Preparing Sand

[Sheridanp]

Hey,

I want to add sand to my tank. My mother and brother have had a very bad experience, and I want to convince them it will work this time around. What must I do to prepare putting in sand? Why is sand better over rocks? How do I clean the sand? Here are my fish stats:

29 gallon tank
2 barbs, 2 lemon tetras, and 2 other tetras, algae eater, and two cory cats.

Help please!

 

[big mick]

I used play sand which you can get from most garden centers, take the time to wash it well. I just put some in a bucket about a third full then just keep rinsing it till the water clears up.....I filled and emptied it about 8 times for each bucket.

Even after that when the tank was filled the water still goes cloudy for a while but settles after a few days and a few water changes.

You have seen my lobster tank already on another thread but this is a picture when I first filled it even after washing the sand...

The next day....

the third day after a 50% water change...crystal clear.

Sand looks better than gravel in my opinion anyway but it doesnt really have any benefits as such. Make sure you give it a good prod when you do water changes to stop any air bubbles trapped and I just use a long piece of air line as a syphone to hoover up any mess on the bottom when i do water changes but i wont go back to gravel. Ive got 3 more tanks that im going to 'make over' in the next couple of months and it will be sand in all of them.

 

[BigIan]

I`ve just filled my tank with sand and even though i washed my sand VERY well its still very murkey.

One thing i`m worried about though do i need any sort of fertiliser to go around my plants???

 

[Sheridanp]

How do I do a water change with gravel?

 

[Neal]

I use gravel and I just get a couple of jugs of water and replace them, I usually use about 5 jugs full. Just make sure you don't scoop up any fish! Also, don't touch the sand, just like play with it and swish it about a bit...

 

[Sheridanp]

So, basically. This is the steps:

1) Buy the sand.
2) Put in bucket and wash it out until it clears up.
3) Remove everything from tank including fish and plants etc.
4) Take out gravel.
5) Put sand in.
6) Put everything back in.

 

[BigIan]

you may need to rinse out your filter media once the tank has cleared up as it will be full of silt.

I put my sand in yesterday and i`m really pleased its almost fully cleared up

 

[Neal]

Thanks for that guys, i'm planning on putting sand in my soon-to-be community tank.

 

[BigIan]

the only problem is i have some "scum" floating on the surface i keep skiming it off every time it all settles then i pour in some more water, but as the "scum" has stuck to the sides as the watter level goes back up the "scum" gets washed off and starts floating again

But slowly i seem to be wining

 

[Neal]

Pour the water in slowly, and wipe all the sand off the side and it should be ok, if you do a water change slowly.

 

[IceH2O]

One thing you need to watch for in sand is anerobic gas pockets. If they build up and release your fish are done for.

Each week just before a water change I take a coat hanger that I straightened out and run it thru the sand releasing any small pockets. By using the coat hanger you minimize the stirring up of the sand and making it float.

When you do a water change just use the hose from the gravel vac and hold it about an inch above the sand. Swirl it a few times to help lift anything heavier. You'll grab some sand from time to time but as you get better at it you'll see less sand being grabbed.
When adding water back, you can do a few things.

1. Put a piece of slate in your tank and make sure when you pour it in that its hitting the slate and not the sand.

2.You can also just put a dish of some sort in the bottom and remove it after.

3.Pour slowly so it doesn't reach the bottom.

4. Use a python device to fill the tank and just let it float on top of the water when refilling.

Big Ian asked: One thing i`m worried about though do i need any sort of fertiliser to go around my plants???

Only if you have rooted plants, most aquarium plants seem to be water feeders. Crypts,Swords etc are root feeders and will benefit from root tabs. Seachem makes some good ones and I've heard of people using Jobes Palm and Fern sticks.

 

[Sheridanp]

Thanks, that helps alot. I guess I can use my vacuum to clean then.