Sand in my 150g

[TwoTank]

I put sand in my aquarium last night after cleaning it thoroughly and was curious how long it is going to take for the sand to settle at the bottom? I cannot see that back of the tank. Thanks

 

[Viper]

I put sand in my aquarium last night after cleaning it thoroughly and was curious how long it is going to take for the sand to settle at the bottom? I cannot see that back of the tank. Thanks

What kind of sand is it? Do you have the filter running (I hope not)? Depending on what kind of sand it is, it could take a couple a hours to a day or two.

Oh, and welcome to AA! I love it here, questions get answered nice and quick around here!

 

[happygirl65]

I have used pool filter sand before and it usually takes a day or two to completely settle out no matter how good I wash it before hand. It is best to not run your filter if you can while it settles or just be prepared to clean your filter media within a week or so so rid it of the excess dirt particles.

Good luck on yoru new tank...150g sounds like drooling material to me.

 

[mfdrookie516]

all depends on what kind of sand as viper mentioned... if play sand, it may never settle (mine never did) or at best, it could take quite a while... if so, turn off any filters/powerheads... if pool filter sand, you just didnt rinse it good enough as mine didnt cloud at all (i've had it in 5-6 tanks with the same result, no clouding).

 

[Viper]

I actually used play sand in my tank and there was absolutely no clouding when I put water in. I washed it pretty thoroughly though. My tank is really clear so I guess it determines how diligent you are with your cleaning.

 

[TwoTank]

I used leveling sand... A man at my local aquarium said it would work well. I live in an apartment, so the cleaning I did was all in the kitchen sink. I took me around 4 hours to clean 150 pounds. This is going to settle eventually thought, right?

 

[Viper]

Hmm sorry, I don't have any experience with leveling sand. Hopefully it'll settle eventually or else that's 4 hours that you spent for no reason!

 

[tmcgee]

If it is just the "dust" and not actual grains of sand floating around (not sure how it would) but you could do a couple partial water changes. That will clear things up in a hurry. the only downfall is that if you didn't clean it well enough, when you stir it again to remove air pockets, it will cloud up again. It will eventually go away though with water changes.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I actually used play sand in my tank and there was absolutely no clouding when I put water in. I washed it pretty thoroughly though. My tank is really clear so I guess it determines how diligent you are with your cleaning.

mine wasnt dirt or dust, it was the actual sand itself. it was so light it wouldnt settle down... i rinsed it for every bit of 8 hours, i actually used a drill and a grout bit to stir it around changing the water out every 15 minutes, then the last 2 hours i just stuck a hose in it and continued to stir as the bucket overflowed... not sure, but i heard several others with the same complaint

 

[TwoTank]

If it is just the "dust" and not actual grains of sand floating around (not sure how it would) but you could do a couple partial water changes. That will clear things up in a hurry. the only downfall is that if you didn't clean it well enough, when you stir it again to remove air pockets, it will cloud up again. It will eventually go away though with water changes.

Thank you, this is exactly what I needed! I'll start tonight!

 

[Viper]

mine wasnt dirt or dust, it was the actual sand itself. it was so light it wouldnt settle down... i rinsed it for every bit of 8 hours, i actually used a drill and a grout bit to stir it around changing the water out every 15 minutes, then the last 2 hours i just stuck a hose in it and continued to stir as the bucket overflowed... not sure, but i heard several others with the same complaint

Hmm then I guess I got lucky when I read about the pillow case method cause cause i haven't had any problems with it!

 

[mfdrookie516]

maybe so? i'd never heard about that until you posted about it. ill just stick with pfs though, so much less to worry about

 

[Viper]

Yeah I probably would have gone with that too if I had read about clouding problems with play sand. But oh well, everything seemed to work for me so I can't complain.

 

[TwoTank]

Is it possible that this sand will no settle even with water changes? 150 gallon tank is pretty difficult to perform 40% water changes.

 

[happygirl65]

Make sure you get a python and it will make water changes MUCH easier...it is possible that it will eventually settle out, you might just have to wait a day or two.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Is it possible that this sand will no settle even with water changes? 150 gallon tank is pretty difficult to perform 40% water changes.

i do 50% pwc's on my 150 every week as i do on all of my tanks. it is not hard at all, you just gotta have the will to do it (and a python)

 

[TwoTank]

I just syphon it out the window with a garden hose... I know I'm ameteur hour here, but is this a no no? I should have mentioned I'm on the 2nd floor of an apartment complex.

 

[mfdrookie516]

depending on how clean the garden hose is... new, i wouldnt worry... used, i wouldnt use it

 

[Viper]

I just syphon it out the window with a garden hose... I know I'm ameteur hour here, but is this a no no? I should have mentioned I'm on the 2nd floor of an apartment complex.

Thats not a problem unless your landlord says it is! lol. Actually, all the crap and stuff that you vacuum out of the tank can actually be beneficial for your garden (if you actually owned the land and had a garden ) That's not a knock on you by the way! How do you refill the tank?

 

[TwoTank]

Haha, it's actually quite genious. I just hook the garden hose up to my washing machine intake. It's exactly like hooking it up outside, just WAY more water pressure.