hi im not sure if this is were this thread should go so im gonna anyway......i have a 55gal tank and im going to start cycling it but i dont have the sand i want yet..so my question is can i start the cycling process and add the sand later when i get it???
tank sand
- Thread starter FloridaAngler88
- Start date
You can cycle your filters any time. It might get a little messy when you add sand. I'd turn off filtration while you add sand then after it's in wrap the intakes with towels or something. You wouldn't want it sucked into your equipment and screw up an impeller.
I had my 34 gal set up with an XP4 on it for about 8 months when I swapped gravel for sand. I shut off the filter and all went well....except the tank crashed! I don't know why, maybe I removed too much of the BB when I scooped all the gravel out. All went well with the filter, though. I recommend picking up 3M Colorquartz grade S. I got a 50lb. bag from a vendor for about $30.00. It looks great, it won't pulverize (some does while in the bag, but you're going to rinse it anyway) and the color won't leach into the water. Plus, its too heavy for me to vacuum up.
yes make sure you cyclcle with your filters and sand can ome after but its better to have the sand from the start if its a new set up saves time on the filtering of the dust that sand causes.
thank you all for the quick answers i would put the sand in first but all the pet stores around here dont have what i want. i want black sand to go with my black background. pluse they want $25 dollars for a 20lbs bag. they said i need 3 bags? but i know the person there and the best he can do for me is $20 a bag but i just dont have the money right now with unemployment and all.
hey kyeasting does that look just like sand or is it slightly bigger? iv never heard of this stuff but from the links you gave it sounds really good. thank you for the info
I bought the S grade, and its a little smaller than playground sand. You can pick up T grade as well, but I don't know how coarse that stuff is. It all comes pre-screened, so there's not much rinsing you need to do. I got black sand. When I rinsed it, almost no dust came out (the quartz is very hard and difficult to pulverize). However, it did turn my arm black. I worried a little, but nothing came of it. It looks great in my tank. When I vacuum, I use a 1" dia. clear tube for the nozzle hooked onto a 5/8" dia. tubing. This vacuum is a little slow, but it's perfect for the sand. It will pick up the sand but won't actually suck any out unless I stuff the gravel vac way in the sand!
Awsome thanks for the great info. were did you get it from just wondering if they have the same stores up there as they do down here.