Forgot to rinse carbon b4 putting in canister filter...

[kimberlynns]

I'm trying to clear out the dirt that is in the water in my tank that has no fish yet. I just put sand in there and waited a few days for that to settle...then saw the sand was uneven and so I spread it around but it kicked up lots of dirt again (I did rinse that sand many times before putting it in the tank...it still had some dirt I guess). Anyway, I put floss, carbion, and then those tube things in the filter and plugged it up...then saw black sooty stuff come out in the water...will it cause any harm? I'm thinking it will just filter itself out...but wanted to check here.

Kim

 

[wwildcats04]

your thoughts are correct... all will be well

 

[IceH2O]

If the sand is still floating around in your tank you're going to burn up your filters impellor.

 

[kimberlynns]

If the sand is still floating around in your tank you're going to burn up your filters impellor.

The sand is all settled...but there is a small amount of dirt in there too...when it settles on the bottom I can see it..its a very very thin layer of brown on top of the sand layer. I also put a layer of poly floss in the levels so that hopefully it would catch any sand particles...they would have to go through the poly floss...then carbon...then the ceramic tube things (I forget the name of those things). Should that be ok then? I had bought playsand from walmart...turned out to be much dirtier than lowe's pretty play sand...I thought I rinsed out all the dirt... its making me wish I had just gone with gravel.

Kim

 

[wwildcats04]

buy one of the larger sponge filters (one thats hole is large enough to put on the intake of your filter) and put that on there, it acts as a prefilter. If you need to make the hole any bigger you can cut the hole so that it fits better. this will keep sand from getting into your filter because your going to be sturring it up when you do stuff such as water ch anges or moving stuff around. also it just acts as more biological filtration its a win win situation, and if you have babies from something than it will keep them or other small/weak fish from getting sucked up

 

[kimberlynns]

I am not sure of what you mean...am I getting a very small sponge and slicing it to make a pocket and then slipping that over the end of the intake tube? Sorry, I'm new at all this. What do you have in your tanks? Do you use sand or gravel?

Kim

 

[Pretender]

Do a search on this web site for discussion on sand vs. gravel. If you're asking this question, it sounds like you haven't researched it too much.

I recently did an experiment with sand in an otherwise empty aquarium. There are a couple of dsiadvantages with sand. First, if it is not well stirred frequently, it can become a good place for poisonous anaerobic bacteria to colonize. So you want to vacuum deep into it when performing your water changes. Now, I was able to do this without actually losing too much sand down the vacuum siphon, but it sure stirs up sand in the aquarium, and you will lose a little every water change. I found, in general, after doing any maintenance on the aquarium, I seemed to have grains of sand everywhere. Furthermore, as pointed out, the filter impellers are not big fans of sand, and your filter is likely to become noisy. Or you can prefilter your filter intake, which reduces the filter flow.

I won't say that you should never use sand, but in my opinion, it should only be used by more experienced aquarists and for animals that specifically require it. Otherwise, you're probably better off sticking with gravel.

 

[kimberlynns]

Do a search on this web site for discussion on sand vs. gravel. If you're asking this question, it sounds like you haven't researched it too much.
.

wrote something here......then decided to just delete it....I think I need to go get some coffee....

 

[wwildcats04]

I use gravel in all four of mine, but have always wanted to try sand. a good friend of mine does sand and it works well for him. when you are doing water changes just hover the siphon above it, dont do it the same way as gravel (digging it into the gravel) or you will loose all the sand. Go to a lfs and ask for a sponge filter... all you need is the sponge for it. there will already be a hole in it for where the regular tube would go. this is where you stick your tube. what exact filter are you using tell me that and I should be able to send you a link of what it is you want

 

[kimberlynns]

:coffee2: ah much better! lol

Hey WW, I have a Fluval 204. It came with the tank that I bought second hand... I got the 54 gallon corner tank, stand, filter, glass top, light strip, filter supplies like carbon and those tube things and floss stuff, food and different chemicals for 50 dollars. I think that the Fluval 204 is probably too small a filter for the 54 gallons....I may upgrade next year...but it seemed to work ok for the last owner. They just wanted to get rid of the tank because they got a "big screen tv" lol.

I like the idea of the natural look of sand. I spent several days doing searches on it and reading other articles online...as much as I can with 3 small children and lots of other things to do. I like the idea of the much lower cost of the sand too. Some people love sand and say its so much easier...some people hate sand and say its a time bomb and too much work... I guess I'll have an opinion on it soon, lol, although right now I'm leaning more towards gravel because I don't like waiting for all the dirt to settle in the tank...I'm wanting to go ahead and make it pretty.... but hopefully I will love it once I get it settled and clean. This sand is coarser than the fine clean play sand that Lowes or HD sells so I don't expect it to kick up as much as that stuff. I hope I'm right.

I have definitly started yet another thing that is much more difficult than I first thought, lol. Like when we bought 3 hermit crabs for each child, while on vacation, thinking they were easy and inexpensive....200 dollars later (to have the proper temp and humidity and 2 types of water needs) they are a much more interesting hobby than I first thought...and more expensive, lol. I know I will spend much more on this tank to get it just right...and I'll make mistakes along the way.... .... but I'll try not to dwell on that, lol.

I'll go to the LFS today and see if they have that sponge you suggested. I'm wondering though...if it will keep sand from getting in there, will it still do as good a job at filtering out particles in the water? Or is that not really an issue? Thanks for helping me out... it will be great if you find that link that shows me what I'm looking for.

Kim