is there a trick to avoiding a sand storm

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ducati1212

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 28, 2005
Messages
34
Location
Boston MA
So I wanted to fill my new tank then add sand and lastly rock. Now I am thinking of sand first then water. CAn anyone give me pros and cons of both. I am going to cycle the tank with LR.

If I do water first then add sand what is the best way to go about that. Just dump it in.??

Thanks
 
I put my sand in a bowl, let it fill up with water then rest on the bottom and let it spill out. Others use a PVC pipe and pour the sand in that way. I wouldn't worry about a sand storm, since you are cyclling your tank. It shouldn't bother anything. I would go, water, sand and then LR....I would wait for other's opinions, first. They might have an easier way.
 
really any way u do it sand will spread throughout your tank, for me water then sand keeps it a little bit less of a mess but it will go down after awhile without harming anything.
 
I placed water then sand ull have a sandstorm for about an hour then it should settle on the bottom. Even out the sand with ur hand since ur tank is cycling then place the rock.
 
You can put the sand in first then add the water. To minimize the sand storm put a large bowl on the bottom and pour the water into it and let it over flow onto the sand. HTH.
 
I'm gonna try water first then sand and hope for the best. I will get my water and sand in there then let things settle down then order my rock for the cycle. Should work out great.
 
IMO it doesn't make any difference which goes in first.

I put in my live sand first - then I put a heavy rock on the sand - then placed a plastic spahgetti strainer on the rock. All the water was poured into the strainer which diffused its entry.

RESULTS: Got sandstorm anyway. Who cares. It was 90% settled overnight.
 
I put in water...then rock then sand....I wanted the rock solid on the bottom so my sand sifter gobie wouldn't cause a collapse! He is a digger.
 
My plan now is to put in water - then live sand - then if I can after things settle down get my rock, reach in and dig a little hole or space place rock in and push sand in around the rock.

I am thinking if I put rock in first then sand around to secure it that I will get sand settle in all the little crevicesof my rock.

I think are are 100 ways I could do it I'll try this out and if it stinks I'll make a mental note. Because it will be months before I put a fish in I think I have lots of room for mistakes
 
Turkey basters work great for getting the sand out of those crevices. I got cheap base rock and put it in immediately before I put my sand in. Then I later added the lr on top of the base rock to build on. I did have a sand storm, but it was completely clear after 3 or 4 days. HTH
 
Hi there, while I am relatively new to this I can tell you when I set up my tank I went with setting up my filter first, adding water, adding salt, adding dechlorinator...let that settle for a bit and turning on my filter. After a few minutes I add my live sand by just pouring the bags in and then spreading it more evenly across the bottom.

After that I left it and within 48 hours I had a crystal clear tank with an even sand bed, then I added LR.

Hope that helps.
 
WELCOME TO AA mdjxt39!!

I would suggest, pre-mixing water for 12-48 hours prior to placing in the main. This will allow for proper pH/temp/salinity matching.
 
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