How to remove sand bed? Need advice

ksicard · 09/28/2014, 08:49 AM

Hello there,
I am in need of advice on how to remove the sand bed from my tank. Basically my tank is brand new and only been running with water for 2 days. I bought some extra sand about 2 years ago and have been taking a break from the hobby since. I'm getting my feet wet again and have decided to set-up my tank! But bad news is the sand I had bought turned out to be super sugary fine sand, I went to smooth out my sand to make my tank look nice and boom a dust bowl occurred. This simply will not do, especially when I haven't even turned on the power heads yet.

I am looking for advice on whats the easiest way to remove my sand bed so that I can replace it with new sand that is not as fine. Again my tank is brand spanking new so there's no concern for livestock or spike in water parameters.

I would prefer not to have to yank all the rock out and am looking for the easiest way to replace my current sand bed with a new one.

Lastly, I've never really rinsed any of my sands that I have bought over the years, so this sand is not rinsed. Which makes me wonder if there is a way to salvage the sand so I don't have to replace it all? So if you guys think I can somehow fix the problem without replacing the sand bed I'm open to your suggestions.

Thank you in advance!

martouf13 · 09/28/2014, 09:02 AM

Just scoop all the sand out and put new sand in. I don't really get the problem since the tank doesn't have any livestock in it.

eb2292 · 09/28/2014, 09:07 AM

Once you have live rock, any dust storms will settle down 100x faster.

To remove the sand bed either siphon or scoop. No magical way to get it out.

09/28/2014, 08:49 AM	#1
ksicard Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 538	How to remove sand bed? Need advice Hello there, I am in need of advice on how to remove the sand bed from my tank. Basically my tank is brand new and only been running with water for 2 days. I bought some extra sand about 2 years ago and have been taking a break from the hobby since. I'm getting my feet wet again and have decided to set-up my tank! But bad news is the sand I had bought turned out to be super sugary fine sand, I went to smooth out my sand to make my tank look nice and boom a dust bowl occurred. This simply will not do, especially when I haven't even turned on the power heads yet. I am looking for advice on whats the easiest way to remove my sand bed so that I can replace it with new sand that is not as fine. Again my tank is brand spanking new so there's no concern for livestock or spike in water parameters. I would prefer not to have to yank all the rock out and am looking for the easiest way to replace my current sand bed with a new one. Lastly, I've never really rinsed any of my sands that I have bought over the years, so this sand is not rinsed. Which makes me wonder if there is a way to salvage the sand so I don't have to replace it all? So if you guys think I can somehow fix the problem without replacing the sand bed I'm open to your suggestions. Thank you in advance!

09/28/2014, 09:02 AM	#2
martouf13 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 64	Just scoop all the sand out and put new sand in. I don't really get the problem since the tank doesn't have any livestock in it.

09/28/2014, 09:07 AM	#3
eb2292 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Westchester, NY Posts: 295	Once you have live rock, any dust storms will settle down 100x faster. To remove the sand bed either siphon or scoop. No magical way to get it out.