adding Sand

[maven76nyc]

Hey guys,
Does anyone know of a way to add sand to the tank without making the water all cloudy? There is nothing but water in the tank right now. I have the sand waiting to go in and the rock is arriving later today.

Thanx for any help

 

[Simon Garratt]

Get yourself a long piece of ridged wide bore pipe and a funnel. stick the funnel in the pipe and pour the sand down this to the bottom of the tank.



There will always be some innevitable clouding so make sure your skimmer is on and working well, stick some floss in the sump to trap the dust if needs be and keep your circulation going to get rid of the worst clouding.


If you put your rock in and it becomes a bit smotherd its no big issue. Just go over it with a powerhead a few times to clear it off.

After a few days the tank should be crystel clear with all the sediment taken out by the skimmer and floss which you can then remove.


Regards

 

[Dre]

Rinse the sand with fresh water .I think you should do your aquascape first .The sand will help to keep it stable.

 

[Simon Garratt]

Just to add.

If this is fresh sand and a new tank. keep an eye on magnesium calcium and alkalinity for the first few weeks as you may need to top these up manually using seperate addatives.

Its not unusual when adding new sand for it to steal elements from the water column untill it has chemically equalised to the surrounding water.

A drop in alkalinity is usually the fist indicator that some precipitation is happening. Its a perfectly normal process that will slow down and stop aftera few weeks, but its worth staying on top of it to keep chemistry stable from day 1.

Regards

 

[basiab]

Is it live sand with critters in it, just bacteria in it or just plain sand.
If it is plain sand then rinse as much as possible and then put it in. If it is live without critters rinse with saltwater. If it has critters and you want them to live I would just put it in as is. First stop all water movement and then put in. If you use a bag or cup try puting it down at the bottom and slowly let the sand out. Give it a few minutes to settle and then turn you filter on. If you have any micron filter pads that you can force the water through it will clear up very quickly.

 

[anthony27]

simple just add the sand in first and the place a plastic bag over the sand and pour the water on the bag when the water is all done then slowely remove the water.