I know before you add gravel to a tank you must rinse it well before adding it to your tank. What about sand? Should I wash it, and if so how? I usually put gravel in a strainer but sand will go right through. :thanks: from a :new:

i filled a 5 gallon bucket about half way and rinsed the shit out of the sand. i kept filling it and stirring it and dumping it out.

I put mine in an ice chest and stuck the hose in it until it ran clean, didn't even cloud the tank.

Dito cich1.

Deffiantely wash your sand first the same way you wash your gravel. Sometimes you wouldnt need to wash your gravel, but i think better to do it before you add it to your tank. If you have fish already residing, they will find it difficult to breath and can cause irritation. It can also clogg filters and cause damage! :)

HIH, miagi!

Thank you so much everbody. I am going to rinse it as best as I can. I just have one more question. How should i clean out the sand after it has been in the tank. All I have right now is a gravel vac. so if I need something else, I will have to order it online, since the lfs near me doesn't have much.

A gravel vac will be fine! :D

Cleaning your substrate should just include vacuming off the detritus like poop and leaves that fall on the surface of your sand. You dont neccessarily need to up root and turn over your gravel! :D

Hi there,

The vac is good for sand, but I was advised to make sure that I gently disturbed the sand on a regular basis to stop it compacting down too hard. I just dig the vac down into the sand untill it starts to swirl in the vac head then lift up so it gently drops.

I can't quite remember why I was advised to do this....I think it was to do with stopping gas pockets building up......someone with more brains help me out?

I wouldn't dig the gravel vac into the sand while you are cleaning because than you will end up sucking up a lot of the sand. With my tanks with sand I just swirl the vac just a smidge above the sand and this upsets the dirties which get sucked up but not nearly as much sand. Then after I've vacummed I take my fingers or the poky end of my algae scraper and poke holes in the sand or even poke and twist. This keeps it from compacting and from "dying" like the previous poster mentioned. I've also heard that Malaysian Trumpet Snails like to burrow in the sand and then you don't have to worry about aerating it youself but then you usually have to deal with their babies so that's up to you. :)

Thank you everyone. I am glad I can use the gravel vac still. Thanks for letting me know about the compacting of the sand. I didn't know that. As far as snails go, I just spent the last week trying to get rid of them. My tank became over run. I would rather aerate it myself, I am not as hard to get rid of...lol

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I always rinsed my sand in a "new plastic dish pan" (one that had never seen soap). Say for a newly set up 10g tank, I would divide it by thirds and rinse each third seperately. Put the sand in before the water, lay paper towels in, then pour the water on that. For cleaning I would use a plastic 1/2" hose (into the dish pan) for a siphon.Keeping your thumb on the lower end you can stop when you get a load of sand in the hose... it will go right back into the tank. Any excess that made it to the pan would be rinsed and re-added. The sand must be clean to begin with! Otherwise aenorobic bacteria will cause gas pockets (hydrogen sulfide - swamp gas), your whole room will stink and don't go near the tank with a lighted cigarette! :smoke: btw: I learned the hard way...LOL! Eyebrows singed!
The sand will also turn black - NOT GOOD! Sand landscape is good, but I found tHhat gravel is much easier to take care of in a long established tank (7+ yrs).

i have a question! where do u get the sand from? does it have to be silver sand?

Sorry to disagree Kimo, but the paper towels may not be a good idea. Most brands treat the paper with chemicals that can leach into the water. :?: You can achieve aerated water & lightly disturbed sand by using a difuser on the end of the hose. I use a piece of the coarse grade filter wool, does the trick nicely. :)


Re the 2nd point, I can see your point from one side kimo, but my experience has been different to yours. :) I personally have found the sand is so much easier to maintain myself. I use Pool Filter Sand which is quite a coarse grain so maybe that's why. But I vaccuum once a week & stir the sand up with the vacuum & takes less than an hour (for 9 tanks). When I had 6 tanks with gravel it was 1.5 to 2 hour job minimum. Again this is just my experience so it's obviously been different to yours kimo! :)

HTH's PC.

Oh & I also use the same method as cich1, I rinse it a bit at a time till the water runs clear then drain, pour into tank, do the next bit. :)

Will Black contractors sand work in a tank or does it have added chemicals?













Ps sorry for hijacking the thread.

In 35+ years of guppy breeding I have never had a problem with paper towels.
As long as they are GOOD QUALITY and not the kind that falls apart the minute you use them.
As for gravel or sand - it doesn't make much difference to me. When I had my 30+
tanks set up, it took less than 1 hr a day to take care of ALL of them.

:jerry:

Fair enough. :) In Oz I have found many of the leading brands treat their towels with a wax-like substance to help hold them together. I wa sunsure of the chemical make-up of this substance, but any chemical I don't know causes me concern. :huh: But if it's never affected your fish, that's good to know. :tup:

True, but that's an hour a day. I know PC's situation & time is not a luxury she has, hence why I raised the point re the extra time gravel takes to clean properly, as opposed to sand where u just skim the surface & it's done. Admittedly she doesn't have 30 tanks, but I still feel it was still a valid opinion to express, but I wasn't trying to diminish your opinion or experiences in that area Kimo, just to share my experiences & opinion too, unfortunately they differ from yours in this area, but it's all good. :)

I'm not knocking sand... it's just IF you ever get a breakout of aenerobic bacteria started... it is hell to get cleaned up without a full tank teardown. It seems like everything that gets touched by it eventually starts turning black and chlorine baths don't work that well. A sterile tank is a sick tank....

That's very true, if allowed into the tank aenerobic bacteria is a nightmare to deal with, & usually means fish deaths. :rip: Definitely something that must be watched out for with sand.

I have never had that much of a prob. with sand. No anearobic bacteria have yet infiltrated! :P But i do disturb certain areas of my tank. Differentsections each week. Dont Disturb the whole lot at once, just do one side at a time, disturbing the sand that is!

:nod: Sand ROCKS!

I've made quite a few big sand castles if thats any help :whistle:

I honestly thing anerobic bacteria in sand is a sign of incomplete maintanence. Sand has to be sifted every once in a while, unless your fish do it for you.

hey ive just started a sand tank maybe 2-3 months ago and i cant seem to keep my nitrates down can anyone help

Do more regular water changes.

and do reular water tests!