adding Sand.
- Thread starter Galvan
- Start date
Turn off anything that circulates the water. Then scoop up the dry sand in a small container like a washed out butter tub or something, and SLOWLY drop it under the surface to slowly let water fill the container the rest of the way. Then carefully move it to the bottom and gently pour it where you want it.
The faster/farther/more you dump at once, the more it will cloud. It WILL cloud no matter what, but it'll settle in not too long. Good luck
The faster/farther/more you dump at once, the more it will cloud. It WILL cloud no matter what, but it'll settle in not too long. Good luck
1st: RINSE THE NEW SUBSTRATE WELL UNDER TAP WATER. 
2nd: Turn off all water movement devices and filters if you can.
3rd: ( this is where the already wet sand comes in handy!) scoop up the amounts you chose to add at a time, place it where you need/want it via slowly letting it fall out of the container by slowly tilting the container litteraly inches away from the existing substrate. Not dumping it or pouring it.
Since it is already wet very little of it will float up. Since your letting it fall out VERY close to the existing substrate you wont agitate it and muck up your tank.
Good luck.
2nd: Turn off all water movement devices and filters if you can.
3rd: ( this is where the already wet sand comes in handy!) scoop up the amounts you chose to add at a time, place it where you need/want it via slowly letting it fall out of the container by slowly tilting the container litteraly inches away from the existing substrate. Not dumping it or pouring it.
Since it is already wet very little of it will float up. Since your letting it fall out VERY close to the existing substrate you wont agitate it and muck up your tank.
Good luck.
I think i can follow the funnel down a tube suggestions. when i purchased my tank 1 year ago the suggestion from the pet store was not live sand but a regular sand they had which has some crushed coral. I have about 2 inches of a sand bed and is white. is there a recommendation of what kind of sand I can use. Will live sand be O.K. I only need about 5 lbs i need to add in area where my fish have created a large void in the sand. will it be beneficial to add sand
regards
regards
Stick the new sand in a large bucket. Add some water from your tank and a small powerhead or bubbler. Forget about it for a week. The bacteria from your tank water will "bond" a lot of the silt/clay in the sand and elimanate most of the "cloud" when you add it to the tank.
Take a 16 0z plastic cup,scoop up some sand and cover the top with your hand. With the pumps off make small piles all over the place.
Turn on the pumps and let the animals and water movement "level" the little piles over time.
Take a 16 0z plastic cup,scoop up some sand and cover the top with your hand. With the pumps off make small piles all over the place.
Turn on the pumps and let the animals and water movement "level" the little piles over time.
my reasoning for using tapwater to rinse.
Its dead to begin with so nothing can be killed.
If its live sand then ofcourse you want to use tank water.
Bacteria wont bond anything. free floaters will still be free floaters, and silt will still be silt.
I think your LFS is advising you use dead substrate becaus your tank is mture, and there is no way to tell how long the live sand has been in the bag on the shelf, and what temperatures it has been exposed to. They are probably worried it might spike somthing from die off.
Its dead to begin with so nothing can be killed.
If its live sand then ofcourse you want to use tank water.
Bacteria wont bond anything. free floaters will still be free floaters, and silt will still be silt.
I think your LFS is advising you use dead substrate becaus your tank is mture, and there is no way to tell how long the live sand has been in the bag on the shelf, and what temperatures it has been exposed to. They are probably worried it might spike somthing from die off.
I will have to hunt up the link...no the bacteria doesnt "bond" the sand, but it attaches to the silt/clay and "weighs" it down .
I dont know all the techy terms for it but it works. If adding a very small amount..meh it probaly wont make much of a cloud anyway.
I dont know all the techy terms for it but it works. If adding a very small amount..meh it probaly wont make much of a cloud anyway.
- Location
- Cape Coral, Florida
I've had a sealed bag for over a year- does it stay ok- or is there a time limit? The tube and funnel sounds good. Thanks, Dawn.
- Location
- Cape Coral, Florida
I think it's going out to the garbage- pronto! Thanks!!
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