thinking about adding sand...

[mvirata]

Hi Guys, your friendly neighborhood newb here strikes again with a stupid question!

After successfully running a bare bottom tank for 2 months and no fish have died with awesome water parameters I am re-thinking of adding substrate to my tanks.

16g
2 cory cats
1 SAE
1 angel

29g
3 cory cats
1 SAE
2 rams
1 female betta
1 dwarf gourami
1 stupid snail who entered illegally

I was thinking a thin layer of crushed coral but so far that is a big NO NO. Unless someone says otherwise I will put that on the NO NO list.

I believe what appeases me best is a thin layer of pool filter sand. I am pretty much sold on that and I found a leslies pool supply near by so I think I am ok to get some.

Anyways my question is actually putting the sand in the tank. Here is the game plan:

1. I can move the 16G fish to the 29G and then add sand to the 16G.

2. Then I repeat the process by adding all the fish from the 29G to the 16G and add sand to the 29G.

3. Once complete bring all the fish back to normal home.

The problem I see here is since sand is going to be flying all over the place I have a feeling the tank won't settle in very quickly (cloudy water, sand particles possibly harmful to the fish??). I have read some people said it takes a day or so to settle and I know if I put all my fish in a 16G it is going to be a disaster, even for a day (maybe??). Step 2 worries me the most, Step 1 is not so bad since the tank is bigger I won't really care of the 16G fish stay in there for a day.

Maybe I am being TOO careful and it would be OK to put all my 29G fish into my 16G tank for a day?

Is there a way to get the sand to the bottom easier, I was thinking instead of pouring it in I would just use a small cup and add it in slowly.

Any input would be appreciated.

[mvirata]

BTW I have a bucket also so I can actually move the fish into a bucket instead of moving them into each others homes. I could do this also as an option. But again my biggest fear is how long it will take pool filter sand to settle in the tank. I don't want to leave the fish in the bucket for more than an hour.

[lazyNode]

I'm thinking about converting to sand.
I was planning to get a pipe and funnel to put the sand in. Hoping that it would minimise water movement.

I need a pipe anyways cause the Angels keep stealing the sinking cory food.

[eyeman]

I would use a piece of PVC and afunnel as lazyNode mentions. Just go slowly.

[mvirata]

now THAT is a good idea. I wonder if I get a tube with a funnel it would allow sand to pass through. I think it might clump up once the sand hits the water which will clog up the tube. If it does work I won't need to move anyone anywhere...

[lazyNode]

As long as you are not using a straw to funnel the sand.

Oh yes, I also read you should turn off your filter until the sand settles. I was going to put a stocking a the end of my filter intake when I first turn it back on.

[mvirata]

OK problem solved!

hey lazy do you think I should put the fish in a bucket of their water until the sand settles or just go for the gold and pop the sand in with them in there.

I was thinking of using the big gulp straw but I think a pipe will work better.

[eyeman]

Pool filter sand is not as fine as playsand or some of the aquarium sand and therefore will not clump like you think. It would not work well when first turning a pool filter on if it clumped.

[lazyNode]

I would take the fish out. The cloudiness and stress might freak them out too much. If WW3 starts in the smaller tank, seperate the bad fish into the bucket with a heater and spare air pump if you have one.

Good luck, oh yeah, remember to wash the sand.

[crownjules]

Good luck, oh yeah, remember to wash the sand.

How exactly do you "wash sand"? I see that as being incredibly tedious and requiring quite a bit of time to actually accomplish. Is it really that much of a detriment to your tank to not pre-wash the sand?

[mvirata]

o its easy put in your bathtub and them soap it with a sponge.

Actually you put it in a bucket and then pour water into it. empty out the bucket and repeat the process until the water is clear. Depending on how much sand you have I have read it could take hours.

Pool Filter Sand (as stated) is more coarse than aquarium sand. I have read that some people never washed their pool filter sand but I think I will rinse it out a few times before putting it in.

Play Sand is cheaper but you have to clean it. Pool Filter Sand is easier to clean. I'll spend the extra 10 bucks to not have to clean it for hours.

