sand storm.....help

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


knd01
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:52 pm

sand storm.....help

by knd01

HI i just added sand to my fish tank. Yes i rinsed it out many times it is play sand but there is still sand particles flating around. they seem to be very small can i turn my filer on yet or what should i do. i need help.


Serial324556
 
Posts: 218
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:35 am

by Serial324556

What kind of playsand did you use? I just recently put play sand in my 29 gallon and it took me about 2 to 3 hours to thoroughly clean it. I left my filter off for only about 2 hours and it settled pretty quickly. My water stayed cloudy for about a day but i was able to turn my filter back on a couple hours after I put it in. I also put my sand in a cup and carefully brought the cup to the bottom and then dumped it on the bottom of the tank.
Did you just pour it in the water? If so this may make longer for the cloudiness to go away.


knd01
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:52 pm

by knd01

i used quikcrete or something like taht it seems just cloudy i just dont want to wreck my filter it has been like this for about 6-7 hours and i drup it in slow with my hand.


Serial324556
 
Posts: 218
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:35 am

by Serial324556

Yeah, I used quikrete premium playsand from lowes. How cloudy is it? Does it look like actual sand pieces floating around to make it cloudy? Like I said mine was cloudy but it wasn't so cloudy where I couldn't see in it. I cleaned about 30 pounds of sand to where the water that was mixed was almost as clear as drinking water. I turned my filter back on about 2 hours after I put the sand in my tank.

I looked in my filter last night and there is some sand in my filter(not much but enough to see that it's sand). It hasn't damaged my filter. So far so good.

I'd say if it doesn't look like sand floating and it's just cloudy from being a little dirty go ahead and turn the filter on. If the filter starts to sound a little unnatural then turn it off before major damage occurs.


knd01
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:52 pm

by knd01

well i turned my filter on and it looks cloudy but i can still see into the tank like you said. But i put a piece of cloth(a small square piece) and put it were the water enters into my filter.the piece of cloth is between the plastic cage at the end of my intake tube and the plastic tube wich leads into the chamber of the filter. It seems to be working alright but it is slowing down the amout of water being outputted by the filter. Will this harm the motor in anyway because it is over working it self.


Serial324556
 
Posts: 218
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:35 am

by Serial324556

I'd say Yes, if the cloth is too thick it could possibly harm your filter. If you don't see pieces of sand floating in the water I would just let it run. Or you can try taking the fabric and stretching it a bit this will make the threads in the fabric a little more open.
I have not done this to a filter so I have no experience but I'm just throwing some ideas out there.
Like I said though if your water is cloudy but not grainy you should be in the clear for your filter. Also, if you have a a filter with an intake tube that retracts put it up as far as it goes. I myself do not have one and my intake tube sits about 6 inches or so from the sand bed but does not seem to be harming it. Better safe than sorry though if it does retract.


darkruby
 
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 2:00 am

by darkruby

Just wait a while and NORMALY the sand will settle itself out.
This is what I had to do when my tank clouded from rock particles.


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

I'm sure your issue has been resolved by now but just in case...
Not to delve too deep but I'll give you a little secret on 'cheating the system' lol

When I first added playsand to my 16 gallon I received the same effect, even after washing/rinsing for hours for just a couple inches of sand. The fine particles floated around for about 48 hours, beyond that any stirring while the filter was going would send some of the not-so-fine but fine enough to float particles into the filter which eventually led to it dying completely, even after numerous attempts at completely disassembling, washing, and removing all the sand.
I went out to my local big-chain LFS and purchased a new one, saving the receipt and supplied filters/biowheel. I then cleaned the main unit of my original filter with vinegar removing any salt/hard water deposits etc and placed the NEW supplied filter cartridge (still wrapped) and biowheel on my OLD unit and put it back in the box. This may seem like overkill because I think my model was still under warranty but I'm not sure my LFS would accept the return or exchange on a unit well over a month old. It certainly seems sure-fire.
The only reason I say all this is, I have corydoras which for the life of the aquarium always stir up the sand jetting around the bottom and pushing it around. It seemed best to kill the original filter and let it remove all the fine particle sand and sediment that over time could kill my second filter. Any remaining sand in my aquarium now seems to heavy to be suspended in the water column long enough to be sent into my filter jamming it up.
And everyone knows a filter is the last thing you want to go up in smoke while you're out all day at work.

sand storm.....help

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