Youngsilver
C'est un touche-Ã -tout
Simple question, is it unhealty for the tank inhabitants if you add alot of sand with them still in the tank, and it really clouds up the water for several days?
adding sand?
- Thread starter Youngsilver
- Start date
ReeferRyan
Premium Member
I just completely redid my tank and caused a major sandstorm, and after about an hour, everyone came out and started playing again.
Youngsilver
C'est un touche-Ã -tout
haha 300 lbs worth of a sandstorm?
ReeferRyan
Premium Member
uhhhhhh, no.
Travis L. Stevens
New member
Haha! :lmao: Part of the problem is the ray digging in the sand. It will take a while for the dust particles to have bacteria colonize to get the dust to sink quicker. This could take quite a while since the crushed coral bed that held the bulk of the bacteria was removed. I would suspect it to take about a week. You might want to run a canister filter to polish the water. You might try increasing water column flow with a couple powerheads.
As for the dust actually harming the fish, I'm not sure. I would suspect it to decrease dissolved oxygen concentration. If you haven't already, I would definitely post this somewhere like the Reef Discussion forum.
BTW, I'm going to try to go up there when I get off of work to take a look at it
poke75
Active member
Would you be ahead by "deep rinsing" of the sand before you put it in?
I did this the last time I used south down and the tank cleard nicely overnight.
By deep rinsing, I mean I ran fresh water from the hose through it while stirring for better that 20 minutes. I then let it set for about an hour and did it again. There was very little clouding material left after that.
Just a thought.
I did this the last time I used south down and the tank cleard nicely overnight.
By deep rinsing, I mean I ran fresh water from the hose through it while stirring for better that 20 minutes. I then let it set for about an hour and did it again. There was very little clouding material left after that.
Just a thought.
Travis L. Stevens
New member
I had to do this with my southdown as well. The only problem is if you use water straight from the tap, the sand can concetrate the chlorine in the sand. Be careful. I found out the hard way.
captbunzo
Premium Member
I have heard this discussed elsewhere.
According to folks such as Anthony Calfo, the "dust" in the water will cause no harm to macroscopic aquarium inhabitants - fish, corals, etc. However, it will be a pain to clear off the rocks for days to come.
If you add a bunch of sand all at once, you WILL harm any life that you have in the sand. I have heard it said that you should add no more then 1/2 inch of sand at a time, and then give the substrate microfauna about 4-7 days to recover / migrate / etc.
Lastly, there are some ways to avoid the sandstorm. Here is my favorite technique.
1. Put your new sand in a small aquarium, tub, etc - something with enough volume to be able to perform the next steps. I'd suggest a 10G aquarium. You can get them for $10 at Walmart.
2. Do a water change on your display tank, extracting enough to fill your "new sand container" with enough water to cover the sand plus 6 inches or so.
3. Add a powerhead or airstone to the new sand container. Something simply to create some water movement, etc.
4. Let that sit for a week.
Then to put the sand in the tank:
1. Fill a ziplock bag with sand.
2. Sink it to the bottom of the display tank.
3. Slice it open with a razorblade.
4. Allow the sand to drain out of the bag.
Again, do this only adding about a half inch of sand per 4-7 days.
According to folks such as Anthony Calfo, the "dust" in the water will cause no harm to macroscopic aquarium inhabitants - fish, corals, etc. However, it will be a pain to clear off the rocks for days to come.
If you add a bunch of sand all at once, you WILL harm any life that you have in the sand. I have heard it said that you should add no more then 1/2 inch of sand at a time, and then give the substrate microfauna about 4-7 days to recover / migrate / etc.
Lastly, there are some ways to avoid the sandstorm. Here is my favorite technique.
1. Put your new sand in a small aquarium, tub, etc - something with enough volume to be able to perform the next steps. I'd suggest a 10G aquarium. You can get them for $10 at Walmart.
2. Do a water change on your display tank, extracting enough to fill your "new sand container" with enough water to cover the sand plus 6 inches or so.
