# aquarium sand wont settle



## MoppinTheFlooR (Oct 9, 2012)

I got a 10gal tank and pet co brand aquarium sand(black) and it wont settle in tank. My betta is in a small container and I want to get him in asap . I'm confused because I've been researching and I see all this bad stuff about play sand and different kinds of sand, I don't know what my sand is, it just says aquarium sand. I also don't know if the sand is "fine" or what because it doesn't say on package. I don't have a filter yet, will that help it settle? I've already waited over night and I can't tell if it is getting any better. How long will this take? 10 gal tank, I added 20 pounds of sand like it said 2 pounds of sand for every gal of tank. I really want to get my bettas in there, they look sad in there containers  (I have a divider in tank as well). When putting the tank together I did things out of order and after I had the water in I was digging up some of the sand because the rocks were barried in it even though I put them on top of the sand the water pushed things around. so I think I made it worse.

Help please! is this normal? should it take a day or longer?

I also am thinking I didn't clean the sand right? I kept it in the bag in came in and rinsed it for a while, just letting whatever comes to the top of the bag wash out.


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

First of all...don't panic! Sand clouds sometimes when you first put it in, its not usual, and its not harmful as far as I know. So don't worry. 
You may just have not washed it out enough......I use Petco sand in various colors in all of my tanks and I've never had a problem with it clouding except for once with the gray sand, but that was only slight and for a couple of hours. 

What I did with rinsing the sand was do it in small parts. I think it was about....four or five parts total for a 5 lb bag of the stuff. I rinsed it a few times really well, like I would with gravel....filled up the container with water, stirred it all around with my hand, then slowly poured the water out and repeated several times, then added that part to my tank and did the same with the next part. I can't be entirely positive since this is what I did for all of my tanks, but I think this really helped to eliminate clouding personally.

For now, since you've already got it all set up, try a couple of large water changes. Go in and stir up the sand really well with your hand, do a 75-80% water change, wait a bit, then repeat one or two more times if it still looks cloudy. I'd say that'd probably help at least some.

Also....do you plan on getting a filter soon? Are you planning to cycle?


----------



## MoppinTheFlooR (Oct 9, 2012)

DragonFish said:


> First of all...don't panic! Sand clouds sometimes when you first put it in, its not usual, and its not harmful as far as I know. So don't worry.
> You may just have not washed it out enough......I use Petco sand in various colors in all of my tanks and I've never had a problem with it clouding except for once with the gray sand, but that was only slight and for a couple of hours.
> 
> What I did with rinsing the sand was do it in small parts. I think it was about....four or five parts total for a 5 lb bag of the stuff. I rinsed it a few times really well, like I would with gravel....filled up the container with water, stirred it all around with my hand, then slowly poured the water out and repeated several times, then added that part to my tank and did the same with the next part. I can't be entirely positive since this is what I did for all of my tanks, but I think this really helped to eliminate clouding personally.
> ...


I do plan on getting a filter, I just don't have one atm. Will a filter help?

what do you mean by "are you planning to cycle"?

Stiring up the sand will help it to be less cloudy? I would think it would make it worse. the reason I thought it was so bad was because I stired the sand alot trying to get all the rocks out because some how they got burried in the sand even though I put sand in first. and same with changing water, wont that make it worse too? I guess I'll try it thanks.


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

I'm not sure if the filter would really make much of a difference all that much with the cloudy sand, but its not going to hurt it anything either.

Well if you are going to be adding a filter, then, so long as you don't remove/turn off your filter or break down your while tank, your tank will go through whats called the Nitrogen Cycle where your tank establishes a colony of beneficial bacteria that break down the harmful chemicals your fish naturally produces, allowing you to cut down your water changes to just 30%-50% per week once you're cycle is established. Its a bit like...establishing a bit of a little ecosystem. 
This thread explains how the cycle works: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=98795
And this thread explains more of what you need to do during the cycle and whatnot: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=107771

Well, you stir it up and then make your water change. Since I assume you probably just didn't rinse it enough, if you do this a few times then it should help cut down on the cloudiness. Try to, when your pouring the water back in, pour it in nice and slow and gentle, maybe over on a decoration or onto the divider. Petco sand isn't all that fine, its more like fine gravel rather then sand, so when rinsed properly its not going to stir up like fine play sand or pool filer sand might, even during water changes.

