravel. When you say cycling, is that with fish or without?
You can add sand either way, mixed with gravel or replacing it.
To clean it, use a siphon or gravel vac and move it closer to the sand until you see the poo being sucked up. To clean it up in between water changes, I've heard a turkey baster is the thing, although I can't find one at this time of year.

 

[razer121]

thanks for the heads up but which sand is best? the sand i originally used wasn't very good in my opinion......it floated to easily around the tank....im sure that couldn't of been good when the fish were in there, im currently doing a fishless cycle my fish have been moved to some cycled tanks, well one just had mature media but is now cycled so my fish are away and safe from the main tank!

still though would it destroy the bacteria if i switched the filter of until the sand settled?

 

[razer121]

bump! need more advice guys

 

[ellena]

The bacteria can live in a bucket of tank water for a while, and if you switched the filter on in the bucket, they'd be fine for ages.
That said, it shouldn't take long for it to settle. I used the Argos sand and once washed it was settled within minutes. To wash it, I half filled a bucket with it and ran the tap on it until the bucket was full, then got my hands in and mixed it all up. I then tipped off the water and all the finer particles went with it and the heavier stuff stayed in the bucket. I repeated this until there were only heavier particles. Took maybe 4-5 changes.
Good luck with it

 

[razer121]

ah thank you, you've managed to answer questions i didn't even ask! so im guessing from what i can tell is this,

Remove the tank water from the tank into a bucket and then put the filter in and leave it there whilst i add the sand to my tank right? also......when cleaning the sand is it OK to clean it with water straight from the tap? or should i treat the water first ?? thanks!

 

[saltynay]

tap water is fine no need to dechlor. Best way is to place a hose pipe at a bottom of a bucket and fill with sand over the top leaving 2 inches to the rim. Turn on the hose slowly and increase gradually. The smaller lighter particles will float to the top leaving the sand.

 

[razer121]

thanks, ive already got the sand, me and my mate had 2 buckets in the back garden for about an hour constantly mixing the sand with water, its really relaxing lol!! anyway i have added it to my main tank and well it all just sort of sunk i decided to leave the stones in aswell, i think it looks really good! i also added a plant pot

anyway my water is abit murky...im guessing this is because i moved everything in the tank is there anything i can do about this? i havent put the filter back in yet!! thanks!

 

[OldMan47]

It will be a bit cloudy for maybe a day after something like that but will clear right up when you run the filter on it. Keep the filter inlet away from the sand or you will push sand right through the filter and probably damage it in the process.

 

[razer121]

this is what i mean by murky by the way...

oh and what do you think of my tank

 

[saltynay]

It is nice, is that the elodea I sent you? If so good to see it didn't all melt, oddly after sending that bunch to you mine has hardly grown reverse of what logic would dictate as their would be more nutrients. That will clear up within a hour of running the filter it does damage the impellor slightly but its neglible imo.

 

[razer121]

It is nice, is that the elodea I sent you? If so good to see it didn't all melt, oddly after sending that bunch to you mine has hardly grown reverse of what logic would dictate as their would be more nutrients. That will clear up within a hour of running the filter it does damage the impellor slightly but its neglible imo.

you would be right it is well the strand at the front is, the rest did die unfortunatly but i bought some more, to add to it, the filter has been in there for about 2 hours now, ive added a fine filter pad to try and catch all the sand, i happen to have anouther impeller for this filter which is brand new but for some reason very noisy so if it does destroy my impeller i have a back up

 

[OldMan47]

Pull the anubias rhizome up out of the substrate or the plant will die. The overall tank look is good but a buried anubias rhizome quickly becomes a dead plant.

 

[razer121]

the anubias rhizome? im guessing you mean the plant on the far left right? if i pull it out to far its going to start floating away.....suggestions on how i should plant it then? thanks

 

[saltynay]

Diy plant weight stick the base of it to a small stone with super glue careful to avoid as many roots as possible. Then place back in to the tank on the surface and drift sand over it until the roots are just covered.