sand question on 200 gal+

[psusocr1]

o.k i posted this on the new hobbysit forum but i think it would be more appropriote here where people have larger tanks.
i put 200 and some odd pounds of southdown playsand into my 220 tank( 3-4" bed)thats without the livesand i will be adding. my tank was cloudy for 5 days(maybe i didnt wash the sand well enough) so today i drained the whole tank only leaving an inch or so of water in there with the sand.if i evan slightly touch the sand it will immediatly cloud the surrounding area of water. what should id o? should i stir the sand up then drain the last inch then try to fill it? should i just drain it now while it is settled, fill it, and hope for the best?
how did you guys go about putting large amounts of sand into large tanks??
Thanks alot :help:

 

[reeferdc]

ok fill your tank with water and make the salt and everything so you have saltwater in the tank. Then all you have to do it dump the sand in. It will tank about 48 hours from there to clear up. After it clears make the sand around so it all even. this will cloud the water up again for about 24- 48 hours. After this clears you are good to go. this is what io have done with my last 3 tanks and it worked out great... GOOD LUCK!

 

[reeferdc]

by the way live sand clears MUCH quicker than play sand.

 

[reeferdc]

Sorry last thing. in the future post this under new Hobbiests.

 

[psusocr1]

thanks reefer,, also i did post it in the new hobbysit but i figured i would post here because not many people answering in the new hobbyist have large tanks...
also i already have the sand in the tank...there is no way i can dig 200+ pounds of sand out of my tank ..it already took me a whole day to take 200 gallons out. so with the sand already in the tank should i fill the tank up? then add the salt thwen wait for it to clear?? im just nervous because i already addeed the sand then water and it was cloudy for 5 days straight with no improvement making me drain the whole tank
thanks for the help!! im extremely frustrated

 

[aw2]

If you have another container to mix the salt water, do so......then, put the premixed water into the tank. It's a PITA to add salt to a talk full or water and sand. When adding the water to the tank, lay a plate or a bowl on top of the sand and pour the water into that....as the water hits the plate/bowl, the sand will not get stirred like it would it you were just pouring the water directly onto the sand...causing less cloudiness.
If you have any canister filters laying around, you can use those and run on the tank until it clears.
Other than that, it's just a waiting game. It'll clear soon enough. Once you add the saltwater, you can go ahead and add live rock, to get your cycle going.

 

[psusocr1]

thanks alot aw2...my other question is...theres no way i can possibly mix 200 gallons of water with salt "on the side" if ya know what i mean...unless i were to do it 5 gallons at a time which would take FOREVER....about 40 times!
Any other suggestions?? can ia dd all the water then SLOWLY mix the salt in or bad idea??

 

[reeferdc]

I just used 2 or 3 garbage cans to make the saltwater then scooped the water out and dumped it in my tank..
Make the water in and large plastic container.

 

[psusocr1]

oh boy..o.k i guess thats what i will have to do..but i have to go buy large garbage cans first cause all of mine are obviously a bit dirty.. whats the potential problems with putting the water in and then adding salt?? will it noit mix?? will it settle on the sand?? im new so bare with me as i try to learn
thanks guys

 

[aw2]

I use two 35gal. BRUTE trashcans, from Rubbermaid, to mix water. They're fairly inexpensive and in this hobby, especially since you're like me and have a LARGE tank(s), they're invaluable.
Theoritically, you can mix the salt in the water, after it's already in the tank. But, the salt is going to settle onto the sand, in solid form and you're going to have to keep powerheads on it, to keep the salt stirred, so it will disolve.

 

[psusocr1]

well i guess ill go buy two or three of them tomm.. always good to have them for water changes etc. anyway
after i add the water and salt ontop of the sand it should clear up right? especiqally if i put a can filter on there??
i just dont want to add the water and salt with the sand and find out its going to be VERY cloudy again to the point where i waste a large, expensive bucket of salt

 

[reeferdc]

I would never recommend mixing the salt in the water.

