Habitat - Indoor :: Sand FAQ

[vear]

Hmmm...this isn't going as planned.

I cleaned the Pavestone brand sand for a good 20 minutes in a 5 gallon bucket in the tub, then put it in the tank. Visibility was less than an inch! Took almost all the sand out and rewashed it in an 18 gallon rubbermaid container for a good 45 additional minutes. Drained almost all the water from the tank. Put the rewashed sand back in the tank and visibility is still horrible. Literally you can't see more than 2 inches. Grrr. If I knew it would be this much of a PITA I would have stuck with river rocks.

Vear, are you sure this is the type of sand you bought from Home Depot? I'm starting to think it's really fine sand and that a significant portion of the grains are so small they suspend in water.

Any suggestions on how to proceed? Another water change? I'm thinking that if I just leave it alone that any future "stirring" in the tank will result in it getting cloudy again.

Hey, yeah, it's the same sand. I'm sorry I know exactly what you're dealing with, it happened to me the first time with the brown sand, and I thought, what did I do?! The key is to wash it until you can't take it anymore... then wash it some more!! I washed 2 bags, so about 80lbs! and I did it indoors in my kitchen sink in a 2.5 gal bucket. I filled the bucket maybe half way and washed that way. It took me hours, not minutes. So yes, it was a pain, but at least I didn't have to deal with the horror I dealt with the first time!

What I did the first time I dealt with sand and it turned into a disaster (I couldn't see at all!) : I bought a "flocculating" agent. You add a few drops and it makes the little particles into larger particles which fall to the bottom. I don't like adding chemicals but it was kind of a last resort type thing. It turns the water yellow, so it makes it worse before it gets better. Then I did a few water changes, once the water got a little better I turned on the filter. Make sure once your water clears you clean your filter well - you don't want all that sand in there. I don't know the name of the chemical right now b/c I'm not home but I'll try to find it once I get there.

I'm sorry this happened, next time you know to wash it A LOT more than you think it needs to be washed!! It works better if you put water in the bucket under a lot of pressure. And it's probably a lot easier if you can do it outside. Also, wash the sand in portions... not the whole thing at once. Once the sand settles it'll look great.

If you have any more problems, let me know.

[psumichael]

Hmmm...this isn't going as planned.

I cleaned the Pavestone brand sand for a good 20 minutes in a 5 gallon bucket in the tub, then put it in the tank. Visibility was less than an inch! Took almost all the sand out and rewashed it in an 18 gallon rubbermaid container for a good 45 additional minutes. Drained almost all the water from the tank. Put the rewashed sand back in the tank and visibility is still horrible. Literally you can't see more than 2 inches. Grrr. If I knew it would be this much of a PITA I would have stuck with river rocks.

Vear, are you sure this is the type of sand you bought from Home Depot? I'm starting to think it's really fine sand and that a significant portion of the grains are so small they suspend in water.

Any suggestions on how to proceed? Another water change? I'm thinking that if I just leave it alone that any future "stirring" in the tank will result in it getting cloudy again.

Hey, yeah, it's the same sand. I'm sorry I know exactly what you're dealing with, it happened to me the first time with the brown sand, and I thought, what did I do?! The key is to wash it until you can't take it anymore... then wash it some more!! I washed 2 bags, so about 80lbs! and I did it indoors in my kitchen sink in a 2.5 gal bucket. I filled the bucket maybe half way and washed that way. It took me hours, not minutes. So yes, it was a pain, but at least I didn't have to deal with the horror I dealt with the first time!

What I did the first time I dealt with sand and it turned into a disaster (I couldn't see at all!) : I bought a "flocculating" agent. You add a few drops and it makes the little particles into larger particles which fall to the bottom. I don't like adding chemicals but it was kind of a last resort type thing. It turns the water yellow, so it makes it worse before it gets better. Then I did a few water changes, once the water got a little better I turned on the filter. Make sure once your water clears you clean your filter well - you don't want all that sand in there. I don't know the name of the chemical right now b/c I'm not home but I'll try to find it once I get there.

I'm sorry this happened, next time you know to wash it A LOT more than you think it needs to be washed!! It works better if you put water in the bucket under a lot of pressure. And it's probably a lot easier if you can do it outside. Also, wash the sand in portions... not the whole thing at once. Once the sand settles it'll look great.

If you have any more problems, let me know.

Thanks, vear!!

I wound up taking most of the sand out of the tank and draining it down to about a gallon or two of water. Refilled it with water and even with only about 5 lbs of sand in the tank the water was still very, very cloudy. With the filter running non-stop for about 9 hours I'm finally able to see to the back of the tank. Will have to wash the balance of the sand even more as you suggested. What a PITA. Next time I would definitely consider pool filter sand since multiple people have stated that resulted in zero clouding.

[vear]

@psumichael, it was definitely a pain. I do wonder how the pool filter sand would work. I wish I knew about it before! Anyway, good luck, I hope it settles!!

[psumichael]

@psumichael, it was definitely a pain. I do wonder how the pool filter sand would work. I wish I knew about it before! Anyway, good luck, I hope it settles!!

