Ok, so I need a little help with this sand :)

insomnia · Feb 4, 2005

Hey guys,

Well after reading the tutorial, I figured I couldn't add sand to my tank the same way you guys did. Heres whats going on and heres what I started:

I have a 90 gallon tank which I partially drained to 1/3rd height and added all my sand to, which was probably 100 lbs or more. Heres what the tank looks like now (attached image).

What should I do now? Should I allow the sand to settle in overnight, then siphon anything out? Should I siphon out all this dirty water now? Should I add water to fill the tank up and turn on the filter tomorrow?

What to do? Thanks!

galland · Feb 4, 2005

Drain your tank and take out the sand. You need to really rinse it till clear before you put it in. That foam and awful color won't go away. Try again.

BigChuckP · Feb 4, 2005

I think that will take a long time to settle and you should have followed the directions in the tank and equip forum on adding sand. If you had you would not have this problem so perhaps gallands advice is best or wait and see if it settles or not.

insomnia · Feb 4, 2005

Well, I don't think taking all that sand out is an option, way too much and too difficult. So I guess I may wait till tomorrow to see if it settles and drain the water, rinse and repeat inside the aquarium. ?

sadboy · Feb 4, 2005

You said your read the sand info?

Can I ask why you did'nt do it that way? If I was you I would take out all the water and pour out all of the sand into a bucket. Rinse out the sand real good before adding it to you tank. I dont think the filter can fix the problem for you. It's alright.......... Roll up your sleves and get to work

WorldBelow07 · Feb 4, 2005

it wont settle. your gona need to rinse it ALL in a bucket til water turns clear. its really not that hard just takes long

shoe997bed263 · Feb 4, 2005

i have sand in every one of my tanks and i have used the same method as in that pinned thread that u said u have read. i have never had a problem like that before. why did u do it like that? i dont understand why u wanted to make more work for yourself? i really would take it out and put it in a bucket and follow the thread. if u dont want to do that i really wouldnt turn your filters on that is one way to f them all up. i would wait a couple of days and see if is settles. use a gravel vac and try to get as much of the dirt off the top of the sand as possible. i would also stir the sand up and try to get as much dirt in the water as possible then try to get that water out of there. u really just made more work for yourself.

janus · Feb 4, 2005

I also have sand. It`s looks realy good.
Before you put it in you have to wash it over and over again(maybe 10/20 times).

insomnia · Feb 4, 2005

Ah man, this aint working out for me too well lol. Well I painstakingly took out most of the sand and cleaned it, bucket by bucket. Took a couple hours, put the sand back in, filled it with water and its still choclately looking.

Clown_Loach_King · Feb 4, 2005

Are you pouring the water directly on the sand? Should try putting a plate or something down when adding water so it doesn't stir it up so much.

Umbilical Syllables · Feb 4, 2005

You're gonna have to do it the hard way man. Add bucket after bucket of water and take bucket after bucket out. If you have a python, might wanna put it to use. If not, I feel sorry for your back, because its gonna take a few hours of water changing to the water clean.

galland · Feb 4, 2005

Put about 20 pounds of the sand in a 5 gallon bucket. Then take the outdoor hose with the blast nozzle on it and stick it in the middle. As the cloudy water comes up, slowly dump it over the side. Repeat, Repeat until clear.

elTwitcho · Feb 4, 2005

You need to clean it until the water you're cleaning it in runs clear, otherwise you end up with dirty water. All that crap isn't going to go away anywhere, it will just settle and get tossed up by your fish over and over and you'll never have clear water otherwise.

insomnia · Feb 5, 2005

Well I'm using Quikrete all purpose sand, think it matters what kind of sand?

http://www.quikrete.com/catalog/All-PurposeSand.html

galland · Feb 5, 2005

Home Depot play sand is what I used. Cleaned up pretty quick.

WorldBelow07 · Feb 5, 2005

i got my sand from home depot too. i got sand blasting sand it looks nice too its got a whiteish color to it

qwuintus · Feb 5, 2005

i got sand from home depot as well. it had all these gold flakes in it...
took me a good 2 hours with the garden hose to wash everything out... water is crystal clear after that.

BigChuckP · Feb 5, 2005

Well I'm using Quikrete all purpose sand, think it matters what kind of sand?

http://www.quikrete.com/catalog/All-PurposeSand.html

The sand is fine, the way you added it is not.

insomnia · Feb 5, 2005

Thanks. Its add though, perhaps the sand is too light? Whenever I clean it, light grains always seem to come up when the water hits. I'll try cleaning again today, this time with some big bins and a hose. ONCE AND FOR ALL!

WorldBelow07 · Feb 5, 2005

insomnia said:
Thanks. Its add though, perhaps the sand is too light? Whenever I clean it, light grains always seem to come up when the water hits. I'll try cleaning again today, this time with some big bins and a hose. ONCE AND FOR ALL!

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thats what sand does

i just added sand into my 60g its really not that hard. i cleaned it in my backyard took me an hour

Ok, so I need a little help with this sand :)

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