 

[psusocr1]

cause it wont dissolve properly??
you have to understand im just afraid that i will be wasting a bucket of salt if infact i add the salt and the water(premixed) in the tank and the sand still makes it extremely cloudy....im just very nervous about this

 

[mitzel]

Ok it sounds out there but whats your set up like ? What do you have for equipment ? Power heads and pumps? Keep in mind that with the trash bucket idea that they are very heavy when full and your going to have a lot of trouble moving them . So make sure they are close to the tank before you start the mixing .

 

[psusocr1]

its not a problem i can put the buckets right next to my tank to dump them in, its just going to suck a bit cause ill have to pour 5 gallons (maybe) at time since i have to do it slowly not to disturb the sand .. that means ill have to do it about 40 times...not fun!! my equiptment..i have alot ...i have an amiracle wet/dry rated for 250 gallons, i also have another amiracle rated for up to 400 gallons. i have a little giant pump, a rio 600 a rio 1200 a rio 1700 a rio 2100...i have 2 venturi skimmers that came with the wet/dry and i also have 2 out of sump protein skimmers.. one is a jebo 180(huge) and the other was given to me..im not sure what kind( also huge but im not going to use it i dont think) i kind of went overkill on the equiptment but thats better than not having enough..i know rio's arent very good pumps, but i only have them to use as powerheads and for the in-sump skimmers.
i would say the sand/water/salt setup deal is the worst thing about this tank..i built this tank from scratch...glass, stand, canopy and all and that ws the easy part if you could beleive that! this sand problem is driving me crazy!

 

[aw2]

No matter what you do, the water is going to be cloudy.....there's no way around it.
The mechanical filtration (the canister filters) are just going to make the water clearer faster.
Just because it's cloudy doesnt mean you drain the tank and try again. You're just going to keep wasting water, over and over.
Go buy the trashcan(s). Once they're full of water, take one of those powerheads and attach a tube to it. Drop the powerhead/pump into the trashcan and stick the other end of the hose into the tank. That's the easiest way to fill, without dumping bucket after bucket of water into the tank.

 

[psusocr1]

hey thanks aw2
i never thought about the powerhead idea...that will speed the process up...ill check back in with you..
oh and also when i fill the 35 gal cans do i just add x-amount of salt for 35 gallons of water? then stir till dissolved then obviously put it in the tank?

 

[aw2]

Originally Posted by psusocr1
oh and also when i fill the 35 gal cans do i just add x-amount of salt for 35 gallons of water? then stir till dissolved then obviously put it in the tank?

1/2 cup of salt to one gallon of water.
You can mix more salt, into the water (say 2 cups per gallons) but then when you put it into the tank, you have to keep checking the salinity.
I say go by what it says on the salt bucket. Then, when you get the tank filled, adjust accordingly...if it's low, add more salt. If it's high, take a little water and replace it with freshwater.

 

[michaelstern]

I went through the same problems when I filled my 420 with a 2" sand bed.
First of all, it took about a week to settle. It's definitely a waiting game. Get the salt water and LR in. You need to get your cycle going. The bacteria will settle on the grains of sand, making them heavier. that's what keeps it settled.
Re mixing salt water. first of all, you can do it 1 bucket at a time. Maybe use a small pump to pump it up and in (easier than dumping). As long as you watch your salinity, you can mix a lot of extra salt into some water to disolve, then add to fresh water in tank. Keep making concentrated solutions until you get to the right concentration. It's easier than trying to move 200 gallons salt water.
LOL

 

[psusocr1]

thanks micheal, thats what i was thinking. i think i will try to fill two 35 gallon buckets of water and put a little less than all the salt i need into those two buckets(bieng carefull not to add to much), then fill my tank half way with the freshwater. i will run powerheads by the top of the tank immediatly(depending on cloudiness) so it all mixes up good. i will get my live rock in there immediatly..should i do the same with the live sand or just wait a bit?
also what should my initial salinity be?
thanks alot for all who helped!