How do you addd sand to a already aquascaped tank

[viodea]

I just finished my aquascape last night. I have egg crate on the bottom.
How do I add sand to it? Do I just pure sand to it bucket by bucket and let the current take care of distribution or I need to carefully dump in specific location?
I read the label saying to rinse sand before use. Do I have to? I have nothing in the tank but a hitchhiker hermit.
If I have rinse it, is it alright to use tap water? I'm running out of RO/DI water. It takes a while to make them.

thanks

[clownFish1313]

i would like to know also my 46 al ready has rock and fish i just added a power head and 2 nass. snails and the power head pused some sand in a pile and leaft bb to a already low sand bed and my nass. snails can bearly cover them selfs

[AZDesertRat]

I use a piec of 2" PVC pipe with big funnel duct taped top the top. I lower the end of the pipe right to the bottom and pour the sand down the funnel slowly while moving the pipe where I want sand.
You will get a sandstorm still but not as bad as if you just dumped it in.

If you are wanting a deep sand bed in the 4-6" deep range then do not rinse it you want the finer materials for the critters. If its a decorative sand bed then by all means rinse it and tap wate ris fine as long as you drain as much as you can.

[gillesec]

Are you using sand or the crushed coral substrate?

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by AZDesertRat
I use a piec of 2" PVC pipe with big funnel duct taped top the top. I lower the end of the pipe right to the bottom and pour the sand down the funnel slowly while moving the pipe where I want sand.
You will get a sandstorm still but not as bad as if you just dumped it in.

If you are wanting a deep sand bed in the 4-6" deep range then do not rinse it you want the finer materials for the critters. If its a decorative sand bed then by all means rinse it and tap wate ris fine as long as you drain as much as you can.

if you don't have the pipe and funnel then you can accomplish the same thing with a 2litre pop bottle. Fill it with the substrate, put your finger over it and invert it near the bottom of the tank

a little more messy then the way azdesertRat explained

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by viodea
I just finished my aquascape last night. I have egg crate on the bottom.
How do I add sand to it? Do I just pure sand to it bucket by bucket and let the current take care of distribution or I need to carefully dump in specific location?
I read the label saying to rinse sand before use. Do I have to? I have nothing in the tank but a hitchhiker hermit.
If I have rinse it, is it alright to use tap water? I'm running out of RO/DI water. It takes a while to make them.

thanks

first time it is ok to rinse it with tap water.

If you were adding later on when your tank was established then I would suggest the final rinse be with ro water

[Percula9]

Don't rinse if the sand is live sand.

[cdbias2]

I agree with "AZDesertRat" although I would suggest turning your pumps off while you do this and let things settle for just a few minutes before turning them back on. Your going to get really disgusted by the sand storm no matter how careful you are.

For next time:
Rock first.
Sand second.
Water last.

[viodea]

Originally posted by AZDesertRat
I use a piec of 2" PVC pipe with big funnel duct taped top the top. I lower the end of the pipe right to the bottom and pour the sand down the funnel slowly while moving the pipe where I want sand.
You will get a sandstorm still but not as bad as if you just dumped it in.

If you are wanting a deep sand bed in the 4-6" deep range then do not rinse it you want the finer materials for the critters. If its a decorative sand bed then by all means rinse it and tap wate ris fine as long as you drain as much as you can.

Can you use this method when pouring wet sand?
How do you "dry" raised sand?
What is the main purpose of raising new sand anyway?

[viodea]

Originally posted by gillesec
Are you using sand or the crushed coral substrate?

I want to use fine aragonite sand. I'm unable to find it local today.
I remember I read somewhere to use sugar grain size aragonite. Can I use anything larger without worry about tripping detritus.

[kevin2000]

Originally posted by viodea
I want to use fine aragonite sand. I'm unable to find it local today.
I remember I read somewhere to use sugar grain size aragonite. Can I use anything larger without worry about tripping detritus.

Sure ... sugar grained sand is just super fine sand .. lots of other sand that is slightly larger which will do just fine in your tank without capturing excess detritus. The focus on super fine sand was probably made popular based on some articles by Ron Schimek who suggested it made for a superior DSB.

