How do you add sand without a cloud

[splix]

I had to drain my other tank and now I've got the new one at the point that I need to aquascape. I dont want to repeat my old mistake of filling the tank then adding the sand.
I was thinking of adding the sand then adding just a few inches of water gently to see how bad it clouds. If it's really bad I'll let it settle in those few inches.

Does this sound right or should I be doing it a different way?

Thanks!

 

[T Haynes]

lay a contractors trash bag across the sand bed as you pour water in. when done pull it out

 

[Hitch08]

Do you have a way to flush the sand a bit?

I put mine in a 5 gallon bucket - only filled it two-thirds of the way. I then turned a garden hose up pretty high and then flushed out the sand. The white/cloudy stuff will flush over the top of the bucket.

 

[MondoBongo]

rinse it really, really, really well, until the water runs clear. rinse in small batches for ease of handling.

then put down your sand, and use a dinner plate to pour the water on to. this will minimize how much sand the waterfall kicks up.

 

[T Haynes]

just put the trash bags down. rinsing will get rid off any life you have in the sand from what ive been told

 

[IdahoCindy]

I just added 20 pounds. I rinsed it really well. Then I used a long PVC pipe and a funnel. I would put a cup of sand in the funnel and then use tank water to rinse it down the pipe. Direct the pipe to the places you want the sand to be. Works like a charm with very minimal clouding.

 

[rezaktp]

+1 with the pipe and funnel!

 

[splix]

sand down, trashbag down. Fill with a bit of water then pull the trash bag once water is a few inches deep?

 

[thegrun]

If you don't wash it first expect a cloud no matter how you add the sand and water.

 

[deleau]

Why is the cloud a bad thing? It goes away in less than a day.

 

[splix]

Why is the cloud a bad thing? It goes away in less than a day.

1 more day my entire livestock has to live in the temporary container. They've been in since Friday now. Heaters and power heads. I guess it isnt so bad. I have my apex and ATO hooked up to it haha

 

[deleau]

I don't know if that's even an issue...

I recently added 40' of live sand to my tank to replace what's been taken out via tank maintenance over the past year. I drained as much of the liquid that it comes in as I can, then poured it in with the bag submerged. It did not really cloud up much until I started to spread it with a long handled scraper.

The inquisitive fish were interested...my insane wrasse took a bath in it while I was pouring (he also likes to sit in the wash/bubbles when I add new salt water after a WC), and the cleaner shrimp jumped on my arms while I was pouring. No one seemed worse for wear. Even my chalices fluffed themselves off by the time the water cleared up enough to really see them.

Edit: I guess if you are going to cycle the tank, then it would matter...just re-read the first post and guess you may be doing that. (In-situ adding, like I did would be different, I suppose)

 

[T Haynes]

1 more day my entire livestock has to live in the temporary container. They've been in since Friday now. Heaters and power heads. I guess it isnt so bad. I have my apex and ATO hooked up to it haha

do you have a tank full of water with no sand in it that already cycled but has no sand or have you already cycled the tank?

 

[splix]

do you have a tank full of water with no sand in it that already cycled but has no sand or have you already cycled the tank?

Old tank started to physically fail. I pulled all live rock and live stock out and are in a 100g rubbermade tote in the same water. Heaters and power heads have been in the tote.
New tank is in and I'll be adding new sand today. So things are cycled but I'm sure I'll go through a mini cycle with the new sand and new glass. All live rock has been cycled in the previous tank.

 

[T Haynes]

Ok. Just lay down trash bags. You should have much clouding at all

 

[Sk8r]

Another trick is to set a glass (not metal) mixing bowl down in the tank and do your water pouring into that. But the garbage bag trick works real well, too.

To add sand to an extant sandbed, get an automobile oil funnel (new!) and stick it down a long-enough piece of large gauge PVC pipe to let it reach the sandbed. Make a pile, and trust the fish to smooth it out.

 

[splix]

I ended up pouring the new sand down first, then some of my old sand down on top of it. I used the bowl method and filled it maybe 3-4 inches, enough to cover the sand. It worked out pretty well. I had a slight cloud but was able to see from front to back of the tank when I filled the tank the rest of the way but it cleared within a few hours which was perfect.

 

[scooter31707]

I used a 2 liter Coke bottle. I peeled the sticker off and soaked the whole bottle in vinegar for a couple of hours and rinse thoroughly and let dry for about 48 hours. I cleaned the sand. Then I filled the bottle 3/4 full and put the bottle in the tank standing up and let it sit for about 2 minutes, until you see all the bubbles come out. Then start pouring the sand in slowly. I had just a little cloudiness that was gone in about an hour and no problems to date. The link below shows it done in freshwater, but it's the same technique. I cleaned my sand though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfkkunBi3V0