I have my Sand Fall Up & Running But:

[macman60]

The sand fall is now in the aquarium finally with no leaks and the air from the air stone inside my pvc pipe attached to the back of the Plexi-Glass is bubbling from the top hole in my sand fall But ? there is no sand coming out and I'm wondering what did I do wrong ? This Photo was taken 4.16.13 and you can see that my water is cloudy and that I took this with my phone from outside the Aquarium not a quality shot but you maybe can see the bubbles. The blue sand you see is some I added through a tube from outside the aquarium into the fall.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Mike

[butterfly_koi]

Hi mike, there wasn't a picture attached to your post. Do you have a notch cut in the bottom of the pvc for sand to enter? Sometimes if you don't have a powerful enough air pump you won't get proper suction

[macman60]

No I have a solid pvc pipe on the back of plexi glass with a 90 degree at the top and sealed bottom with a hole for the airline to fit into it and I have 2 holes in the plexi-glass to let sand out the top and to go back into the 2nd hole near the bottom I will try to post a pic.

[macman60]

I'm trying to upload the pic's if not go to my web site listed within my account

Thanks Mike

[macman60]

I have made a album showing my sand_fall now I have made some revisions to it since the photos were taken all I know is now my aquarium is so cloudy I've had to do a water change and use some water clarity product to help to clear it up again. I had this aquarium so clear it was hard to tell if it even had water in it unless I turned the bubble wand on something I did with the sand_fall has messed it up.. Can you please send me some type of schematics showing how to build a proper sand_fall as I went to Home Depot and bought some more PVC and some GE Silicone II Clear... Any help will be much appreciated and please let me know if you see the album I have @
Sand Fall Underwater WaterFall

[butterfly_koi]

Originally Posted by macman60

I had a 4"x7" piece of Plexiglas I bored 2x =Half Inch holes about 1.5" from the top and another hole about 1.5" up from the bottom then I took a 7" piece of Half Inch PVC pipe cut it @ the top and the bottom and put T's in the cut's to enter the PVC pipe into the 2 holes I put into the plexi., Then I put a cap on the bottom of the PVC Pipe Half Inch and then I put a 90 degree Elbow Half Inch at the top of the PVC pipe
I drilled a 1/8" hole into the cap at the bottom to feed my airline tubing into and through the cap then this is where I attached a air stone on the other side of the cap feeding this up and into the Half Inch PVC Pipe I then put the cap onto the PVC pipe and then I used PVC cleaner for all the joints and then put PVC glue to seal all fittings onto the pipe this is where I may have messed up.. The plug that I put into the cap @ the bottom of the pipe this is where I put the sand into the 7" PVC pipe thinking this would push it up and out the 1/2" hole @ the top of the pipe

Hi mike, sorry I didn't answer back earlier, I was busy. Anyways, on to business. My mobile is going super duper slow so I'm not able to see the pictures at this moment but I think I get how you put it together.
One thing I am sensing wrong is the cap at the bottom of the pvc, if its capped it won't suck up the sand. Drill a hole into the top of the elbow and feed the airline tubing down instead of up, this will create a suction. The notch that is cut into the bottom of the pvc is where the sand is sucked in at. There needs to be a little catch tray for the sand at the bottom so it'll replenish itself in the fall, if its just stuck in the substrate it'll just create a hole in the sand and it won't go anywhere from there. Give me just a few minutes and I'll post a basic drawing of how it should be put together.

[butterfly_koi]

Here is a drawing that shows the basic set up of the sand fall.

[owen0992]

You probably need a more powerful air pump. I have the same problem until I upgraded mine.

[macman60]

First of all thank you so much for your time its greatly appreciated. Maybe a dumb question where do you put the sand for it to go up through the notch ? What size pump do you suggest please Thanks Mike

[owen0992]

Glad to help. The sand should be placed at the bottom in the collecting pool. I'll check what pump I used when I get home from class. What size pipe did you use? The size of the pipe will also help determine what size pump to get. Also what size sand did you use? I have a video on youtube of mine when I had it up that I'll post as well for you to see.

[macman60]

1/2" PVC pipe to attach to the back

[owen0992]

ok I've used this pump for my sandfall: Amazon.com: JW Pet Company Fusion Air Pump 700 Aquarium Air Pump: Pet Supplies. And here is my sandfall. First look at Diy Sandfall tank - YouTube Sadly I broke it down because I thought some construction material was poisoning my fish when really I hadn't properly cycled it. But I've learned and am looking forward to the next time I attempt one.

[macman60]

That's really nice love the rock, I'm going to rebuild mine as something on it killed 5 Tiger Barbs, Shark, and I had to take my tank down my water looked like milk no ammonia problem just toxic.

[owen0992]

You've got to soak it in water for a month or so, changing the water every three days. Otherwise chemicals will leech and kill your fish, soaking will get rid of them. Sucks that you lost your fish :/

[macman60]

soak that long if I only use 100% Silicone no glue ?

[owen0992]

It's not the silicone that leeches stuff, it's the Styrofoam or whichever cement you used that will leech. Silicone is 100% aquarium safe so no worries on that part.

[macman60]

thought I'm not going to use the initial sand_fall I'm building another using just pvc pipe, and hard plastic and marble rock that has been cleaned.. therefore the only contact item will be 100% Silicone no glue what so ever.
I appreciate your input and hope to help you and others in the near future I don't want to be the guy that only asks questions but answers them also

Again Thanks So Much and I'm proud to be a member here. Better than I ever expected. Mike

[Alyxx]

Originally Posted by macman60

soak that long if I only use 100% Silicone no glue ?

I did see earlier that you used type II GE silicone and it is the type I that you want. Type II has stuff to make it mold and mildew resistant, and those chemicals can kill fish. Good luck getting your fall to work, though!

[macman60]

Beach sand from Mytrle Beach SC, Crayloa play sand, fine sand blue from Hobby Lobby.... I'm building a new sand fall here is a pic....

[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 ?