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Adding sand to running tank

S

SlingingBuddha

I'm looking to add about 20lbs to my tank which is up & running with 2 clowns and some live rock. I know when add the sand it get extremely murky and a foamy substance on the top of the water. Is this harmful to my fish? How should I go about putting it in? Also, I do have snails I'm assuming they can be covered with the sand? It's a mixture of snails
Side note: all rock will be taken out
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
If you can get your hand on a length of pvc pipe you can pour it very slowly down the pipe which should help reduce the sandstorm effect. If you are going to pull the rock, you can pull the fish too and put them in a heated aerated bucket while things settle down.
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I see mnat replied while I was typing....but here is what I say:

Do not take the rock out. You want your rock sitting directly on the bottom glass.


Here’s how you do it: Get a PVC pipe that is slightly longer than the depth of your tank. I like using 1 ½” pipe, but dependent on the size of your tank, you could use smaller or larger diameter pipe.

Turn off all pumps.

Put the pipe in your tank all the way to the bottom. Place a wide-mouth funnel in the top of the pipe and fill the pipe with sand. Now carefully and slowly start to lift the pipe from the bottom of the tank. The sand will start to flow out. Start moving the pipe around the bottom of the tank to distribute the sand. Fill the pipe as necessary. Keep going until you have the desired look/depth of sand you want.
 
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