Adding Sand To New Tank

[NigelK8485]

Basically just wanted to share this simple method for anyone dreading the cloudiness that occurs when adding sand to a tank.

I saw the YouTube video where the guy funnels the sand into a bottle piece by piece but this was a lot quicker. If you want to be extra safe you can dunk the whole bag into some treated water or whatever beforehand then let it drain dry.

Take a bag of sand, remove excess air and twist the top so it's sealed. Once it's underwater, open it slightly to allow air out and water to penetrate through, you'll notice the change in color of sand as water sinks through it. Once all the air has escaped, just flip the bag and pour.

In hindsight I would have had a bucket nearby to throw the bag in after pulling it out of the tank, but it wasn't a huge deal.


The picture doesn't show it but as the air escaped, loose particles were brought up a bit with it. Rinsing it prior would help with that.



This is about two minutes after emptying the bag.

 

[Brookster123]

What kind of sand?

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[NigelK8485]

It's just cheap pool filter sand from Leslie's Pool Supplies. I'm assuming it would work for most. Obviously the finer grade will cloud a bit more so probably let air out more slowly to prevent a huge change in pressure.

 

[Bearchumjs]

That's a good way to do it. Very little clouding and faster than how we did it. When my daughter put her substrate in, she rinsed it in a bucket really well then scooped it into a cup and lowered the cup into the tank and poured the sand/gravel mix directly onto the bottom of the tank. It took a little time but there was very little clouding. Here's a YouTube video she made. She's setting up this tank for her betta. It's currently cycling with no fish.

https://youtu.be/QUQ0hQqz-Yk

 

[Brookster123]

Pfs is about as clean as it gets. Try that with play sand... biggggg messsss

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[NigelK8485]

Pfs is about as clean as it gets. Try that with play sand... biggggg messsss

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Dangit man, I was so excited.

 

[Brookster123]

Sorry... all sands are not created equal (clean)

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[WinkWink]

I had to add Black Diamond Sand to an already filled tank. After the cleaning process was completed, I used a long pvc pipe and a wide funnel at the top and i was able to pipe the sand right where I wanted it with great control and very little disturbance [emoji1417]