sand questions

[Guest]

i want to switch from gravel to sand in my 30g

how long will it take for the sand to settle after i put it in and how long after should i put my fish back in? they will probably be left in a 5 gallon pail so hopefully not too long, the tank is well established just looking for a new look and i like the sand look. So pretty much how long will it take for the sand to settle after it is put in? hopefully i can get this done this weekend.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The time it takes to settle depends on the sand that you use. Pool filter sand usually settles almost instantly. It's a nice heavy sand. You can put your fish back in after about 20 minutes, as long as you have properly washed the sand.

 

[Japola44]

I have a question. I have really terrible sand in my tank. Its super fine and just looks bad, because its impossible to clean. How would you go about switching out the sands?

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

if it's fine sand, you can use your syphon hose to vaccum it out, then add like you would any other sand.

If you are worried about losing it (or clogging your drains with sand ) then you may want to run the syphon into a blanket or towel as it has a coffee filter effect.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I have pfs in my 55G, took about an hour to settle, as I probably didn't clean it as well as I should have. But it settles rather quickly. What you could do is take half the water out, and refill slowly. That will also make the settling quicker, as you are removing some of the dust in the water. I did a 75% water change on my 55G, as mine was pretty cloudy. Then an hour later, crystal clear.

 

[SerLunchbox]

I actually had extra fine sand in my Tanganyikan tank for the shellies that i kept. I didn't like that sand at all. I found that it was too "powdered" and that it caused more problems with my filters then anything. It was a very buoyant sand. After about 3 weeks, it finally settled almost fully (and yes, that was after rinsing it out VERY well)

Just remember to add in some good sand moving fish or snails

 

[Guest]

so how do i go about cleaning it, just rinsing it over and over.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Fill a 5 gal bucket 1/2 full of sand. Stick a garden hose in the bucket and let the water overflow. Stir it around with the hose making sure that the sand is fully stired several times. Let the water overflow the buket until it comes out clean. At first the water will be really dusty so you will know when its clean. Then dump out the water and put the sand in the tank.

 

[ace]

I have a question. With sand how do you clean it in your tank duiring water changes. I have gravel right now and vacume it everytime I do a PWC. Would I have a problem with having to leave waste in the sand since I wouldn't want to suck it up into the hose?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

When using sand, just wave the vac above the sand to kick up the debris. If you use a heavy sand such as pfs, it won't get sucked up. Even if it does, you won't lose much. I move the sand around with our python without losing any of it.

 

[rollin_22]

mine took about a day to completley settle... just have to be patient

 

[Felf]

rinse well, place in the tank(without any water in it), then add water as slowly and lightly as possible. i switched my quartz sand with flourite/florabase by using a net and sucking every last bit with a turkey baster then gave it to my lfs.