KonaBoy

I decided to put sand in my 10 gallon a while back, and decided to document it for just a thread like this. I always hear "Pool filter sand for the win! Play sand sucks!", so off I head to Home Depot for PFS. I find out after a few more stops, that in the Great White North, there is no PFS I settled for Playsand for my first try ($7 for 50 pounds).

Here is what you need for this method:
3 Buckets/Pails/Containers
Sand (duh)
Time
Some tunes (Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, etc all work well )

Step 1: I used the three bucket system



As you can see, first bucket (left) has clean water in it. Second (middle) has the sand (a long/wide container works best) and third can be a garbage pail as none of the stuff going in here will touch your tank. Unplug your filter!

Step 2: Fill the bottom (about 1/4") of the middle container with sand. It's easier to do a little at a time then all at once. Pour some clean water in the middle container and you should see all the silt and such come up with the water, this is good Pour the water into container 3 (garbage). Rinse, rinse, then rinse some more. This is not when you decide to skimp out, it's like buying a heater, if you don't do it right the first time (Stealth's rule ), you'll be doing it again.

Step 3: Once you're pouring clean water, put the sand in your tank. You only want an inch or so. NOTE: You will need to stir about half your sand bed every week or so to prevent bad gas pockets from forming (or get digging cichlids or Malaysian Trumpeter Snails).

Step 4: After you have an inch bed, fill up your tank. Let it settle for an hour or so until you think you sand it settled. Mine looked like this after an hour



Step 5: Plug your filter back in, and enjoy your tank

There are other methods (I've also used the one bucket system (just use a hose and a bucket), but if you have bad mosquito's or it's raining, I've found this method just as fast. I've done this for both Playsand and Sand Blasting Sand. Hope this helps someone, enjoy

Cory

I will not be held responsible for anything that happens if you try my methods. Everything I post is just my opinion, and I'm not pretending to know everything. That's why it's called "The Cory Way" I'm just trying to help people out. Cheers

richard7467

great thread once youve done this what ios the best way to "stir" your sand i've also heard that there are various types of snail that can help you with the "stirring" any ideas.

KonaBoy

I just use my my algae scrapper, but you could use anything really as long as it's tank safe. The snail you're thinking about is probably the Malaysian Trumpeter Snail However, I've been told they only do the top 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

Cory