Phishies Inn

So for my new 55 gallon I finally got it planted and filled the second half of it - (I prefer planting without it completely full...easier to move around in)...and the sand stirred up like crazy! I expected this of course...after well over 12 hours now, the tank still looks like this:



(If anyone was wondering, that's flourite under the sand for the plants...it's not a very deep sand bed at all)

While it's definitely better than last night, it's obviously still not clear either - I know eventually it will settle but my question is, will sand always stir up like this? I'm getting loaches and I don't want my tank to be a mess like this whenever they skid across the sand - because whenever I even tap an area around a plant or something stuff kicks up.

And the other thing I wanted to ask about was sand is settling all over my plants and decor - the decor is one thing but I'd like my plants to be actually green :P Will the sand clean itself off my plans or will I have to do it myself? And if so, how?

I've never used sand before, always been gravel, but I thought my loaches would prefer softer sand...but I don't want to keep it if it's going to be this much of a hassle Will it fog up like this when I sift the sand around during cleaning (to release air pockets)?

Edit: Oh yeah I forgot to ask - since this isn't actual grains of sand, just the "dust", can I turn on my filter now? Will that help at all? It did when I had to put flourite in my 10 gallon - helped it clear up overnight. Do you think it'd be okay if I just put the sponges in the filter, not the carbon and bio...so they don't get too dusty?

lisamorie

hi! i used both sand and gravel in my 55 planted, and the sand dust stuff cleared up in about two days, and i have had no problems since. it doesn't really stir up when i clean, and settles right back down when i refill the tank. i did run my filter the whole time when i first added it-- it never even occurred to me not to-- how come you aren't?

also, no sand on my plant leaves, i guess the current must knock it off?

Phishies Inn

Well when I first put the sand in I read that running the filter isn't great because the actual sand grains will mess up the motor (I have a HOB filter)...I have it running now Since there aren't any fishies yet I'm not rushing anything.

But that's good, as long as cleaning isn't too annoying then I'm fine with it :P Thanks.

jamison

You may also want to put a sponge over your intake. It will save your filter from wear and save you lots of money on cartriges

Butterfly

In my experience as long as the filter uptake tube isn't right down on the sand it won't hurt your filter. I have two large filters on the 75G sand tank and have run them from day one.
Depending on what type loaches you get they may mix the flourite and sand while hunting for food or snails. Keep us posted (with pics of course ) on how the tank shapes up
Carol

Phishies Inn

Yeah the flourite is kind of already mixed up anyways...while I was planting and moving stuff around. I think it looks more natural that way with the stuff mixed in And I have a sponge over the intake anyways, but yeah it's not close enough for it to suck anything up

And of course, I shall have more pictures for my tank once it's all settled! It looks a lot better now, but by tomorrow I think it should be about done clearing up.