I have my Sand Fall Up & Running But:

[Alyxx]

Originally Posted by macman60

I made all my sand_falls with II as my Home Depot and Lowe's both only have type II no more Type I so do I just throw them away ? the Sand_Fall I just posted is put together with Type II ?

I wouldn't risk it. Only 100% silicone with no additives is safe.

[macman60]

Ok I found GE Silicone I at my Home Depot they only had a few containers of it so I'm ready to start over I guess... I bought another piece of PVC pipe for the sand to flow through this time I bought 3/4" with a elbow instead of 1/2" to give more space for the sand to flow through and then I will drill a hole in the elbow for the airline tubing. I'm taking a larger 4.5" ID piece of PVC and cutting it in half to make the half hull to place my stones and marble using this for the Sand_Fall itself
I've made a drawing showing the back please let me know how you think it looks and let me know also about the slotted area @ the bottom of the pipe. My only question is do I need to put a piece of plexi on the bottom of the 3/4" pipe so the sand will fall through this pipe at the bottom where the slot is then onto the plexi and going out of the 4.5" pipe from the slot to the front where I will have a v shape to catch the sand from the top ?

[macman60]

I used only GE Silicone I on this Sand_fall its in a sick_tank 10g aquarium
and it drops the sand down but not much ? How much sand do you guys load into the bottom slot ? I don't want to add to much but need to add more it seems. No leaks bought a Top Fin Air-3000 fits most 40 gallon aquariums seems to do a good job I put another airline tube on the 2nd valve and inserted a valve adjuster to this line to avoid any air that may come out of the 2nd valve on the pump itself. I've posted a new photo of the most recent sand_fall here and in my album also showing the new pump. People please let me know of any adjustments, add-ons that I may need to make this work better also noted to let me know how much sand to add... Thanks to all of you

[Alyxx]

It looks good! Unfortunately I a bit technically incompetent so I can't really help you troubleshoot, but I can tell you that you are much better off with the type I silicone. I made the same mistake years ago and nuked a tank full of fish with the type 2.

[macman60]

It seems to be working good I may put some larger stones on the top to help
manipulate the sand and air to go down more... Mike

[macman60]

Well here we go again:

I placed the Sand_Fall into my 46g bowfront MarineLand aquarium

I had had it placed in a sick_tank 10g and it was working pretty good not
having the sand flowing like other sand_falls I've seen but it was ok then I put it into the 46g and I got bubbles coming out the top of the PVC pipe and the sand at the bottom was going away but not down the front of the sand_fall
and I didn't see it blowing into the water ? I don't know what I'm doing wrong this is crazy wrong as this looks to be so simple and I'm not a dumb guy I hope so here are some new pictures of the Sand_Fall inside the 46g aquarium
**I highlighted the areas at the top and bottom where the sand flows out and in.
Please any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm not feeling very smart at this moment.. Thanks Mike

[butterfly_koi]

It just means it's a lighter sand and not heavy enough to fall straight down. it's an easy fix, just get a different type of sand and it should work fine. What type of sand are you using

[macman60]

Hobby Lobby its blue in a plastic container mixed with some actual ocean sand

but I'm getting large bubbles coming out of the top of the fall ?

[butterfly_koi]

I would try something heavy such as black diamond and see how that goes.

[macman60]

want the black sand though my Tractor Supply carries Black Diamond I think for blasting. I'll see what I decide keep the ideas coming I'm listening...

[macman60]

Sand at Tractor Supply but it didn't help at all I now have 40lbs of black sand and a sand fall that doesn't work and before I put the sand_fall back into the aquarium all my fish are hiding and my largest Parrot fish are lying kind of on their sides their eating but no fish are happy I did a 10% water change and added stress coat and checked my levels and all are right on the money...
Since the toxic thing with the glue my aquarium doesn't seem to be the same.
I've re-landscaped the aquarium and I know that stresses the fish but not the way these guys are acting... I'm giving up on the sand_fall I guess I guess I'm not smart enough to figure it out but I am getting a new pump Friday so I'll see if that works I'm still getting bubbles out the top of the PVC pipe but no sand.

What is wrong with this idea ? and my fish are they stressed out or sick.. ?

any help Mike
I'll upload a photo of all Friday -Fish, Sand_Fall all the problems in one picture

[thursyanna]

Sorry your sand_fall isn't working. I've been following this thread and was looking forward to seeing it run. I do agree about the GE Silicone I being the one that is safe for fish. I put together a 3-D rock wall out of Styrofoam and Quikrete and mine has been running for 4 months with no fish loss (except a dropsy). I think I'd do at least a 50% water change tomorrow and (someone chime in anytime), I think I'd add carbon to the filter for a few days. I don't know if it'll help but it might help take some of the toxins out of the water. Or I may just be full of it! LOL!! It won't hurt anything anyway. Let us know how it all goes.

