Habitat - Indoor :: Sand FAQ

[francinemarie]

No place at all to rinse some sand?? Can't you just use your shower?

I used the shower to wash a couple pounds of sand the other day, worked nicely.

Also, warning If you wash your sand in cold water, do not put it straight into the tank. the sand being so cold can cause a water Temp. drop that can shock your turtle, possibly causing a RI or worse. If you wash your sand in extremely hot water, a temp increase will happen. Not sure if this would be as much of a problem as a cold shock though. So if you washed with super cold or very warm water, let your sand cool to room temp. before putting it into the tank.

I'm also adding that last paragraph to the first page. I forgot about it until now.

well i was hesitant to use the shower because i don't want it possibly clogging the drain. i'll remember to let it cool to room temperature thank you .

[Chrisbarnett]

Yeah but if you just have the sand in a bucket, it won't clog the drain. I like to use a 5g plastic bucket for washing my sand.

[francinemarie]

Yeah but if you just have the sand in a bucket, it won't clog the drain. I like to use a 5g plastic bucket for washing my sand.

lol, that's true. i must be dumb today . i'm not sure how many gallons is my bucket. i found it in my garage & i figured i could use it for rinsing the sand. but i think 30lbs of sand will fit in it.

question: will it settle faster if i rinse it for more than 15 minutes?

[Chrisbarnett]

Any size bucket or rubbermaid tub would work.

And yes, the longer you wash, the faster it settles. I washed for about 15 minutes, and I get about 30 min of cloudy water.

[francinemarie]

Any size bucket or rubbermaid tub would work.

And yes, the longer you wash, the faster it settles. I washed for about 15 minutes, and I get about 30 min of cloudy water.

good to know . thank you!

[desertcoyote93]

How much sand should I put in a 10 gallon tank? Sand is very very heavy and I dont want to end up damaging my tank.

[francinemarie]

How much sand should I put in a 10 gallon tank? Sand is very very heavy and I dont want to end up damaging my tank.

you can use the sand calculator that chris posted in his first post.

[desertcoyote93]

Thats a tad bit difficult for me. I dont know the dimensions for my tank. I bought it at kmart.

[francinemarie]

Thats a tad bit difficult for me. I dont know the dimensions for my tank. I bought it at kmart.

you could measure it with a ruler.

[Talking Turtle]

I didn't go through the whole thread so I'm not sure if it's already been said... but I wanted to add this, it might help someone in the future.

Also at a Home Depot or Lowe's they have 50lb bags of sand in the gardening section. I think it's around $3-4 per bag, they have regular play sand (natural color [light beige]) and they also have white play sand (very bright, looks awesome in a tank IMHO).

This is regular play sand:


This is white play sand:



I've found it really easy to rinse the sand if you pour the bag into a big rubbermaid container outside. Put something under one end of the container so it's on an angle then run the hose for about an hour until the water runs clear. Also, occasionally sift through the sand with your hose while the water's running.



When you're ready to put the sand in, pour the sand in first then when you fill up the water pour the water onto a rock or the side of the glass and it wont cloud up your water nearly as much.

[NewToRESoWning]

Is this sand okay to use? http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none

[Talking Turtle]

Absolutely

[NewToRESoWning]

Thanks Keri! I've been going a little sand crazy lately, HaHa. Trying to buy all of the Crayola colors along with tan and white.

[Chrisbarnett]

Talking turtle,

That has been addressed in the first page of the thread, but thanks for adding it.

[PcBuilder14]

I need to get me more sand sometime. Of course mine's expensive, but I love how nice real aquarium sand looks compared to play sand....no offense to anyone with play sand.