Planting in a sandstorm?

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ZorroNet

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I took the leap and went 100% play sand in my new 55 (which was advertised as a 50... disappointed, but I'll survive). I knew the tank would be cloudy for a few days based on what I've read and applying common sense. The haze has lifted more or less... I can see the back of the tank from the front clearly enough to read the print on the heater for reference.

My question is simple... Does anyone see any reason why I can't go ahead and start planting the tank in the middle of the final days of haze? Also, I was unsure about putting inverts in turbid waters such as these. I don't see any major reason to halt on progress, because I'm sure I'm going to kick up some more sand when I plant, but the inverts might not like being dropped in there. Inverts are MTS, RCS, and Blackworms. RCS are the only questionable drop-ins in my opinion, but I've been wrong before!
 

FreshyFresh

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I know the RCS and snails are constantly stirring up the FloraMax substrate I have in their 10g. Not to the point of cloudiness, but there's constant dust floating around in there. You'd think they'd have miner's lung by now.
 

ZorroNet

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I know the RCS and snails are constantly stirring up the FloraMax substrate I have in their 10g. Not to the point of cloudiness, but there's constant dust floating around in there. You'd think they'd have miner's lung by now.
So probably no issue then? I know MTS and worms burrow in the sand, so they shouldn't care how cloudy it is. I just wasn't sure about RCS. I'm about to rock their world anyway when I pull up all those plants in the current propagation tank where they currently reside.
 

FreshyFresh

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I'd would think they'd be fine, provided the dust doesn't contain any nastiness. I know on another forum I frequent (oscarfish), they fall all over themselves claiming you cannot use play sand for aquarium substrate. Only pool filter sand. LOL.

I never tire of hearing how dumb I am..
 

tanker

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Did you clean the Playsand first?? What kind of filter are you using to "Clear" the cloud??
 

Byron Amazonas

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I think you need to ascertain if this is cloudiness due to the sand, or cloudiness resulting from a bacterial bloom. I have play sand in five tanks now, and I went through this each time I changed over.

After filling the substrate, I arranged the hardscape, then added sufficient water so I could plant. When that was done, I drained out the water down to the substrate, and then carefully filled the tank. This deals with much of the "sand" dirt. And no matter how much rinsing you give play sand, it can still be dirty.

The cloudiness that is present after the above is bacterial. This is common in new tanks of course, and it can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days to a few weeks to a few months. Ironically, dechlorinating the water encourages this. You might be surprised at the amount of organics in "clear" tap water. Dechlorinating it allows the bacteria to multiply according to this food source, and these bacteria can multiply within minutes (by comparison to the nitrifying bacteria which take hours). This cloudiness is usually not of concern.

Byron.
 

ZorroNet

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Joel: I like it when people think I'm stupid. It makes it easier to wow them with my vast knowledge (on some subjects) like when I tell them I'm the inventor of the ZN Screen-O-Matic... Blows their minds! haha

Jessica: I did not wash the sand... I figured it was sand, which is "dirty" by nature. I did skim that root beer float looking foam off the top as I figured it would just continue to float until I removed it. I have a canister filter that I am going to try out, BUT I decided to let the dust settle a bit before I fire it up. I'm doing so today.

Byron: I didn't know about the bacteria causing the cloudiness, so thanks for that info. I only had it happen to me once before, but I was using a filter with carbon then because I didn't know any better at the time. It disappeared much faster as a result. I sure wish I had planted this tank before filling it to the top, but it's a 55, so it took forever to fill the first time. I guess I could drain it as you did and fill it again slowly after planting. I'll just wait out the sandstorm after that.

Thanks, all, for your input :)
 

Glabe

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If it was my tank, I'd siphon the sand into a bucket and give it a good rinsing to avoid it kicking up and getting cloudy every once in a while. It's probably no biggie, though.
 

FreshyFresh

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Joel: I like it when people think I'm stupid. It makes it easier to wow them with my vast knowledge (on some subjects) like when I tell them I'm the inventor of the ZN Screen-O-Matic... Blows their minds! haha.
I hear that Dave.

I tell my children all the time you must learn from your mistakes and why do you think 'I know so much'! :wall:
 

tanker

Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
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If you did not "Clean" the sand, then IT IS just "Dirt and dust". Yes, you "should" wash and clean it. With a 50gal, that may not be easy to clean all of it, maybe just vac out the top half and clean that. Then plant as Byron mentioned.
 
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