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Best way to add sand?

I have about 40-50 pounds of sand sitting in a rubbermaid container with a powerhead and heater.

The sand was from another member's tank but he also had it with water movement and a heater prior to me taking it.

What is the best way to add the sand to my current tank? It is just setup and running, so nothing in it fish wise or coral just LR.

Thanks in advance.
 
I was planning on killing the pumps and slowly filling it cup by cup to minmize sand kickup and sand on the LR

this is probably going to be the hardest part of it all
 
First I would suggest rinsing the used sand very well in saltwater....you'll be surprised how much gunk is in there. Then to add it to the tank...you can use a container...fill the container with sand, leaving room for water. Then slowly lower it into the tank allowing water to slowly mix with the sand in the container, then move the container to the bottom and pur it out slowly. The funnel thing never worked for me....it always clogged.
 

Sunny

NJRC Member
Article Contributor
I used a 2 inch pvc pipe. Cut it slightly longer than the depth of the tank and slowly pour it in.
 
Put it in plastic bag, lower it in to bottom of tank and turn it upside down. Slowly dump it out. Worked good for me
 
Just a side note....I think it is best to add your LR first then sand. I liked putting something on the glass ... I used cutting boards... another option is egg crate. If you have any sand burrowing critters they could in theory collapse your rocks if you put the sand down first.
 
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