Proper Sand Introduction ?

[CezzaXV]

I scratched the whole plan I bought the wrong sand I bought home depot play sand .... A friend of mine told me you could buy sand cheaper from there but it just turned the water Brown

What Fluttermoth said is right - it's only the fact that it wasn't washed that was the problem, not the cheapness of the sand.

When I started out I wanted to do everything spot on so I bought sand from the LFS rather than play sand (it was only a small tank) and even after many washes it still turned my water brown. Don't worry, it will pass. Some water changes may help to speed up the process.

 

[This Old Spouse]

It was Brown sand and it had additives in it . It wasn't pure like aquarium sand other rocks n stuff were in it.

By "additives" do you mean just bigger chunks of rock? That's typical with play sand, and frankly it makes for a much more natural looking tank. Rinsing thoroughly is the only way to do this right.

 

[Aquaman187]

How long to rinse it ?

 

[fluttermoth]

You just have to keep on rinsing until all you have left is sand that sinks in two or three seconds.

It can take a long time, I won't pretend otherwise, but it is well worth it; both for your fish's welfare, if you keep anything with barbels, and for the fact that dirt sits on top where you can get to it instead of sinking into the gravel

 

[This Old Spouse]

+1

It's not a matter of how long but how thoroughly. The more you rinse, the cleaner it will be and the less time it will take for clear water in your tank to happen. I think it's certainly easier to rinse the sand beforehand than try to do 842 water changes once it's in the tank without properly rinsing it first. Maybe that's just me.

 

[Cazgar]

I would syphon all the water out & refill stirring up the sand a bit.
Might take a while but best to do before putting your fish back in.
Hard lesson learned unfortunately