how to get sand ready for tank?

[oscar-food]

i just got a 55 gal & was thinking about putting sand in it.i have heard that
pool filter sand works good & i was wondering how to get it clean
& ready for the tank.

[SCOTT]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

Rinse, rinse and rinse again. Get a 5 gallon bucket and fill it 1/4 full of sand, rinse until the water runs clear, pour the sand in the tank and repeat, again and again, and again.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

Yep

[Mzungu]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

Is this tank for "Fi-fi?"  :)

[PhishPhreek]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

Just like panning for gold!
add water and swish.  
the bad stuff goes over the side
the good stuff sinks to the bottom.

[oscar-food]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

thanks.   :)

[Ramius]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

I have a tank with sand in the bottom if you want some to seed your tanks bio weapons.

[Brownsnoutuk]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

ive used sand in my 50g and it was the biggest pain to get clean, it took hours and the water still looks murky.

If theres a petco near you, have a look if they have any Aquatic planting media(Its designed to go in ponds, but as long as you wash it really good first it doesnt cloud the water at all) Its reduced from $13/10lb to $3/10lb and looks great,contains zeolite.

Ill get some photos of my tanks up soon.

chris

[Ramius]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

I can vouch for the sand being a pain thing.  

I've got a violet goby that seems to hurt himself on anything bigger than sand, it's always sliding around and rooting in it, when I put him in a rock tank it just seemed to mess him up.

Because he's always running around in it, it's constantly stirred up, and I have to constantly clean out my filter box, and wipe sand off of the side of the tank.

Definatly a pain in the butt.. seriously.

If you want it you want it though, and if you have fish that won't root around too much, and provided you rinse the sand pretty well, you should be ok.. to really clear it up though, you might want to run a cannister filter with a water polishr for a week or two.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

i dump sand out of my canister and hob filters all the time.

tahitan moon sand has got to be the worse and the hob's dont take too well to the sand either.  my next tank is getting eco-complete cichlid substrate so no cleaning it and hopefully it stays put.

[SCOTT]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

Ramius, get some pool filter sand at Wal-Mart, it is almost $5.00 dollars a bag but it doesnt cloud or stay suspended like playground sand does. I have both in my tanks and by far the pool sand is much much better. The grain size on the pool sand is roughly 4 times that of the play sand, you still have the look and feel of sand but the behavior of gravel. No more clogged filter pans or fouled motors.

[Mzungu]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

Although I have sand in one of my tanks and have never had a problem with it clogging the filters (I don't know why, must be lucky!), it's obviously a big problem. And if this tank is in fact for "Fi-fi," then that oscar will DEFINITELY root around and throw sand all over the place!    And yes, I overheard Scott talking about the pool sand at the Swap, it sure seems like a good solution.  :)

[rrocket2002]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

I can vouch for what Scott said.  I tried the pool filter sand too after Scott told me about it.  It works great.  You don't get to pick a color, but its still nice.  

I live in Deer Park and I've called all the Walmarts around me and some further out, but they don't have it.  I guess Scott is just lucky to find some at the Wal-mart he shops at.

I priced the sand at three swimming stores and the cheapest I found was $8.46 for a 50lb bag at Leslies Pools.  The other prices were $11 and $13 and change.  

The Sand is prewashed and only requires minimal rinsing.  When you first put the sand in your tank, it will be slightly cloudy, but will clear up within a few hours and it will not cloud again.

Raul

[Mark]

Re: how to get sand ready for tank?

We use sand blasting sand and it works really well but you have to clean it alot.