Help With Sandy Tank.

[bUcky]

Hello all.

Ive been wanting to do a real planted tank for along time now. O have 3 "nano" planted 10 gallons but nothing live in any bigger tanks. So i got another 55 gallon from someone used brang it home and set it up.
I wanted to use sand since this would also be my first time using sand also. Well i got the water filled, the heaters adjusted, and the filters running. 2 wisper 30-60 pwer filters.

I put the sand in after the water and its been almost 12 hours and the water is still very cloudy! Its like the sand wont settle. but i cant see sand in the water. its still all on the bottom. And there is a nasty foam on the top of the water. The sand i used was "natural sand" from home depot. I could not find any other sand besides play sand. And i just picked the more expensive one hopeing it would work.

Well if anyone knows how to get rid of the silt floating in the water and the foam on the top let me know. I want to start planting cause i have all the plants coming tomorow morining from aquabid. thanks alot

 

[simonbrown403]

Ouch!!!! builders sand has allsorts of crap in it, from possible chem to organics and a s*** load of sediment.

A bag of aquarium sand (silver sand) or play sand is better as its been sorted, sifted, washed and you can be sure it contains no harmful agents.

My advice is to get rid of the sand and the water and buy some right stuff and start again.
i would also advise you to add some sort of nutrient rich layer under he sand a thin layer of washed peat would do the trick, and or some mulm (crap out of another tank) with and a sprinkle of carbon to aid the the bacterial growth in the substrate and help your plants settle in faster.

 

[bUcky]

I figured i did that, but i was thinking, sand is sand right? could it be that bag? problem is i dont know where to get aqua sand cause all the have at the fish stores around here is sand for saltwater and crushed coral. im really going to be mad cause ive been planning on this for along time and tomorow is my last day of i work 7 and get 3 days off. so i want to get it done and start to cycle.

q? if i cycle now can i add the sane and substraight later? ive done this before but not with sand?

it wasnt builders sand it was natural sand it was about $4 bucks for 50 lbs. (dont know kilos and euro) let me go read the label and find out more
brb

it says it is washed and screened, for use with sandboxes, playgrounds and others. it is a higher quality play sand. so is this better or worst then builders sand?

 

[RYO]

The sand should be ok it just needs lot and lots of rinsing, keep stirring the sand up with your hand, syphon off the water , repeat, repeat, repeat lol, it takes a while.
Sand looks really nice but you need add root tabs as sand has no nutrients for root feeding plants.
If your adding plants there is no need to cycle the tank. Plants use up the the phosphates and nitrates in your tank. just take it easy with the fish stocking so the filter has a chance to mature.

 

[bUcky]

So stir, then drain, fil, stir, drain dill again, stir, drain some more, and then fill again, and stir, drain, and fill again? then stir one more time? lol
Ive been doing that and its helping. i just now got the darn filmy foam gone of the top of it. Now its about half way visible. im just starting to see the blue background.

The water test perfect and ive already added some plants. And 1 little feeder goldfish, just to see if the water is livable.

Also plant people I read thats NEANTHEBELLA PALM is a Terratium plant. Is it still cool to use it underwater? I love the way it looks.

The tank is running 2 40 watt flouros and 2 more after that if needed.
Co2 is on the way and i have 2 300 watt heaters but i only need 1 since its already 90 degreees here. I dont want to use the other 2 bulbs yet since maybe if i dont get good growth i wont have to.

 

[jimbooo]

i cant add much to the already mentioned solution. i use basic play sand in my rekord60, cost £5 for a big bag from B&Q. yours should be fine as long as it isn't builders sand which is a bigger grain and full of crud. i'm sure you'd open a bag of builders sand and instantly know something was wrong with it.

for the surface scum - Kitchen towel

tear off 2 squares, lay on the water and lift out immediatly and bin it. repeat a few times and your sorted.
great stuff kitchen towel.. (also works for algae surface scum and anything floating on the surface really that is too small to net out.)

 

[bUcky]

cool guys its coming along great. its alot better now ive awaken. ive ordererd this camera online (curtisy of mothers credit card!)

http/www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1134702111012

Do yall think it will be good enough for a decent close up pic of my fish?

 

[IovaykInD]

That camera should be good enough for som really nice pictures of fish. The most important thing you need to know is HOW to take a photo of the fish. Read up online, there's also a tutorial in the Members Aquarium fourm.

 

[FishOwner]

When your tank clears you will need to replace the filter cartridges as they'll be full of sand particles/foam!! I used the playsand from HD too. Let me tell you, even with good rinsing you would've still ended up with some of that foam on top. Been there, done that.

FYI, you know what else works well to pick out foam or tiny particles from the water? Brine shrimp nets. I've used one for years to pull small crap out of the water...