Thanks for all the feedback. I've been washing/adding a little bit of sand at a time. It's looking good but man was it a waste of water and a time-sink. I'll post a video once it settles.

BTW, a guy on another forum used the same sand and ended up with ridiculously cloudy water also. Look about halfway down this page: http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/upload ... 081&st=260 His tank setup is pretty awesome!

[vear]

Hmm, maybe I just washed the beejeezus out of it! hah! I'm trying to find a picture, but I guess I don't have one of my current set up. I saw the other guy's pictures, it's definitely the same sand. When I get a picture of my setup I'll post it =)

[Chrisbarnett]

Hey everyone, not sure if this has been mentioned, but seeing that nobody has talked about it (from what ive read) id like to get your opinions.
I was told by a friend who was told by a fish store owner that they use pool filter sand in all there tanks.
So when I was over at his house helping him setup his new 180 gallon we basically lined the bottom and filled it up, no rinse required and the water never got cloudy.
So I went ahead and did the same in my tanks.
When i filled up my maps tank I did not rinse the sand at all and the water was 100% clear, but I did line the tank with sand before filling it.!

Now with my res, I dumped the sand in while the tank was full so of course it got cloudy but nowhere near as bad as using the play sand!

And heres the best part, for a 50 gallon bag it was only $10.81!

So, unless there is some major reason not to use this sand, I would suggest this to anyone who doesn't want to have to rinse your
sand for hours before putting it in your tank.

this sand is great, not many people have access to it though, unless in a big city with a pool store. But yeah this sand is the best besides expensive aquarium sand, it usually is available in a bunch of colors too, like black which looks awesome.

[vear]

Alright, here is my tank. The lighting is not great and I do have to clean the tank, so the sand doesn't look as white, but here it is:



(I had to make it a thumbnail so my picture wouldn't get cut off).

[Solie]

Well I bought some QUIKRETE 50 Lb. Play Sand from Lowes last night.


I do not believe this sand is good for our turtle tanks without straining it several times.

This is what the sand looked like when I dumped it into a 5 gal bucket to wash it. It looked ok but as I looked closer it had a lot of pebbles in it.


I then used a screen to run the sand through.


After dumping 1 cup onto the screen this is what was caught.


I then ran the sand through an old fish net I had and was able to strain even more pebbles out.
The sand will work but you will need to take time to sift and strain the pebbles out of it.
It will also create a LOT of dust during this process so it's best to do it outside.
All I have left now is to wash it thoroughly this evening.

[Rachel__23]

I just bought some pool filter sand today. Everyone seems to say they didn't wash it and had no cloudiness....Well I washed mine a bit (had to do it in a bucket in the tub since there is over 3' of snow outside). I filled the bucket with water and moved the sand around a bunch and then dumped. I did this 3 times and it seemed pretty clear so I put it in the tank. Now it was already full of water as I didn't want to drain it since I had just completely cleaned it last night. (I got the brilliant sand idea after cleaning the tank...probably would have been easier had I thought of this first!)
Well there was cloudiness but all of the sand settled within about 15 mins. I have turned on the filter and it is still cloudy, I can see about 14" into my 18" wide tank so not too bad. I figure it will take a few hours to clear up. It's about 50% better with the filter only running for about 30 minutes. (I'm using the XP3)
All in all, I'm glad I made the trip across the city for pool filtre sand as it seems to be easier to clean. I did pay more for it though. A 50lb bag was $10.49 whereas a 40lb bag of playsand at Home Depot was $6.49. The price different lb for lb was basically nothing, but the hassle was much less!
I'll post pics once it completely settles.

[Solie]

Well after all the sifting and straining of the sand and rinsing it for about 90 minutes I had no issues with cloudiness. I too had just filled my tank so I did not want to drain the tank. I dumped the sand in and it went straight to the bottom. Saw very minimal cloudiness if at all.

[karate626]

Is beach sand bad if you can get the salt out of it? Couldn't one boil the sand to sterilize it?

[KatieSmeltzer]

I decided to add sand to my new 50-Long tank (that has yet to be set up... damn lack of money), and was excited to find this sticky. Only problem is, it's February... nowhere has sand around me because it's off season. Little pissed...

[Chrisbarnett]

I decided to add sand to my new 50-Long tank (that has yet to be set up... damn lack of money), and was excited to find this sticky. Only problem is, it's February... nowhere has sand around me because it's off season. Little pissed...

home depot should carry the sand all the time, if not then google up a local pool supply store.

About beach sand, I guess you could clean it completely but it seems like a lot less hassle to buy a 50lb back from the store and do less washing.

[VeipaCray]

Most Home Depot / Lowes will stock the play sand and pool filter sand year round.

[Rishabh]

Can I Use My Beach Sand That I Had Brought Off The Beach..It Was very Far From the Water, I Filtered It And Removed All The Gravel, And Other Large Objects... And Washed It Too....Any Problems Using This As A Substrate For My RES Tank? My RES Are Hatchlings 1"......