Cleaning new sand in tank?

So I messed up and got confused on how to rinse sand so I dumped all I had in my tank and took the rest in the bag and poured all in and now my water is terrible and I got debre floating everywhere. Try to drain water but it os taking forever. I am so confused and frusterated I just wanna quit. Please help me as I will VERY MUCH appreciate it.

 

Relax, your tank will be fine! Give it some time for the sand to settle, it’s not going to hurt anything.

 

Relax, your tank will be fine! Give it some time for the sand to settle, it’s not going to hurt anything.

But it was not cleaned well.

 

how big is the tank? if you can, drain it and take it outside and rinse the sand in the tank with a hose. use your hand to wish it around. dump water out, rinse and repeat until it's clear. or you can do it in/by the sink.

if the tank's too big, then I guess you just have to let it settle. or use a gravel vacuum?

 

how big is the tank? if you can, drain it and take it outside and rinse the sand in the tank with a hose. use your hand to wish it around. dump water out, rinse and repeat until it's clear. or you can do it in/by the sink.

if the tank's too big, then I guess you just have to let it settle. or use a gravel vacuum?

It is to big. 29g. If I let it settle will it contain anything harmful to fish?! How long will it take to settle?! Do I just fill it up all the way?!

 

So I messed up and got confused on how to rinse sand so I dumped all I had in my tank and took the rest in the bag and poured all in and now my water is terrible and I got debre floating everywhere. Try to drain water but it os taking forever. I am so confused and frusterated I just wanna quit. Please help me as I will VERY MUCH appreciate it.

Honestly I have never rinsed any sand I have used. The filter and water changes will remove any debris.

 

I’ve done the same thing.It only takes a couple hours to settle .

 

So just fill my tank up all the way and let it settle?! Then when it has settled set up my filter and let it run?!

 

Hello! What you are seeing is some floating bits of sand, which is normal
Are you using Imagitarium sand? I would just wait for it to settle, run your filters with polyfil to help clear it up.

 

No, fill it up, and turn your filter on so it can help remove debris. Nothings gunna happen, it’ll settle.

 

Hello! What you are seeing is some floating bits of sand, which is normal
Are you using Imagitarium sand? I would just wait for it to settle, run your filters with polyfil to help clear it up.

Yes it is imagitarium. Is the polyfil what comes with the filter?

 

Yes it is imagitarium. Is the polyfil what comes with the filter?

Yeah, that's what I get too I just remove it or poke it down.
No, that's just a cartridge, you'll need some filter fiber if you really want to speed things up.

I always find that black sand makes your cartridge black when it's settling.

 

Polyfilter is polyester fiber. But any sort of filter media will help.

 

So I just added sand to my fish tank and I have floating sand on the surface. How long will it take to sink? Will it sink? I am going to be on a trip for four days. Will I see no sand on the surface when I get back? There are currently no fish in the tank and won't be till I get back.

 

When I had that happen, all I did was smack it with a flat hand and it would sink. I'm assuming you mean floating on top of the surface, not suspended in the water?

 

When I had that happen, all I did was smack it with a flat hand and it would sink. I'm assuming you mean floating on top of the surface, not suspended in the water?

Yes

 

Wow love being completley abandoned..

 

Wow love being completley abandoned..

You aren't abandoned.
If I recall correctly, you made another post with this exact topic.
You've already gotten sufficient posts there.

 

You aren't abandoned.
If I recall correctly, you made another post with this exact topic.
You've already gotten sufficient posts there.

Well I have some sand still floating. It has not settled like it sopposed to.

 

Well I have some sand still floating. It has not settled like it sopposed to.

You were instructed to remove it by hand or pat it down to sink it.
That's what works for me, and nothing became of it.

 

You were instructed to remove it by hand or pat it down to sink it.
That's what works for me, and nothing became of it.

Will it eventually sink down if I leave it alone? Like I am going some where four 4 days will it have sunken down by then?

 

Will it eventually sink down if I leave it alone? Like I am going some where four 4 days will it have sunken down by then?

Supposedly, but you can pat it down for an immediate reaction.

 

Supposedly, but you can pat it down for an immediate reaction.

Like smack it? I tried patting it down with my hand but it did nothing do I just push it down?

 

Like smack it? I tried patting it down with my hand but it did nothing do I just push it down?

Just scoop it out, less of a hassle.

 

**Threads merged**
Please stick to one thread for an issue.

 

So I had a couple threads about this before because the methods did not work and you guys got a little salty at me.(the fishkeeping community can get real salty) I need an efficient working method for removing sand floating at the surface. A net is inefficient and does not work. I'd like to get this aquarium started because I bought the thing in april.

 

Having dealt with various floating things in a tank before, there is no good option.

A fine net works. Or using a small cup to scoop out the top of the water. Takes forever and you'll miss stuff.

Drain the tank completely and rewash the sand.

If the tank is small enough to lift, pour off whatever is floating. Refill and pour again until clean.

I imagine a surface skimmer would work? Never used one myself.

 

Maybe some surface agiation, by a spare internal pump/filter directed at the surface, or an airstone.... or if you have one, a surface skimmer?

If not, consider skimming the surface of the water with a large cup... and then placing the collected water into a bucket or something similar for disposal, forming a water change at the same time?

 

Maybe some surface agiation, by a spare internal pump/filter directed at the surface, or an airstone.... or if you have one, a surface skimmer?

If not, consider skimming the surface of the water with a large cup... and then placing the collected water into a bucket or something similar for disposal, forming a water change at the same time?

Good idea

Having dealt with various floating things in a tank before, there is no good option.

A fine net works. Or using a small cup to scoop out the top of the water. Takes forever and you'll miss stuff.

Drain the tank completely and rewash the sand.

If the tank is small enough to lift, pour off whatever is floating. Refill and pour again until clean.

I imagine a surface skimmer would work? Never used one myself.

Yeah I think I'll go with the cup.

 

If it is sand that's floating just give it a tap with your finger tip and it will sink to the bottom where it should be. When setting up a new tank some of the sand will float due to air bubbles getting trapped underneath. If it's just floating debris use a net.

 

I don't want to be accused of being "salty" but sand doesn't float for any length of time. Stuff in sand will float.

What I would do if I had your problem is add some airstones. You want a LOT of surface agitation. I would have my filter housing stuffed with poli-fill (yep, that stuff used to stuff pillows). You can get a big bag of it for a few bucks. Remove and replace it as it fills with your floating detritus.

If the air stones don't stir it up enough to mix it in your water use a stir stick or your hand. You may need to stir your sand during this time too in case this stuff is still in the sand. It may take a bit of time and effort but apparently you have already been dealing with this for a while so what is a little time and effort compared to what you are already dealing with.

If you will do this along with removing some of it with the other methods that have already been suggested you should be able to remove all of it.

 

Thinking outside the box here. If the aquarium is set up where water is not a big concern or if you can wrap towels around the aquarium, try overflowing it slightly. It may wash the floaters out.

Did you try just splashing the sand with your hand? What sand did you use? Any sand I have that floats is because air got trapped around it. Splashing around the water at the surface usually clears the sand and it sinks. I can't even siphon sand out of my tank if I tried.

 

I always have just taken a bucket/ cup and placed it just under the surface. Like we all do as kids to just get the top of the water to flow into the bucket and usually the floating stuff comes with it. It’s a long process but worth it