OK, so I've tried the newbie way of just dumping the substrate into the water, waiting for the storm to die down so I could level out the 'floor' and then waiting the 3 days for the storm to settle - not ideal, but ok for a new setup with no livestock I guess.
I've tried the garbage bag idea - nice trick but still not 100% effective since the sand did get stirred up a bit when I removed the bag.
So I finally found the 'trick' that works and I figured I would share it with you all.
Once I got the substrate down in my brother's empty 10 gallon I got an empty, cleaned out butter tub that I use to shovel water out for water changes and I placed it on top of the sand. I anchored it down with a piece of LR to hold it in place while I poured the water into the tub.
The force of the water crashing down was contained in the tub while the water overflowed smoothly over the edges of the tub and into the tank. There was a little bit a 'dust' that was washed off of the LR as the tank was filled but no sandstorm! The little bit of dust from the LR was cleared away by the filter or settled down within 30 minutes.
That's my trick - tried and true! Hope this helps.
Happy reefing everyone!
I've tried the garbage bag idea - nice trick but still not 100% effective since the sand did get stirred up a bit when I removed the bag.
So I finally found the 'trick' that works and I figured I would share it with you all.
Once I got the substrate down in my brother's empty 10 gallon I got an empty, cleaned out butter tub that I use to shovel water out for water changes and I placed it on top of the sand. I anchored it down with a piece of LR to hold it in place while I poured the water into the tub.
The force of the water crashing down was contained in the tub while the water overflowed smoothly over the edges of the tub and into the tank. There was a little bit a 'dust' that was washed off of the LR as the tank was filled but no sandstorm! The little bit of dust from the LR was cleared away by the filter or settled down within 30 minutes.
That's my trick - tried and true! Hope this helps.
Happy reefing everyone!
