How to Clean Sand for Use in an Aquarium

[Superthecod]

Is it ok if I use play sand with my koi

[BluesTriops]

@Superthecod

Probably not. I've been told you should use larger stones with goldfish and koi....

[Superthecod]

@BluesTriops well i going to try i heard bad and good mosly good but i still have my gravel

[kikishhll]

where do u find the sand at walmart?pet supplies isle?

[BluesTriops]

@kikishhll I got this sand in the art supplies.

But I've been told it isn't safe for triops use. A pet Store would be a better bet to get sand at; natural-sized sand that isn't come crazy color would be your fest bet.

[Nickp5954]

Kool well i follow yo advice and got the best sponge filter they had check out my video its call 10gl vs 36gl & that rinsing the sand was taking 4 ever I was doing small portions lol

[Nickp5954]

Well I did some cheap research I look at some videos on YouTube and seen this tank wit sand & tiger barbs in it and also I'm going to the aquarium shop 2 morrow 4 more info when every things done I'll show you a video how my tank came out

[BluesTriops]

Allow me to suggest using google?

The PH of Cichlids is 7.5 to 8.5. Tiger Barbs are in the range of 6 to 8. So the sand shouldn't hurt the wit them.

[Nickp5954]

@BluesTriops Na I'm not doing plants but the fish I'm doing is some tiger bars and Bala sharks and thanks 4 the sponge filter info and the sand is call african cichild mix 20 lb bag

[BluesTriops]

@Nickp5954 the sand will prolly be ok then. Cichlid sand is usually pretty heavy. The sand will likely change the ph on the water to more like the levels that cichild's like. I'd do your research on the needs of the barbs and sharks, to make sure that won't harm them any.

[Nickp5954]

@BluesTriops Well I went head and got a 36 gl tank it came wit filter it's a 40 gl filter the pets mart dude gave me some fresh water sand. He gave me 2 bags cause I got a 36 anything else you need to know ??

[BluesTriops]

@Nickp5954 Went bigger? Nice =3

Well, if you looked around you could find a sponge filter to attach to the intake of your filter. That would almost eliminate your worries of sand or anything else small getting sucked into the filter. It also adds another layer to the filtration, which can be helpful. Sand comes in many grain types. Fine or ultrafine would be a bad choice. But on the other hand, medium grains would ok. They are usually a little bigger than a grain of salt.

[BluesTriops]

@Nickp5954 What are you putting into this tank? If your doing planted then you might have trouble. It's my experience that virtually any plant will hate sand and simply refuse to grow. There ways around this, but I'm not going to go into this right now.

[Nickp5954]

Im trying to do a sand tank in a 25 gl tank is it safe to do imma get sand from petsmart but they say you can't do that cause you will mess up the filture but can I still do it any tips planning on do this 2 morrow

[BluesTriops]

@Nickp5954 It depends of the sand and Filter.

What's the filter? And What's the sand's size? There are ways to do anything, but I need to know more.

[lllReLEnTLesSlll]

Where can you get pool filter sand, and how much is it?

[BluesTriops]

@lllReLEnTLesSlll At a pool store. And it's maybe 15-20 USD for a huge bag!

[dyamarick]

@BluesTriops I picked up my pool filter sand at the Home Depot for about $4/bag. For a 75 gallon tank, this saved me a bundle. My pool store had filter sand but it had chards in it, little glass irregularly shaped and sharp edged particles. The Home Depot sand was significantly better. Not white, but light tan.

[BluesTriops]

@dyamarick

The pool filter sand I got around here was fine. Not as fine as I wanted, but no sharp bits. So I got lucky I guess.

[farbyray]

@bluetriops it actuly helped for a few days then it turned green and killed my triops so as a warning do not use lizard repti sand it will kill them

[BluesTriops]

@farbyray

Green? As in the water or the sand? Triops like the green water, so long as it's algae. Your lights might have been running too long too. Did you happen to take pictures?

[iownudie108]

this is wrong ,as a matter of fact u can never get a standard sandbox sand to be suitable for your aquarium beacuse its digged up from the ground .it will always cause u ph problems and all other kinds of things , but i think it is suitable for goldfish that could live in toiletpot too untill u run the water.

[riderinblack57]

i have some concerns...how did you remove the chloromines and chlorites from the sand bed?chemicals? and i clicked this video to find a quick easy way to clean the sand in an astablished tank my sand bed is dirty and this process wouldnt work for me plz respond

[tigreslokos]

dude I think I didn't clean it very well, will the filter clean it up?? I'm using a 50 gallon filter on a 35 gallon tank so will it clean it??

please respond (=

[BluesTriops]

@tigreslokos

It could ruin the filter.

If the water was clean then became cloudy, it could simply be a bacterial bloom.

Did you do a cycle in the tank?

Do a test and see what your water peramiters come up as.

If all those are good, then do a few partial water changes.

[tigreslokos]

@BluesTriops thanks for the response man (= but my water is now clear, my filter is fine thankfully (=

thanks a lot man (=

[tigreslokos]

I'm getting a new 35 gallon tank for my fish (= and i'm gonna put sand in it, so, thanks for the video dude (=

[jregamey]

animal house here house sand blaster sand. its really fine, and aperently will be cloudy and reck the filter. but i dunno if they know u have to rinse the sand first.. i wasnt sure about the sandblaster sand so i had them order little bit larger grain sand but the same tan colour. Not sure if i should go with REALLY fine sand or stick with little bit higher grain. like half of rice..

[BluesTriops]

@jregamey

Sand Blaster sand has a reputation for having toxic chemicals in it. See any negative effects and the like on your end?

[jregamey]

@BluesTriops I didnt bother getting anything from animal house, i went to walmart and got some decor sand, just 10lbs of it, rinced it only took 10 times and it worked great!!, thanks for this video! now i just gotta upgrade my tank eventually because i want to get other types of chiclids along with my convics. the fish love the new sand and fake plants. they have been exploring like crazy and actaully more friendly to eachother!

[BluesTriops]

@jregamey

Hope it works out for you!

I would recomend getting something that diggs in the sand, like trumpet snail, or a cory. Sand can grow some nasty stuff if left unturned.

[randomsha5211]

Ok I was told that I could go with a big bucket to the beach fill it up with sand go home and was the heck out of it tell the water is super clear in the bucket then put it in my 10 gallon if so what sand the sand on land or in the water?

[BluesTriops]

@randomsha5211

I suppose you could do that and get away with it... But the sand will likely hold parasites and what ever trash from the beach combers. I really don't encourage you to use it.

[jzxiong]

would played sand work?

[BluesTriops]

@jzxiong

Play Sand? It depends. So long as it's natural I guess. Try pool filter sand. It's fairly cheap and looks great!

[DrewDavisAdmin]

@BluesTriops You're a great guy. I subscribed.

[BluesTriops]

@DrewDavisAdmin

^^ Why thank you!

[TheAquariumKid]

i use super natural sand i think its called for my planted tank and i rinse it 2 times and its not dusty at all my corys love digging in there

[BluesTriops]

@TheAquariumKid

Some sands are designed to not need to be rinsed. Most of the plant specific ones would likely do better if you DIDN'T rinse them.

[TheAquariumKid]

@BluesTriops they said on the bag to rinse it and i did twice but it was hardly cloudy and i got fluorite so that is on the bottom

[farbyray]

will vita-sand work if its washed like this

[BluesTriops]

@farbyray

I would imagine it wouldn't hurt anything.

might even help. all those vitamins

[myke4750]

u didnt answer the last guy but ill ask again...will it ever settle if u dont rinse?

[BluesTriops]

@myke4750

I did, but in a private message.

Washing it will remove tiny bits of sand that are potentially dangerous to fish and damaging to the filter.

Also, some sands have toxic things in them and washing it helps remove them.

Washing the sand will help it settle quicker, but depends on the sand. My first sand bottom tank never settled at all, and it was going for nearly 6 months before I redid it.

[someduderob]

do you have to wash it or will it ever settle?

[someduderob]

do you have to wash it or will it ever settle?

[Hvasserklask]

water resistant sand?.. but like.. what happens if you put magic sand or some shit down to your fish? poison?

[BluesTriops]

@Hvasserklask It would likely kill the fish. I'm not sure, but I wouldn't try it >.>;

[92cvang]

I don't even want to think about when I'm going to have to wash 100 pounds of new sand for my new tank.

[BluesTriops]

@92cvang Ouch XD

I can only imagine.... It'll be worth it tho!

[vanhalenman60]

noooo that has lie in it

[BluesTriops]

can you elaborate please?

[vassilis359995]

Hi again Blues:) so tell me what happens to the chlorinated water thats left in the tank after you washed it coz triops are sensitive to chlorine and other chemicals right???

[BluesTriops]

@vassilis359995 Well, if you use the right set-up this wouldn't be a big problem. So long as you drain as MUCH of the water as you can, it won't hurt them after you dilute with with either dechlorinated or bottled water.

[vanhalenman60]

lye or lie i forgot how to spell it but its not good for them

[BluesTriops]

@vanhalenman60 lye, I think. It didn't cause any problems with mine. In fact I had a great hatch rate with this sand.

[Pieishman]

why cant you just use normal aquarium sand from a pet store or aquarium store instead?

[CrunchieDan]

Could you not just let the water run and let it aerate the sand from the flow and let dirty water flow over until it's clean?

[BluesTriops]

@CrunchieDan Well, some sand, yes. But the first time you use a bag of sand, it is a really good idea to clean it, both for clear water and for fish health.

Tiny particles of sand can cuase serious irritation to fish gills, and it can clog up water filters. Some might even have poisons in them and clearing the sand will help thin or eliminate them.

[CrunchieDan]

Right. Just wondered if the video in the related videos "Washing sand from one of my reef aquariums" posted by AquariumForum would be an easier way to clean the sand?

[BluesTriops]

@CrunchieDan It's about the same. I find my method works best for me, but depending on how much sand your cleaning, different methods work for different folks.

[CrunchieDan]

Fair enough. =)

[Cheddar254]

cause like you think 1 tiny bag like that is deep...

[BluesTriops]

@Cheddar254 for what it's being used for it is. that sand went into a 3 gallon tank.

[Cheddar254]

youre an idiot..

[BluesTriops]

@Cheddar254 Is that directed at me?

Because if I did something wrong, I would like to know...

[ghettoTV1]

wanna know how 2 plant live plants in an aquarium...

[BluesTriops]

@ghettoTV1 If your asking "How do you place live plants in an aquarium", it's really now hard.

Place sand/gravel and start running the water, filter, etc. Then, after the tank has been set-up, place the plants with decorations into the water and get the tank looking the way you like.

After a day or two, add the fish. Be sure that the plant's needs are looked after, or they will die.

[ghettoTV1]

umm... but for them 2 root u need some dirt underneath the sand or sumtin?

and how u look after yer plants

thank you

[BluesTriops]

@ghettoTV1 That depends on the plants. Most pet stores sell plants in a planter, for rooted plants these will likely be enough.

My plants are mostly low maintenance, with only two that make roots. They do just fine without dirt. So, that's something I've got little experience in. Tho, I've seen a new plant that I want.... Sorry =(

[ghettoTV1]

ok and does the water get dirty with sand on the bottom do u need some special accessories to filter the water or it just sits no prob on the bottom

[ghettoTV1]

I mean after u cleaned it n all

[swtsacrifice]

can u plz tell me the brand of that sand its so glittery i like it alot ty

[BluesTriops]

@swtsacrifice This sand was purchased in the arts section of my local Wal-mart. Akasha is the brand.

[swtsacrifice]

ty so much

[aaronproductions12]

hi im just hatching some triops now beacuse i got a small triop kit for christmas :) the tank is veary smal and i dont really like it

so..

im thinking of groing them in the small container with no sand for maybe a week so they are quite big...

then im thinking of buying a bigger tank and yoos sand like shown in this video

do you think this is a good idea? also

how to i move the triops saftly from one tank to another> without cuasing shock?

[BluesTriops]

@aaronproductions12

I recommend only doing one tank swap. use the same water source as when you add fresh water to the current container.  Be sure water is room temperature, and crystal clear. Then, just dump the old tank's water into the new tank, Triops and all!

[Sakano]

Pretty easy then! I'm probably going to need about that very same quantity of sand too. I'm going to make a deep layer, but since it's a smaller aquarium, that very bag will do.

Thanks for the vid.