[macman60]

act like a child it's just that I've spent a lot of time on the sand_fall and spent a good bit of money also. This is what I used and how I built it ...
(1) 3" pvc pipe ran up back of 4" pvc pipe used for structure of rocks
(2) top elbow for sand to collect to go back down
(3) cut a slot out of 1 side of bottom of the 3" pvc pipe for sand to collect
(4) used a 4" pvc pipe to add rocks too as my main site
(5) cut hole into elbow in top of pipe to run a airstone down into it
(6) used only GE Silicone I
(7) put a bowl on the outside bottom for sand to fall into and go back up the pipe
(8) cut hole into 4" pvc at top and bottom for elbow to go through
(9) placed 3" pvc pipe so slot at bottom would be at the bottom of 4" pipe

Going to do 50% water change and add carbon Thanks Mike

[butterfly_koi]

There are a few threads on the site for sandfall builds

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...ld-225034.html

I would check a few of them out to see what could be going wrong.

[thursyanna]

Originally Posted by butterfly_koi

There are a few threads on the site for sandfall builds

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...ld-225034.html

I would check a few of them out to see what could be going wrong.

That's a great thread to read! He did a great job on his sandfall. I wonder what type of sand he used. It seems to be a good weight.

[macman60]

Hello

well after loosing several fish I'm trying to keep my mind off that by trying to get the sand_fall working and this is what I've done added the Black Diamond Sand into it and nothing has changed it's still bubbling out the top hole coming from the elbow of the PVC pipe on the back. It seems that I'm not getting enough suction from the air stone that is going down the PVC pipe towards the bottom slit where the sand is and I bought a new pump JW Pet Company Fusion Air Pump 700 Aquarium Air Pump: Operates up to 15 air operated ornaments, filters and airstones.. So I would think this is enough power ? I've played with the adjustment wheel on the pump that lets more or less air into the air stone and I've added sand into the pipe and still no luck at one point I did have some sand pouring down from the top but not enough to brag about. Something is wrong if you read over the internet you'll get ideas and get this most say to put the air stone up from the bottom not down through the top I've tried both and for some reason I can't seem to get the water fall effect to happen.. Is this that hard or am I just not smart enough to figure it out ... Please don't think I've not tried to get this to work I have and I've tried different things to see if they would work and nothing seems to work at least not for me Please help if you can thanks Mike

[macman60]

I've put the tubing for the sand_fall with the air stone into the bottom
of the 3" pvc pipe no luck and so now I've put 2 smaller mist style air stones
back through the top and I'm awaiting the silicone to dry. I was reading the info. on the tube of GE I silicone and it says not to use below a water line and especially aquariums is this talking about pressure wise not to use below water line and aquariums under heavy pressure ? I hope this is still ok to use I'm sure it is due to a lot of you responding saying you've used this type of silicone and haven't had any problems and I know you guy's know a lot more than I do..

Any other suggestions on the sand_fall and how to get the Black Diamond Sand to go up and down the top hole of the pvc would be great I honestly feel like offering a reward to the person or person's that get's this sand_fall to flow sand down.. LOL Thanks Mike _ Tina

[butterfly_koi]

Honesty I'm at a loss to which I'm very sorry. Let me message oscarchic11 and see it she can jump in and lend some advice.

[oscarchic11]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...5g-227466.html


here is my thread on my sandfall build. its pretty step by step, i even have pics of my trial one... the pump may not be strong enough, or the stone may not be close enough 2 the bottom, also, you need a "pool" at the bottom for the sand 2 be gathered before it is cycled back up through! hope this helps! if you have any more questions pm me or post them on here as ill now be following...

[macman60]

this is the pump I'm using : Amazon.com: JW Pet Company Fusion Air Pump 700 Aquarium Air Pump: Pet Supplies

it says it will run up to 15 different aquarium decorations ?

I have the air stone about 2" from the bottom I just put 2 smaller mist stones in place of the regular air stone here is a photo of the newer mist stone:
Top Fin&#0174 Mist Airstones - Air Pumps & Accessories - Fish - PetSmart

thanks for coming into the discussion as this is really confusing it seems so simple yet it's been a month of trial and error.. Mike

I'm getting ready to post a new picture of the sand_Fall out of the aquarium
please be ready to view it and let me know ok