Suggestions please.
Best way to add sand to established bare bottom tank?
- Thread starter NanCrab
- Start date
I'd suggest turn off the pumps, lower bag to bottom and gently open and spread. That's how I'm going to do it in my new tank. After lowering water level a bit of course.
I'd get a piece of pvc pipe long enough that it's out of the water and place a funnel in it. I'd slowly dump the sand and move pipe around the tank to get the coverage you want. Just make sure you rinse the hell out of the sand prior though to prevent clouding up the tank anymore than you have to.
The suggestions are good ones but every time I add a lot of sand to a system, I always have a hang-on-back filter loaded with filter floss that I run for a few hours to help get rid of the dust that will inevitably be kicked up.
Post 3 is exactly the best way. Steve's is good when there's no livestock.
A piece of 3/4 & 1" pvc long enough to get everywhere you need to and a funnel that will fit in the pipe. The narrower pipe won't flow well but gets into tighter spots better. Using dry sand is the easiest to pour but without rinsing will cloud up pretty bad.
To rinse the sand put a garden hose in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket then add a bag or two of sand. Turn the water on and let the bucket overflow stirring as best you can. Let the water run over till its clear. Tip the bucket over and dump as much water out as you can and refill with rodi water till there's an inch or two of water over the sand. Then dump it, and then lather rinse and repeat. Do this one more time with some Prime in the rodi water.
Once rinsed good, add some sand to the funnel and slowly pour a little tank water into the funnel to get the sand to run down the pipe. Work slowly and continue till done.
A piece of 3/4 & 1" pvc long enough to get everywhere you need to and a funnel that will fit in the pipe. The narrower pipe won't flow well but gets into tighter spots better. Using dry sand is the easiest to pour but without rinsing will cloud up pretty bad.
To rinse the sand put a garden hose in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket then add a bag or two of sand. Turn the water on and let the bucket overflow stirring as best you can. Let the water run over till its clear. Tip the bucket over and dump as much water out as you can and refill with rodi water till there's an inch or two of water over the sand. Then dump it, and then lather rinse and repeat. Do this one more time with some Prime in the rodi water.
Once rinsed good, add some sand to the funnel and slowly pour a little tank water into the funnel to get the sand to run down the pipe. Work slowly and continue till done.
Good point! I may have forgotten to turn it all off!
