Screwed Up...

[Kilo]

The aquarium's water is as cloudy as a foggy morning—visibility is 6 inches, and the power filter stopped working about 10 minutes after I did a gravel to sand switch and changed the water. I waited until the sand settled, but the cloudiness remained. I didn't dare wait half a week for the cloudiness to clear on its own, not even 24 hours, without any filteration or they would surely die. So I have to put them into clear water somewhere else until I can get another power filter. The PS told me all their items (except the fish) are returnable anytime—no limit. So, how long do you all think the fish will survive until I can get myself to the PS tomorrow morning before noon to get a new power filter?

I also have an aerator running to help keep the water from becoming stagnant, while I try to redo all this again and be done by tomorrow afternoon. I'm afraid this was way too much stress for them, and perhaps they may have gotten this stuff in their system or on the scales and might cause problems later on. What do you think?

Sorry for seeming like a cluts. I'm still not all-knowing about the home fish/aquarium stuff. The sand bags didn't say to rinse first. The PS didn't tell me to rinse first. It never occured to me that the people who package sand wouldn't rinse it before shipping it off to stores. So there I went—pouring it all in a nearly half empty tank; but hey, the tank is nearly free of NH3 or NO2 by replacing all the gravel and vacuuming the glass botom of all that looked like waste, which I guess came out of the gravel and onto the glass.

I'm hoping to get this all fixed up by 5:00pm tomorrow, hopefully by 1:00pm. This has been an all day thing all `cos the PF stopped working—otherwise, I'd've had this don't by 4:00pm earlier today. But I guess mistakes are made and learned from.

 

[TubbyLaLa]

We washed our sand and the water still went cloudy for 3 days so don't fret about the cloudiness it happens to us all, but changing to sand with fish in the tank was not the best idea to be honest. I had to rinse out filter sponge twice a day (poly pad only) to stop the filter clogging. You can get chemicals to make the small particles clump together to make them easier for a filter to remove which will clear the cloudiness quicker, might be worth asking when you go for the filter.
I am not sure what the effects on your fish will be but I hope they do ok if it was me I would purchase a cheap and cheery tank for them to live in until you main tank water clears which could serve as a quarenteen/hospital tank in the future (always useful) but they will need daily (possible twice a day) water changes to reduce ammonia levels. I do hope they pull through.
No one is all knowing about fish/aquarium stuff its all down to learning and getting experience of things but then something will always surprise you. Fish shop advice and that on the net can be conflicting and confusing, I had a heck of a time when I started out I wish you the best of luck.

 

[jollysue]

I didn't read the whole post. Sorry, I have a meeting.

Take the impeller out and clean and rinse thoroughly the impeller socket of the filter. Sand has gotten in. If the motor does not start up after the clean out, give it a kick! lol You know thump, jostle, shake it up. It may have frozen up, but when the sand is rinsed out it may recover.

 

[Kilo]

I didn't read the whole post. Sorry, I have a meeting.

Take the impeller out and clean and rinse thoroughly the impeller socket of the filter. Sand has gotten in. If the motor does not start up after the clean out, give it a kick! lol You know thump, jostle, shake it up. It may have frozen up, but when the sand is rinsed out it may recover.

Thanks you two!

I got it running again. I didn't see how could 8 or even 80 specks of sand could end the pump's life. All the few tiny grains were on the magnetic cylinder and the wall in which the cylinder drops into. Works like it's new again. Already the new filters are turning black. The stupid sand keeps floating from the bed to the surface all day and night long, and that's what keeps getting into the pump. So aggravating. I'm guessing the water will be clear as glass by Wednesday, if not sooner.

Again I added two additional filter medias. One: two bags filled with carbon, and ammonia removing stones. Two: water polishing pads. I also put drops of that stuff that collects all the junk that made the water cloudy so the filters can collect them easier. So let's see how it looks even by tonight.

I'm beginning to think my snell (a Blue Mystery) is dead though, but the fish are alive and thriving.

 

[jollysue]

Yeah sand is great, the fish love it, but it is hard on filters and plants. It should settle down some. But the impeller socket will need help on occasion.

 

[-SPB-]

I changed from gravel to sand a couple of weeks ago. I used playsand from argos. I did empty the tank first ( put fish and filter in my other tank so not to stress the fish to much, and to keep the bacteria alive). The bag said it was clean sand but it's always good to give it a good rinse as you don't know whats been left in it, i also bought some spare sand as until i get used to the cleaning method with sand i'm going to lose a lot!!!!!

I put the sand in before i put my filter back in as sand is quite abrasive, will wreck anything it's in contact with given time, so any floating particles will get sucked into the filter and do loads of damage.