[viodea]

Originally posted by cdbias2
I agree with "AZDesertRat" although I would suggest turning your pumps off while you do this and let things settle for just a few minutes before turning them back on. Your going to get really disgusted by the sand storm no matter how careful you are.

For next time:
Rock first.
Sand second.
Water last.

I was seeding dry rock with live rock. Then realize I didn't like how the aquascape look. So, I re-arrange them before I get any fish. That's why I have water in first.

I know better now.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by viodea
Can you use this method when pouring wet sand?
How do you "dry" raised sand?
What is the main purpose of raising new sand anyway?

yes you can use it for wet sand

you don't need to dry rinsed sand

your rinse new sand to get rid of some of the fine debris in it

[gillesec]

I rinsed some sand I added not too long ago. Fill a bucket with 2-4 inches of the sand, add water until it's just above the sand, swirl the bucket a couple times and dump off the excess water. Do this about 2-3 times until the water pour off is clearish, pour the "clean" sand wherever and load back up with "dirty" sand.

You lose a little bit of the sand when you pour off, but it's surprising how much "junk" comes off with it.

[viodea]

cool.. thanks everybody for helping.
I hope my hitchhiker can survive this sand storm. He had been through so much already.

[viodea]

I feel so stupid. I totally deserve this. I bought a funnel and it wasn't big enough. When I lower new sand in slowly, I see a mini sand storm. So, I thought being careful and slow seemed not working. So, I just dump everything in.... now, I have a milky tank. It's clear a bit overnight but still pretty bad.

I guess all I need is wait for them to settle. My only concert is the temperature lowered a little bit this morning from 79 to 76. My 2 heaters are on but no power head. When can I turn the pump and power head on? Do I have to wait until everything clear?

I'm planning on doing a 30g water change. Is it going to help? Or wait until everything is clear?

thanks

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by viodea
I feel so stupid. I totally deserve this. I bought a funnel and it wasn't big enough. When I lower new sand in slowly, I see a mini sand storm. So, I thought being careful and slow seemed not working. So, I just dump everything in.... now, I have a milky tank. It's clear a bit overnight but still pretty bad.

I guess all I need is wait for them to settle. My only concert is the temperature lowered a little bit this morning from 79 to 76. My 2 heaters are on but no power head. When can I turn the pump and power head on? Do I have to wait until everything clear?

I'm planning on doing a 30g water change. Is it going to help? Or wait until everything is clear?

thanks

patience is the word here----the snow storm will settle----

turn the pump on and the power head(s)--they will help clear up the sand storm

[Aquarist007]

You need to start monitoring the cycling process. Measure the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels and watch for the spike in ammonia.
You really don't need to do a water change unless the ammonia levels get really high.
You should see the ammonia level spike then start to lower, followed by and increase in the nitrate levels and final a decrease in both until zero. (Most reefers don't see the rise in nitrites)

[viodea]

The tank is already cycled. Why does adding sand cause it to cycle again?

[gillesec]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but ter shouldn't be a full new cycle, but with the addition of the sand the system needs to get back to equilibrium.

[gillesec]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there shouldn't be a full new cycle, but with the addition of the sand the system has changed and it needs to get back to equilibrium.

[jimwat]

If you have a skimmer...crank it up and your water will clear up in a day or so. The cloudy water just looks bad, but it is not hurting anything. Definitely turn your pumps on. Clean sand should not cause your tank to cycle again. You might want to go ahead and blow the sand off of your rocks (with a turkey baster or spare PH) since it is already clouded up (no sense in clouding it up again later).

[viodea]

I have a skimmer but it's so new I'm still adjusting the setting.
I want to blow sand off my rocks but I couldn't see anything at all. It's hard to do.
I tried to use a power head and blow blindly, seemed like that made it worst

I have my pump & skimmer on and all power head off at this time. I'll check again tomorrow morning and see how it goes.

[EllieSuz]

Everyone should own a couple of large funnels. Try looking in the automotive section of your Walmart or KMart for nice, big plastic ones.

[RumLad]

I would caution against running a whole lot of sand through your expensive pumps! It will degrade most impellors if it goes on long enough. A powerhead or three (inexpensive ones) would help to settle the sand out.