Dusty Sand

[I am a giraffe]

If you guys stir up the sand bed with your hand, do you get a cloud of dust that just floats around in the water column for a while?

 

[drummereef]

Why are you stirring the sand anyway? Yes, it will create a sand storm, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[michaeldaly]

I have a shallow sand bed and I sometimes stir it a little to get some of the detrius that collected on it into the water column so that it can be filtered out.

 

[I am a giraffe]

It's a new tank I've set up; it only has sand and water right now. I'm using a sand I've never used before, and I didn't rinse it out before putting it in. I noticed that the water didn't clear up in just a few days after I added the water and sand, so I'm thinking this sand had really small dust particles or something that doesn't sink very well.

I may have to drain the tank, wash the sand, and then refill it.

 

[WaterKeeper]

The sand will settle down as the tank ages. Eventually a biofilm covers the sand and helps "glue" the fines together. This keeps it in place.