adding sand

[caz]

when adding sand, how long does it take for it to settle to the bottom?
i was told not to wash it so i can keep the smaller paritcales. was this true, or did i just mess up? cause my tank has been really really really cloudy for the past few hours :( hehe

[gcvt]

You did right by not washing the sand. The cloudiness will likely last for days, but it will eventually settle....trust me :)

[Gealcath]

The smaller the particle size the greater the surface are for bacteria to colonize, so the "dust" is desirable, it will settle in a few more hours.

[Gee]

Dont worry, mine was cloudy for 5 days !!!

But now its very clear.

[caz]

okay thank you guys i was starting to worry their for a while, should i keep my filter running? or turn it off till it settles?

[caz]

one more quick question, in lowes, there was a diffferent kind of sand, medium grade contractor grade, it says it may contain free silica. could i use that or no?

thanx

[Gealcath]

You want sand thats sugar grade, so if it looks like sugar it should do fine.

[caz]

yeah but its brown :sad thank god i have live sand to put ontop of it

[wastememphis]

I used sand in my tank... it was cloudy for 2hrs. I also cleaned the sand, if you clean the sand and put it in a bucket then put it all in your tank... then put a lid of a bowl or something on top of the sand and the water will flow over the sides and just keep pouring the water on the lid. The water won't actually hit the sand hard it will just spread off the lid... sure it took a little longer, but not much. The tank was honestly clear in two hours after putting 35lbs of sand and filling a 29gallon with water.

[caz]

yeah i didnt clean mine, i read that it was better to not clean it, oh well, guess ill just ignore my tank for a few days, should i keep the filter runnin? im dieing to know this hehe

[CHughes]

caz
Turn off your filter till the dust settles.
Just run a power head for circulation of the water and the dust should settle within 2 days max. It worked for me in my 55 gal setup.

chris

[wastememphis]

I left mine on... sand will go in the filter anyway... pools filter with sand, why not?