Question about adding sand

S

sinner's girl

Guest
I've read I need to rinse sand before adding it. How? The stuff is too thin to use a strainer...it's like salt...(now I'm wondering if I bought the wrong thing...I see they have different sizes, but they give the same discribtion. ***** only had one type of sand)
I'm using Nature's Ocean sand if it matters. How much will I lose? How long after adding the sand, can I add my stars back to the water? (I'm moving my tank...I'll add my lr, then add the sand)
Also, do I need to vacuum sand? I've read both ways...I always thought the point of sand was that I didn't need to clean it (which is why I wanted it)...
thanks...
 
granny

granny

Member
I am not a sand lover-only have one tank with sand in it, about 4 inches and it is always a mess! Blowing around and looks gross from the front of the tank.
BUT all that aside, you rinse it in a bucket under running water till it runs clear. You will lose some as you pour off the dusty dirty rinse water. It takes quite a while to get it clean, doing a small bit at a time. Once you put it in your tank, it will be cloudy for a while. I ran a powerhead with a filter on it and kept changing the filter as it clogged till the water was clear.
YOu still have to vacuum the top or just wiggle your fingers around in it. None of the critters that I have do much of a job in aerating the sand, so I do it myself, just ruffling the top layer of sand and not disturbing the deep sand layers where the bacteria are supposedly colonizing.
 
steve24

steve24

Active Member
i used a old t-shirt when i rinsed my sand, ... lol, don`t laugh, it worked...
no, you don`t need to or even want to vacuum your sand ...
steve
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
see what I mean? One says yes, the other says no...
An old tee shirt...just put the sand on it and run water over it? I don't want to lose all the sand....
What's the best way to put it in the tank so that it's the least cloudy? and shoud I wait till it clears up before I put my stars back (I'm assuming yes, but want to make sure)
 
stingrayjs

stingrayjs

Member
A tea-shirt works great. I have also done the bucket way. But I must say using a tea-shirt works best. Using a strainer is just silly...
Basicaly all you doing to running water threw it will you remove all the dust. Well as much as you can anyway. If its live sand don't rinse it. But even if you rinse your sad you will still get some cloudyness, which is normal. It will all settle in about a hal or full day.
 
dmjordan

dmjordan

Active Member
If it is LS packed in water that I would not rinse it. IMO you will only remove all of the beneficial bacteria in the LS. If it is dry argonite than go ahead and rince it to remove the "dust". Sand is too absorbent so don't rinse it in tap water use RO or saltwater.
Put sand in bucket of water, mix with hand gently, dump out water carefully, and repeat.
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
it's ls, just sand...can't afford ls, and I was told the stuff in the bag was useless, I'm going to try to get a cup or two of ls from somebody to help seed the sand, but that will be after I have it set up.
if it is dry argonite than go ahead and rince it to remove the "dust". Sand is too absorbent so don't rinse it in tap water use RO or saltwater.
Thanks...I didn't know that, I was going to use tap water, I was thinking I'd do it in the bathtub...but I'll use RO water.
I think I'll try a pillow case, I'll just go buy a cheap white one.
Should I wait till it clears up before I put my stars back? (I'm assuming yes, but want to make sure), and do I vaccum or stir the sand till I add the ls to the sand?
thanks!
 
dmjordan

dmjordan

Active Member
I would wait until the water clears up just to see if you have a spike in ammonia. My guess will be no and your levels will not change, but better safe than sorry.
Vaccuming the sand will only remove the beneficial bacteria that you are trying to establish.
Pillowcase should work fine and will help from losing too much sand.
 
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