I suppose this post is a bit late but i hope it helps someone!!!!

 

[Kilo]

Yeah sand is great, the fish love it, but it is hard on filters and plants. It should settle down some. But the impeller socket will need help on occasion.

Will we still have problems with sand jamming our pumps' motors even after the sand has settled down, or just for the first several days after we get sand put in?

So far, after cleaning the sand out off the magnet, it's been pumping as if I still had gravel.

 

[Kilo]

I changed from gravel to sand a couple of weeks ago. I used playsand from argos. I did empty the tank first ( put fish and filter in my other tank so not to stress the fish to much, and to keep the bacteria alive). The bag said it was clean sand but it's always good to give it a good rinse as you don't know whats been left in it, i also bought some spare sand as until i get used to the cleaning method with sand i'm going to lose a lot!!!!!

I put the sand in before i put my filter back in as sand is quite abrasive, will wreck anything it's in contact with given time, so any floating particles will get sucked into the filter and do loads of damage.

I suppose this post is a bit late but i hope it helps someone!!!!

What is your sand-vacuuming method? `Cos I know gravel-vacs will vac up a lot of sand into the bucket. My thought was just re-use what got vacced up.

The play sand was a cool idea of yours, but I wanted black sand to make my amber-copper rocks and driftwood stand out better.

 

[jollysue]

It depends greatly on the fish. Some fish stir the sand up digging for food. My fronties tore up the impellers. I have a Whisper that sounds like a grinder.

Generally when vacuming sand, keep the vac above the sand and move in a circular motion to stir up the lighter detrius and other waste.

 

[Kilo]

It depends greatly on the fish. Some fish stir the sand up digging for food. My fronties tore up the impellers. I have a Whisper that sounds like a grinder.

Generally when vacuming sand, keep the vac above the sand and move in a circular motion to stir up the lighter detrius and other waste.

So far ever since I've had my fish, they pretty much stay at the top to the middle—seldomly do they go near the bottom. The eel and plecos have not stirred up the sand yet, nor did they make the gravel move either when I had 25lbs of that. I have 35lbs of sand now in this 46G tank. 25lbs of sand isn't as much as 25lbs of gravel, so I had to get 10 more pounds, and still might need 5 more—I think.

The snail moved, but I think it was the current that blew him off the driftwood. If it's dead, that was $3 down the drain,`cos I just got it. I'm gonna wait until the morning to see if its actually moving on its own.

 

[jollysue]

Has anyone mentioned the potential for gas pockets in sand? You will need Malaysian trumpet snails or will have to stir the sand yourself if it is not thickly planted or trumpets stirring it if it is more than a light covering.

 

[Kilo]

Has anyone mentioned the potential for gas pockets in sand? You will need Malaysian trumpet snails or will have to stir the sand yourself if it is not thickly planted or trumpets stirring it if it is more than a light covering.

Gas pockets or air pockets? I see bubbles in the sand from time to time, but never dreamed it was gaseous. I've tried to raise the bubbles from the sand, but it'll take days to get them all or most out. There are no Malaysian Trumpets in my area. All they have in stores around here are the Blue, Black, Golden and the Ivory Mysteries. A Malaysian Trumpet would be nice to have. I'd also like to have an Olive Nerite, but of course they're no where to be found in stores around here. My Blue Mystery seems to have attathed itself to the bottom side of the driftwood, but he's just sitting there. I guess it's having culture shock—from the store's tank to mine.

 

[Kilo]

I should have titled this thread as Sand Storm.

 

[NutMutt]

Has anyone mentioned the potential for gas pockets in sand? You will need Malaysian trumpet snails or will have to stir the sand yourself if it is not thickly planted or trumpets stirring it if it is more than a light covering.

We have 1/3 of the right side of our 32 -gallon covered with sand. It's great. Looks good too. I clean with the gravel vac by just making sweeping motions just 1 inch above the sand. Then let any swirling bits that got stirred up get sucked up by the vac.



Do gas pockets really occur? I once read here that they "will bubble up and kill any fish passing through one". That seems fa fetched to me. Then again, the sand was put in there this past January, so it may still be too early...


Hope this helps...

 

[jollysue]

Sand will compact after awhile. Plant debrie, detrius, other stuff that dies and sinks into the sand rots and forms pockets of noxious gas. Well that's the common information. The solution is Malyasian Trumpet Snails who stir around in the sand in the light and come out at night. Eventually you will be gifted with them. =-) The other solutions are don't keep the sand deep enough to be able to build up large pockets and stirring the sand yourself. Is it true and real? Haven't a clue, but I don't test it either. The common wisdom taught by the oldtimers is good enough for me until I know better.