3. Add a powerhead or airstone to the new sand container. Something simply to create some water movement, etc.
4. Let that sit for a week.
Then to put the sand in the tank:
1. Fill a ziplock bag with sand.
2. Sink it to the bottom of the display tank.
3. Slice it open with a razorblade.
4. Allow the sand to drain out of the bag.
Again, do this only adding about a half inch of sand per 4-7 days.
Travis L. Stevens
New member
Paul, Thank you for the clarification if the dust is harmful. Luckily this tank is changing from crushed coral to sand, so there isn't much harm to be done.
Another way that I have heard that seems like fun would be to pour it all down a piece of PVC pipe. This might be a good option since the top of the tank is a good 6ft tall.
Another way that I have heard that seems like fun would be to pour it all down a piece of PVC pipe. This might be a good option since the top of the tank is a good 6ft tall.
captbunzo
Premium Member
Ah - we are talking about Kyoto here.
Yeah, I would definately suggest soaking the sand first in water change water to get it bacterially populated so that it won't cloud so much. I think that you'll likely want to avoid clouding as much as possible since this is a show tank in a restaurant.
And since it is a move from CC to sand, doing it all at once is a good idea. I think the "pour through PVC is a great idea". I have considered that before, but not yet tried it.
Yeah, I would definately suggest soaking the sand first in water change water to get it bacterially populated so that it won't cloud so much. I think that you'll likely want to avoid clouding as much as possible since this is a show tank in a restaurant.
And since it is a move from CC to sand, doing it all at once is a good idea. I think the "pour through PVC is a great idea". I have considered that before, but not yet tried it.
Travis L. Stevens
New member
I'm not sure here, but maybe Jonathan can clarify, the sand is already in the tank though.
If so, you're gonna need all the help you can get filtering the sediment out of the water for 300 gallons.
If so, you're gonna need all the help you can get filtering the sediment out of the water for 300 gallons.
Youngsilver
C'est un touche-Ã -tout
I added 1 bag and it clouded for 3 days, so im afraid to see what the other 7 bags are gonna do. I actually rinsed the sand with the draining water change water, but it seemed that ther wasnt much sand left when i finished.
captbunzo
Premium Member
No need to rinse the sand. In fact, the silt is good to be left in for the sake of buffer, Calcium, etc. Yeah - I know this isn't a reef tank.
Soaking the rest of the sand in old tank water allows time for bacteria to coat the sand - a process called flocculation. This makes the silt settle MUCH faster.
Soaking the rest of the sand in old tank water allows time for bacteria to coat the sand - a process called flocculation. This makes the silt settle MUCH faster.
Youngsilver
C'est un touche-Ã -tout
yeah, he likes playing in it which doesnt help it settle any
Travis L. Stevens
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7015976#post7015976 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Youngsilver
yeah, he likes playing in it which doesnt help it settle any
It's got to be a wonderful site to see though. That poor ray hasn't seen sand in many years. We should try to get him something to hunt when you get all the sand in.
if you are going to add sand to this tank with a Ray in it I would sift the fine particles out. Its easy to do and will prevent storms. Just get a net and a couple buckets of RODI water. Half fill the net, dip it in a bucket and swirl the sand around, the dust will come out into the water. Take a minute or so and transfer to the next bucket. Repeat and then dump sand into a tub for use in filling the tank. I would fill old 5g salt buckets.
Once filled....lower the bucket into the tank, let it fill with water and slowly lay it on its side, allow sand to gently flow out.
The dust is gone and the sand will keep the ray happy and the lack of major storms will keep the owner happy.
I would suggest aragamax as the ideal substrate.
Pouring thru a PVC pipe mixes sand and water and still creates a storm if there are lots of dust particles in there.
You will lose maybe 15-20% sand weight doing this, but the clarity will be much better afterwards.
Once filled....lower the bucket into the tank, let it fill with water and slowly lay it on its side, allow sand to gently flow out.
The dust is gone and the sand will keep the ray happy and the lack of major storms will keep the owner happy.
I would suggest aragamax as the ideal substrate.
Pouring thru a PVC pipe mixes sand and water and still creates a storm if there are lots of dust particles in there.
You will lose maybe 15-20% sand weight doing this, but the clarity will be much better afterwards.
