Snails in Sand

[ICoolGuy]

Hi! So I just bought a used 35 Gallon it is my first tank by the way. Anyways the previous owner had sand in it but it had about 1000 snails in it, we got the sand but is their anyway I could clean the sand of the snails before infesting my tank with a million more. Basically I want to remove the snails from the wet sand.

 

[54seaweed]

I never recommend using a used sub-straight , why risk bringing in parasites or disease

 

[dcutl002]

Yeah, I would put in new substrate whether it be sand, dirt, eco complete...whatever


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Thefishnut]

You have to severely clean that tank there are prob eggs still in it once you have a snail prob they are hard to get rid of. Dump the substrate (sand) scrub out the tank (eggs look like tiny dots) scrape them off with a razor.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[ICoolGuy]

Thanks for you replies! I did take the sand comletely out from the tank open all the filters and everything cleaned them and the tank really well. It looks new as of now but I still want to use that sand. I can buy new but it will take 20 days to come plus cycling the tank.

Anymore advice?

 

[dcutl002]

I used play sand from Home Depot. Some use pool sand. Just rinse it real good. What I do is fill the tank about halfway with water, pour the sand into an empty drink bottle, tip the bottle upside down into the tank. The clean sand falls down to the bottom and the dirty water stays in the bottle. When the sand has finished falling down, put your thumb over the mouth of the bottle and pour out the dirty water. Then repeat. I have found that a 1 liter bottle works well. I found this hack on youTube and it saves a lot of time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dcutl002]

I would not use the old sand. I used play sand from Home Depot. Some use pool sand. It's good, fast, and cheap. Just rinse it real good. What I do is fill the tank about halfway with water, pour the sand into an empty drink bottle, tip the bottle upside down into the tank. The clean sand falls down to the bottom and the dirty water stays in the bottle. When the sand has finished falling down, put your thumb over the mouth of the bottle and pour out the dirty water. Then repeat. I have found that a 1 liter bottle works well. I found this hack on youTube and it saves a lot of time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Autumnsky]

Sand blasting sand is pretty clean and comes in Garnet (from real Garnets) other colors too.

You would never be able to get all the snails and babies and eggs out.

Most remedies to get rid of the snails are bad for your sand and tank or controversial because of killing them. Often times people want them to feed their snail eating fish.

 

[ICoolGuy]

The sand is currently being dried outside in the burning sun and the temperature where I live is 45C (113F) so do you think that will kill the snails and the eggs and it is almost dry after half day of sun. I will leave it their for another day and see if it works.

 

[Autumnsky]

Good point about the heat and sun. I would THINK so! Seriously wouldn't be surprised one could make it - unless it was really dry and you left it a few days and it was a thin layer. They can lock up their shells to preserve moisture, but probably not after those temps for a few days of being dry too.

If you don't pick them all out, it is likely the dead bodies could cause an ammonia spike after rehydrating in the tank water and completing the moist decaying process.

 

[TMaier]

Boil it.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[TMaier]

What about the smell! I boiled mine on a big camp stove outside.

 

[ICoolGuy]

Here for an update well it was dried like brand new and there is no way that any snails were alive. So I did my best to take all the snails out and then washed it for God knows how long and set up my tank yesterday looks good and no signs of snails either.

 

[Autumnsky]

Glad to hear you got the problem solved!!!

 

[Thefishnut]

Good luck let us know what happens ?


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[chykityta]

Although you may think that you have cleaned the tank throughly, there are snails that survive dry seasons. Meaning, you could still have snail eggs on the tank waiting to get hydrated.

I recommend that you run the tank with filter on 1 part Chlorine with 9 parts water. You can add more Chlorine if wanted to but this concentration has worked for me in the past for clearing a snail infestation that was starting to get out of control. Run this for at least three days. Note: to avoid the Chlorine smell, place a humid towel over the tank. Afterwards clean it throughly and leave it running for another day with clean de chlorinated water. Finally, do another 100% water change.

Now on to the sand: it is porous. The only thin I can think of is baking it. I have no done it myself but have read about it a little bit so do some research on cleaning porous aquarium items.

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[chykityta]

A quick search showed this article:
http://pets.thenest.com/there-way-disinfect-aquarium-stuff-12031.html


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice