My sand dillema

[Devineverrr]

Well, i am fairly new to reefing so let me first say that any advice is welcome. I had purchased some very fine sand for my 12g nano, probably the finest live sand they had at my local fish store. It resembles sugar or dust it is a huge pain. Everytime my fish come near the bottom and make a sudden move it sturs the sand up and clouds up my water. So i am wondering if there is any way i can do a sand change. Is it safe to do with fish in the tank or is it more trouble than its worth?

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!

But you can easily change out the sand. I would just suck out a small section every time you do a water change, and after two or 3 it should be all gone.

Then just place in the new sand, but be sure to clean it very well before you do, other wise the little dusty stuff will blow around for quite awhile. You can dump it down a tube, or just scoop some up in a cup and then place it in the bottom. It will be cloudy for a few days, but it will clear up!

 

[Devineverrr]

OK thank you! very helpful! now i should still leave my live rock in right? and how do you recommend i clean the sand off? And should i discard the water that is inside the package of sand when i buy it or add that water in the tank too?

 

[little_fish]

I would buy totally new, dry sand. Its cheaper and it will be come live over time.

And yes, leave the rock in the tank, just vacuum around them.

And for washing, just dump all the sand in a bucket and put a hose in it. Then let the bucket fill and overflow, while you stir the stand. The heavier stuff will stay down in the bottom but the annoying dusty stuff will float away in the overflow. I would do that until the water coming off is pretty clearn

 

[Devineverrr]

Ok! Thank you! I was hoping to hear it is actually possible!

 

[Rufio808]

I have very fine sand also. I washed it for a long time. I put it all in a big bucket and placed my shower head into the bucket. As the bucket filled I'd tip the bucket so that any fine particles and icky stuff poured out. I did this until the water that filled the bucket would be constantly clear.

Hope it all goes well!

 

[sen5241b]

Try rinsing your existing sand in tank water from a change out. Rinsing it in tap water will kill beneficial bacteria.

If that does not work:

There could be a problem with changing out the sand. Some people have stirred up old sand beds and brought out a ton of detritus which caused an ammonia spike. If your sand bed is fairly new then you should not have a problem.

Also, adding new sand could cause a spike. Just as new rock must be cycle so must new sand.

Put your new sand in a 5G bucket with heat and flow and make cure it is cycled THEN take the old sand out and add the new. The plastic 5G buckets are like 4 bucks at Home Depot. I know this is extra work but you need to move slowly and patiently with this hobby.

 

[little_fish]

I think he wants to totally get rid of his sand.

But he is right about causing a mini cycle, so dont do it all in once sitting. Do it over several weeks.

 

[Aquatic]

To chime in, leaving the rock there after the sand is gone is a good thing. Leaving rock on the bare bottom of the tank is a great way to add some stability to your base rock so it stays in place.