How Long For The Sand To Settle

[cichlid-mad]

Hey this will be the first time with sand so im wondering how long does it take to settle

 

[TammyLiz]

You probably won't be able to get an accurate answer since everyone seems to have a different experience with it.

Mine settled within a day in the one tank I have with sand, but I rinsed like mad before adding it. I've heard stories of people who gave up on it because their water was like mud, so there is a huge variety of results with sand!

I think it probably has a lot to do with exactly which sand you're using and how dirty it is, and also how well your rinsed it before adding to the tank.

HTH.

Tammy

 

[cichlid-mad]

Hi sammy .. i have silver sand and when i rinsed it the water was clear but my water looks soo misty

 

[scubadoo]

Yep - TammyLiz is right.

The sand itself will settle very quickly, its the silt particles that can make your water cloudy. If you use playsand and rinse it well, it should be clear in a day or so - mine was.

 

[Kevstir]

when i first setup my tank i used silver sand from homebase , after 6 days it still wasnt clear so i gave up, i stripped it down and used argos play sand, i cleaned that up pritty well before i put it in and was clear straight away

 

[SamUK]

yea i find it looks like im wasting alot when washing sand cos i always pour out what hasnt settled in about 2 seconds.


thats all the stuff u dont want tho cos its too light to sink.

 

[Kevstir]

when adding the water just put a plate upside down and pour your water onto that, that way you dont disturb the sand and aggravate the problem

 

[cichlid-mad]

i did all that but still is mistey grr

 

[paulf]

It depends on the sand as said.

I only use DB Trading aquarium sand in my tanks, I half fill a bucket and then fill it with water and rince all the loose particles from it, then repeat this till the water is clear.
Then when the sand and water mix, you get clear water straight away. Ive never used play sand as I dont like the idea of it compacting around the plants

 

[nmonks]

Look, the cloudiness in sand is caused by silt. Not the sand itself. If you wash the sand, most of the silt goes away. Now, there may be some silt left. It's easy to get rid of:

1. Put in lots of clean filter wool in the filter. Has to be brand new wool.
2. Add a few drops of "Filter Aid" (there are various brands). This clumps silt into bigger bits, and the big bits get caught in the wool.

Easy as pie, and guaranteed to work in 24 hours. Done this many, many times. Next time you clean the filter, you'll find the wool pretty messy. That's the silt! Great for your garden, by the way.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Callum]

my sand settled in 5 minutes i washed it about 5 times though all in all i spent maybe an hour on the sand?

 

[cichlid-mad]

should i take out everything accept the sand and redo it again?

 

[Kevstir]

i would be more inclined to do what nmonks said, he does know his stuff ..

 

[SamUK]

should i take out everything accept the sand and redo it again?

well it will probably be quicker than what nmonks suggested but more work?



it would help if you did start again, jus make sure you wash each bucket load about 5 or 6 times and you should be fine.

if not then id say get some different sand.

playsand from argos retails at about £2.99 and you only need a couple of bags.

 

[nmonks]

There's no need to take the sand out. The silt will settle eventually all by itself. I've had tanks look like oxtail soup. (The fish love this, by the way! More natural, I suppose.) Put the wool in and the filter aid, and bang, it'll be fine by the next day. It's pretty amazing. You may need to siphon up any of the clumps that don't get into the filter... it tends to cover feathery plants and such. But if you have a good strong filter, just change the wool when it's done, and you'll never see the silt again.

Cheers,

Neale