New 55gal tank

[IceMan198753]

Go look in the pool care section at lowes, that is where the the filter sand is. It is like $5-6 per 50 lb bag. It is very light color.

Thanks I found some at a local pool supply place!! They want $13 for a 50lb bag! prob. going to get 2 or 3 bags. I want about a 2 inch thick bottom!

 

[davet]

I've been running a Fluval 305 on my 55g for 10 years now without any problems. I actually never expected it to last this long!

 

[IceMan198753]

Well.... I have been cleaning this sand for an hour now.... Still cloudy.... Any tips on cleaning this faster??


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[IceMan198753]

Taking longer then I thought. I got PFS but to me it is way dirty


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[lp85253]

50 lbs. will prob be enough ... you can always buy more....as far as cleaning just put 10 -15 pounds in a 5 gallon bucket and run water in the bucket till it clears up.. repeat .. twice if neccasarry,,,turn the sand a little as you do the rinse

 

[IceMan198753]

50 lbs. will prob be enough ... you can always buy more....as far as cleaning just put 10 -15 pounds in a 5 gallon bucket and run water in the bucket till it clears up.. repeat .. twice if neccasarry,,,turn the sand a little as you do the rinse

Thanks

I have started putting in the sand as it comes clean but the water in the tank is still cloudy! What can I do to help that before my fliter comes toworrow!!!

 

[MooseMorse]

Pool sand isn't necessary. You can get cheap white play sand for $4 for a 50 lbs bag at Home Depot. Although a thorough cleaning is a must. Clean it over and over and over again to prevent the cloudiness you are taking about. If you already put it in the tank obviously the sand will settle in an hour or so. As for a filter in my 55 I use an eheim classic canister 2217. They are reasonable on amazon. Around $140. A little extreme seeing it is rated for a 159 gallon tank. But boy do I have some clear water. Eheim classics are great as your influent comes in on the opposite side of your effluent resulting in every drop of water running through your filter hitting all possible media inside. The 75 I am setting up right now will have two 2215s.


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[IceMan198753]

So just wait for it to settle?? Will the cloudiness go away as I cycle my tank?

 

[lp85253]

So just wait for it to settle?? Will the cloudiness go away as I cycle my tank?

POOL SAND WILL SETTLE IN A MATTER OF MINUTES TO HOURS ...play sand ,I don't know about , never used it ...careful not to put lots of sand in on you first go round ...put in 40-50 lbs, check to see how you like it , then maybe add more .... lots of sand in the tank means you need to stir it occasionally , to prevent gas pockets... SMALLER amounts generally get stirred enough at cleaning time....

 

[Dark Rose]

I've got PFS in both of my tanks, around $10 for a 50lb. Bag at Menards... Never had a cloudiness issue, but washed it well before adding it, put it in before water, and when I added water I set a plate on top of the sand to avoid stirring it up.
My 29 gallon has PFS on top of topsoil and never had any problems with it either, and it's only got about one inch of sand on top of the topsoil.

Even when some gets stirred up during a water change if I dump in too fast (I use buckets for water changes on my small tank) I never seem to have a clouding issue.

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