If that doesn't help and its still cloudy after a day or two, I'd suggest draining the tank and completely re-rinsing the sand in small parts, like I explained in my previous post.


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

my black petco stand trapped airbubbles and floated...really pissed me off... but it does settle after a while...

if u are taking about cloudy sand instead.... justdo a few water changes... when u pour in new water lay a plastic wrap ontop of all the sand and pour over that.... it will help keep the sand intact...


----------



## laynisample (Sep 10, 2012)

:O Plastic wrap over sand is an amazing idea! Could you leave that in permanently? I love the look of sand but every time I've tried it it constantly clouded and it was annoying every time I tried to clean the water. I was thinking put in some caves and decorations on the bottom, and a lot of floating plants to make it still as green as my other tanks.


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

laynisample said:


> :O Plastic wrap over sand is an amazing idea! Could you leave that in permanently? I love the look of sand but every time I've tried it it constantly clouded and it was annoying every time I tried to clean the water. I was thinking put in some caves and decorations on the bottom, and a lot of floating plants to make it still as green as my other tanks.


i doubt it... lol because even if u held it down... u will create anaerobic pockets...


----------



## laynisample (Sep 10, 2012)

aokashi said:


> i doubt it... lol because even if u held it down... u will create anaerobic pockets...


Darn. Oh well, black gravel looks nice too and allows me to not obsess over the fish tanks.


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

laynisample said:


> Darn. Oh well, black gravel looks nice too and allows me to not obsess over the fish tanks.


Lol! I overobsess over my tanks... more so than my fish >.>

Fish jerky got shipped out today didnt he XD
I'm excited~


----------



## laynisample (Sep 10, 2012)

Yes he did! I'll probably take pictures of him in the quarantine tank as soon as he's acclimated. I'm so excited to get to meet him in person! I remember a thread where he hid, well I had Eko scare the daylights out of me. He jumped into the filter and got himself stuck there until I rescued him. I then made a cover for the filter with craft mesh, my favorite fish tool.


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

laynisample said:


> Yes he did! I'll probably take pictures of him in the quarantine tank as soon as he's acclimated. I'm so excited to get to meet him in person! I remember a thread where he hid, well I had Eko scare the daylights out of me. He jumped into the filter and got himself stuck there until I rescued him. I then made a cover for the filter with craft mesh, my favorite fish tool.


*thread is hijacked*

Lol yes! I left his susswassertang in there, but in the frenzie of the day, I forgot his food  

You can leave the susswassertang suspended  it sinks, so if you stuff it in a corner, it will generall stay there. needing the occassional poke to get it back into place. it should grow for you over time!


----------



## laynisample (Sep 10, 2012)

Yay! Plants! Bettausa sent some food with him, so it's all good. I also just got a new jar of omega one which both my guys seem to love. I'm stalking my porch in anticipation!


----------



## MoppinTheFlooR (Oct 9, 2012)

laynisample said:


> Yay! Plants! Bettausa sent some food with him, so it's all good. I also just got a new jar of omega one which both my guys seem to love. I'm stalking my porch in anticipation!


stay on topic?

I need help :/

more info the better


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Did you try what I suggested? Was it helpful?


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

MoppinTheFlooR said:


> stay on topic?
> 
> I need help :/
> 
> more info the better


did u read everything....?


----------



## MoppinTheFlooR (Oct 9, 2012)

laynisample said:


> Yay! Plants! Bettausa sent some food with him, so it's all good. I also just got a new jar of omega one which both my guys seem to love. I'm stalking my porch in anticipation!


Yes!!! I got them in, thank you very much. They look so much happier & it was exciting taking them from this small little bowl to there big tank and watching them explore the new big space.

thank you very much


----------



## laynisample (Sep 10, 2012)

MoppinTheFlooR said:


> Yes!!! I got them in, thank you very much. They look so much happier & it was exciting taking them from this small little bowl to there big tank and watching them explore the new big space.
> 
> thank you very much


Um, what? I was talking to aokashi about the fish and plants she sent me. Congrats on a bigger space for your fish though.


----------

