southdown sand-should it be washed?
- Thread starter consigliere
- Start date
Yes. Put about 1/4 of a bag in a bucket and run your hose in it. Do this outside so you dont run the extra sand down your drains. Slowly run your hands through the sand until the water starts to run clear. If you don't do this. You will have a soup tank with white frouth on the top.
Bryan
Bryan
Sorry, I don't mean to be stupid, but you say slowly run your hands through the sand until the water starts to run clear. Are you pouring the water out of the bucket when you do this? How do you avoid losing the sand.
I didn't really understand the process very well.
Thanks,
Kevin
I didn't really understand the process very well.
Thanks,
Kevin
I think rinsing the Southdown like that would be futile, isn't the vast majority of the stuff composed of those very fine particles? You would have to rinse 80% of it away before the water looked clear :lol: Anyway, as stated before, the fine particles are what you want anyway.
Probably the best way to reduce the time it takes for the dust cloud to settle in your tank is to first put the sand in a big clean container for a while (maybe a week or 2) with some tank water. This will give bacteria a head start in covering the fine particles and weighing them down. I'm sure you could do something like this a dozen different ways and all of them would be good. Also, nothing you do will eliminate the cloud of fine particles when you add the sand to your tank, but there is really no need to worry. The cloud is not harmful and will fade in a few days. I would keep all lighting and circulation on as normal when adding Southdown.
HTH
Probably the best way to reduce the time it takes for the dust cloud to settle in your tank is to first put the sand in a big clean container for a while (maybe a week or 2) with some tank water. This will give bacteria a head start in covering the fine particles and weighing them down. I'm sure you could do something like this a dozen different ways and all of them would be good. Also, nothing you do will eliminate the cloud of fine particles when you add the sand to your tank, but there is really no need to worry. The cloud is not harmful and will fade in a few days. I would keep all lighting and circulation on as normal when adding Southdown.
HTH
OK, sounds like the concensus is not to wash the sand (which is great, less work). I set up my tank last time with Caribsea Aragonite and it took forever to settle out, so i know patience is in order.
How much Southdown do you recommend in a 50G tank (I'm going to put in 20lbs of live sand as well).
How much Southdown do you recommend in a 50G tank (I'm going to put in 20lbs of live sand as well).
kparton wrote
Try this link:
http://www.purearagonite.com/sandbed.html
Enter your tank dims and desired sand depth and it will tell you exactly how much sand you reqiure. Just substract your LS from their estimate and thats how much SD you'll need. I would also recommend you pick up an extra bag. Ya never know! And besides, it's cheap! :wink:
Try this link:
http://www.purearagonite.com/sandbed.html
Enter your tank dims and desired sand depth and it will tell you exactly how much sand you reqiure. Just substract your LS from their estimate and thats how much SD you'll need. I would also recommend you pick up an extra bag. Ya never know! And besides, it's cheap! :wink:
I just went through this with my 55 Gal. set up....
It did take a while for the sand to settle, 3 weeks to be specific, but when the water did clear, it there was a nice white layer of sand at the bottom and my moving my live rock around and rearranging everything didn't cause a huge cloudy sand storm in the tank. Once the bacteria takes hold of all the dust and settled the sand, you've got a pretty nice setup.
My tip: put your heater, pumps, powerheads, skimmer, etc. in place. spread hyour southdown sand into the tank the way you would like to see it, e.g. peaks, valleys, etc., then fill the tank. You'll get a nice giant tank of soup... BUT remember, patience is rewarded.
Heat up your water, add your live rock.... In a week, my tank started to clear... I used a kept the settling sand off the live rock daily and after the 2nd week, ran my power filter to get rid of the top film layer and any dust. I turned the skimmer on after the end of the 2nd week and by the third week, the water was crystal clear.
hope that helps...
It did take a while for the sand to settle, 3 weeks to be specific, but when the water did clear, it there was a nice white layer of sand at the bottom and my moving my live rock around and rearranging everything didn't cause a huge cloudy sand storm in the tank. Once the bacteria takes hold of all the dust and settled the sand, you've got a pretty nice setup.
My tip: put your heater, pumps, powerheads, skimmer, etc. in place. spread hyour southdown sand into the tank the way you would like to see it, e.g. peaks, valleys, etc., then fill the tank. You'll get a nice giant tank of soup... BUT remember, patience is rewarded.
Heat up your water, add your live rock.... In a week, my tank started to clear... I used a kept the settling sand off the live rock daily and after the 2nd week, ran my power filter to get rid of the top film layer and any dust. I turned the skimmer on after the end of the 2nd week and by the third week, the water was crystal clear.
hope that helps...
I was going to do this, I do have a question about it though (sorry, full of questions, just want to do my tank better this time).
If I put the pipe in and I plan to have a 3.5" sand bed. Should I get pipe that is 2", 3", or higher than the sand. i ask because will this effect the effectiveness of my sandbed, should the pipe come above the surface of the sand?
What type of adhesive can be used in tanks, and where can it be found? only at fish stores?
If I put the pipe in and I plan to have a 3.5" sand bed. Should I get pipe that is 2", 3", or higher than the sand. i ask because will this effect the effectiveness of my sandbed, should the pipe come above the surface of the sand?
What type of adhesive can be used in tanks, and where can it be found? only at fish stores?
This link should help in answering your question regarding rock/pipes, etc.
http://www.harboraquatics.com/Merchant2 ... =Aquascape
http://www.harboraquatics.com/Merchant2 ... =Aquascape
Rinse the sand before you put it in your tank.
There is no harm in rinsing away the micro-particle "dust" from the sand and you have the advantage of having a clear tank within a day or two.
I see no legitimate reason to keep the micro-particle sand. It does not significantly enhance any aspect of reefing or bacteria. It only delays your set up for a few weeks.
And no, you won't be washing away 80% of your sand. Perhaps a small percentage, like maybe less than 1%. You don't want to chuck the real sand away, but just the dust sized portion.
-Nathan
There is no harm in rinsing away the micro-particle "dust" from the sand and you have the advantage of having a clear tank within a day or two.
I see no legitimate reason to keep the micro-particle sand. It does not significantly enhance any aspect of reefing or bacteria. It only delays your set up for a few weeks.
And no, you won't be washing away 80% of your sand. Perhaps a small percentage, like maybe less than 1%. You don't want to chuck the real sand away, but just the dust sized portion.
-Nathan
I don't mean to jump in here on your thread.... But...I just filled my 300 gallon tank, and used southdown sand also. The water is very cloudy right now. My salinity is at .026 and temp. is 80, when can I add my live rock to the tank. Will the cloudy water have any affect on it? Any input will be a great help... 
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