adding sand
- Thread starter zukinjim
- Start date
I just did this. As a matter of fact I removed the old substrate and put new in. Its a lot of work, but I took everything out and placed fish and corals in another setup tank while I scooped out the old substrate and poured the new in. It did make a dust storm, but within 3 hrs it was to the point where I could add LR back, and then corals an hour after that. The next day all was clear.
Pretty much no matter what you do you're going to get a dust storm. You can soak it for a few days, but you're still going to get a storm.
bottom line is that you if you add sand youre GOING to get dust. Not trying to bring bad news... just preair for it and you'll be ok
B
Pretty much no matter what you do you're going to get a dust storm. You can soak it for a few days, but you're still going to get a storm.
bottom line is that you if you add sand youre GOING to get dust. Not trying to bring bad news... just preair for it and you'll be ok
B
i just did this as well i changed over from crushed coral to ssand, I tried the first 5 minutes to not make a storm and it made a storm so then i just started dumping it in, it was cleared up for the most part the next day. It is probably just going to happen so unless maybe you are extremely careful i would think it isn't worth the time to be so careful. it clears up fast.
If it's an inert sand product rinsing it before you add it to the system will help a lot. If it's live sand, this isn't really an option (although I guess you could use tankwater to rinse it).
To help minimize the mess/cloudiness when putting it in the tank you can use a piece of PVC pipe or something similar. Hold the pipe down near the bottom of the tank and pour the sand in the other end.
Another method is to use a clean plastic bag. Fill the bag with sand and put it down near the bottom of the tank. Slowly dump out the sand. You can cut a corner off and use it like a pastry bag to make it easier.
To help minimize the mess/cloudiness when putting it in the tank you can use a piece of PVC pipe or something similar. Hold the pipe down near the bottom of the tank and pour the sand in the other end.
Another method is to use a clean plastic bag. Fill the bag with sand and put it down near the bottom of the tank. Slowly dump out the sand. You can cut a corner off and use it like a pastry bag to make it easier.
When I did this I just scooped the sand out of the bag, then took the cup and slowly put it underwater (so it would fill with the existing tank water), and then take the submersed cup with sand in it and dump the sand into a corner or something.
No storms. maybe a small slurry as I added cup after cup.
Hope that helps
No storms. maybe a small slurry as I added cup after cup.
Hope that helps
chris you know I'm on your side but I gotta see how the PVC pipe thing works! I think that would be just as bad, but I never did it and I don't know, seems like a 2 man job to do that also mild issues with the pastry bag too. that would be difficult
I vote for an easy dump and a few hours to see some difference, you could hook up a mechanical filter to help out for a while.
I vote for an easy dump and a few hours to see some difference, you could hook up a mechanical filter to help out for a while.
Using a tube, bag or container (as JGM did) is definitely an improvement over just dumping it in. This is based on experience, I'm not just making this stuff up. :wink:
BTW, the PVC thing is easier with help. The bag thing is easily a one man job.
Dumping the sand in and waiting for things to clear can be OK but you have to consider folks who are adding sand to an established system and what product they are adding. For example, when Southdown was a big craze and people didn't want to rinse the fines out of it, more than a few people killed corals by just dumping the stuff in. It would take days for the system to clear and by then the damage was done.
BTW, the PVC thing is easier with help. The bag thing is easily a one man job.
Dumping the sand in and waiting for things to clear can be OK but you have to consider folks who are adding sand to an established system and what product they are adding. For example, when Southdown was a big craze and people didn't want to rinse the fines out of it, more than a few people killed corals by just dumping the stuff in. It would take days for the system to clear and by then the damage was done.
Also, if it's dry sand that you bought, what I have done in the past is to sit them in a bucket with old tank water, and a piece of LR from the tank, with circulation.
The idea is to coat the fine grains of sand with bacteria before adding them into the tank, much like cycling the sand first. The bacteria coated sand grains is heavier, and will clear up much faster than new sand. So even if you are dumping them into the tank all at once, you are less likely to create sand storm.
The idea is to coat the fine grains of sand with bacteria before adding them into the tank, much like cycling the sand first. The bacteria coated sand grains is heavier, and will clear up much faster than new sand. So even if you are dumping them into the tank all at once, you are less likely to create sand storm.
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