[MammoMK11]

My buddy didn't wash her sand and her tank turned cloudy for a couple of days. I'm not sure if it is because of her not washing it, but just a heads up incase it did.

[Vinjari]

Does anyone ever have combinations of substrate? Like part gravel and another section sand?? Just asking because someone had recommended just doing a section of sand for the eel to burrow into as gravel can injure him. We have all gravel right now but need to have some sand in there for him.

[kiyannastar]

Hey there,

Sorry for hording in on this thread, but I'm an ignorant, and now confused, n00b. Someone told me not to put sand in the bottom of my tank because it would irritate my goldie's gills. Does this go for just goldies?

[mvirata]

Don't be confused, I was confused thats why I write on the forum and now I have the answers. Yes, don't put sand for goldfish. I read on previous forums that goldfish will stir up the sand and cause sand to go in their gills and causing damage.

Also I found out that goldfish grow very huge and in most cases will not survive most tanks under 40 Gallons. How big is your tank? You might want to start a new thread asking for some tank advice here in the freshwater newbie forum.

Nobody here will flame you, only the stupid ones do.

[mvirata]

OK,

I created a 10G Quarantine tank with a heater and sponge filter as a temporary home. I am glad I did since I needed one anyway in the future.

So at this point my 16G fish are in QT tank while I add the new sand to the 16G.

I rinsed out the Leslie Pool Filter Sand a few times in the tub. Since the sand was already wet at this point I opted not to use the funnel and pipe idea as it would have taken hours to get that crap in there with wet sand. So I just plopped it in as nicely as I could with an old chinese food soup cup.

My tank is super cloudy! I have the filter turned off and I let it settle overnight. It has been 8 hours and no change. I am safe since I got the QT tank now but are there any suggestion to get this going?

I was going to do the pantyhose thing around my filter but I ran out of pantyhose after wearing some on my head for fun at the local drugstore. I can get some pantyhose today but I really don't want to look stupid at the Target.

Should I also do daily water changes of 25% till it is clear or should I just let it settle?

Once again any help is appreciated.

[eyeman]

I would move the sand around to where you want it so you don't have to stir it up again. Then change 80% or more of the water. Then SLOWLY add new water. Turn the filters back on. I would not have turned them off. You might as well replace all the water since turning off the filters effectivly killed most of your bacteria colony. Pool filter sand should settle and clear up quickly. What you see in the water is dust and not likely to harm your filter. I placed a AC quickfilter in my 20L when adding sand and it cleared up in less than one hour.

[jessicar613]

I used Leslie's pool filter sand, didn't rinse it at all and my water is clear as a bell. :huh: But, before I added it to the tank I put a little in a bowl, added water, and swished it around. No dust rose in the bowl so I went ahead and dumped it in the tank. So I did do a trial before I added it.

In the future if you need to rinse a lot of sand you can put it in a pillowcase, take it outside, and run the hose through it. The sand will stay in the pillowcase, the dust will rinse out through the fabric. Probably a lot easier than using your bathtub!

[mvirata]

Luckily I found some pantyhose and was able to get the filter on this morning. It was off for 8 hours, I hope I didn't lose too much bacteria. I do have a live plant in there so I assume there is some hope.

I am taking a half day off work today to see the progress. I still have one more tank and I think I will use the pillow case idea for my big tank.

I will provide updates (good or bad), thanks so much for all your help.

*edit* I am using penguin bio wheel filters hopefully there is still some stored bacterai in those also.
*note to self* don't turn off FILTER!

[mvirata]

yeah baby 16G done! Not crystal clear but sufficient enough for the fish and put them back. The cory cats are loving it.

Just did my 29G and washed it more thoroughly using the pillow case but it is still pretty cloudy. I'll probably do a 50% water change tomorrow and see if they are ready to move back in by saturday morning.

[mvirata]

:clap:

Yeah baby did another water change and the water is clear on both tanks and all the fishies survived!

[jm1212]

awsome! keep up with the good work!