Dirty, silty sand - solution? - Aquarium Advice

Scoot · 10-21-2006, 01:17 PM

I added a couple more inches of oolite (sp?) sized live sand, very fine stuff, which I got off eBay. The seller suggested that it wouldn't need to be washed, and probably shouldn't be. I took his word.

Took overnight for the water to clear up (even though I was extreeeeeemly careful adding it).

Now every time a fish bumps the sand, which they do from time to time, I get a milky cloud (not sand) of what looks like silt, mushrooming up into the water column. Clearly, the sand isn't the cleanest sand in the world. From the front glass it does look good, very fine sand, but obviously there's a lot of silt in it too.

I added a berlin sock to my overflow to catch what's getting stirred up.

I don't want to be dealing with this ad infinitum, so are there any suggestions to clean some of the silt out of this sand?

Or do I even want to clean it - is the silt (I'm guessing that's what it is) a problem, or is it good for a DSB?

angelscrx · 10-21-2006, 01:28 PM

If it very fine sand then I don't think you have silt. Fine grade sand will stir up quite easily which is why most folks use a medium or coarse grade sand in their tanks. Silt would show up as a fine covering on top of the sand IME. When I had the fine sand in my 55g it looked like a yellowish white color almost slime coating which is why when I upgraded tanks I went with coarser sand. I HTH?

Scoot · 10-21-2006, 01:33 PM

I have 3 layers of sand now - the original LS from the LFS, which was a bit coarse, but not at all gravelly. Fairly smooth. Then a layer of LS which is a mix of fine (1mm or so) to a courser 3mm maybe? Then this on top, which is pretty darn fine particles.

About 4" total now, 5" in some places.

For the best DSB productivity, I'm wondering if I should mix the layers up a bit, maybe starting in one corner, and working out slowly, over a period of a few weeks.

I do know the sand-stirring fauna will have problems with the more course layer, and can get through fine stuff easier.

angelscrx · 10-22-2006, 01:22 AM

First question is how long did you have the first two layers in there? If you stir the sand and it has been in there for a while it will release crap into the water that you don't want and it may hurt your tank.

10-22-2006, 01:47 AM

I would get some good sand sifting animals to do the job naturally if this is a problem for you.

Nassarius snails and sand sifting Goby's are excellent.

Make sure you are not overfeeding and you have a good cleaning crew. I read a thread where a guy actually replaced his sand little by little all the time. IMO this is not needed.

Sometimes you can get detrius off the top without stirring it up as well. One example is using a turkey baster to suck top junk off.

Scoot · 10-22-2006, 03:35 PM

I have in fact added a 6-spot sleeper goby, which is slowly munching his way across the sand bed, and I'm searching for anorange-spotted variety.

10-22-2006, 04:28 PM

My Nassarius snails are great. It is funny when I feed Mysis because they all come flying out of the sand.

10-21-2006, 01:17 PM	#1
Scoot Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Nebraska Posts: 668 Images: 12	Dirty, silty sand - solution? I added a couple more inches of oolite (sp?) sized live sand, very fine stuff, which I got off eBay. The seller suggested that it wouldn't need to be washed, and probably shouldn't be. I took his word. Took overnight for the water to clear up (even though I was extreeeeeemly careful adding it). Now every time a fish bumps the sand, which they do from time to time, I get a milky cloud (not sand) of what looks like silt, mushrooming up into the water column. Clearly, the sand isn't the cleanest sand in the world. From the front glass it does look good, very fine sand, but obviously there's a lot of silt in it too. I added a berlin sock to my overflow to catch what's getting stirred up. I don't want to be dealing with this ad infinitum, so are there any suggestions to clean some of the silt out of this sand? Or do I even want to clean it - is the silt (I'm guessing that's what it is) a problem, or is it good for a DSB?

10-21-2006, 01:33 PM	#3
Scoot Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Nebraska Posts: 668 Images: 12	I have 3 layers of sand now - the original LS from the LFS, which was a bit coarse, but not at all gravelly. Fairly smooth. Then a layer of LS which is a mix of fine (1mm or so) to a courser 3mm maybe? Then this on top, which is pretty darn fine particles. About 4" total now, 5" in some places. For the best DSB productivity, I'm wondering if I should mix the layers up a bit, maybe starting in one corner, and working out slowly, over a period of a few weeks. I do know the sand-stirring fauna will have problems with the more course layer, and can get through fine stuff easier. __________________ 180G build thread 180G All-glass with dual megaflows in a custom stand AquaC EV-180 skimmer 250 pounds LR 160 pounds aragonite Custom acrylic sump from GlassCages.com 2xPCX-40 return pumps 2x250MH 14K, 2x175MH 14K - PFO lighting, 2x65W PC No-name 36W UV Water General 125GPH RO/DI Filstar XP3

10-22-2006, 03:35 PM	#6
Scoot Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Nebraska Posts: 668 Images: 12	I have in fact added a 6-spot sleeper goby, which is slowly munching his way across the sand bed, and I'm searching for anorange-spotted variety. __________________ 180G build thread 180G All-glass with dual megaflows in a custom stand AquaC EV-180 skimmer 250 pounds LR 160 pounds aragonite Custom acrylic sump from GlassCages.com 2xPCX-40 return pumps 2x250MH 14K, 2x175MH 14K - PFO lighting, 2x65W PC No-name 36W UV Water General 125GPH RO/DI Filstar XP3

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10-21-2006, 01:28 PM	#2
angelscrx Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 339	If it very fine sand then I don't think you have silt. Fine grade sand will stir up quite easily which is why most folks use a medium or coarse grade sand in their tanks. Silt would show up as a fine covering on top of the sand IME. When I had the fine sand in my 55g it looked like a yellowish white color almost slime coating which is why when I upgraded tanks I went with coarser sand. I HTH?

10-22-2006, 01:22 AM	#4
angelscrx Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 339	First question is how long did you have the first two layers in there? If you stir the sand and it has been in there for a while it will release crap into the water that you don't want and it may hurt your tank.

10-22-2006, 01:47 AM	#5
Guest Posts: n/a	I would get some good sand sifting animals to do the job naturally if this is a problem for you. Nassarius snails and sand sifting Goby's are excellent. Make sure you are not overfeeding and you have a good cleaning crew. I read a thread where a guy actually replaced his sand little by little all the time. IMO this is not needed. Sometimes you can get detrius off the top without stirring it up as well. One example is using a turkey baster to suck top junk off.

10-22-2006, 04:28 PM	#7
Guest Posts: n/a	My Nassarius snails are great. It is funny when I feed Mysis because they all come flying out of the sand.