will adding sand kill the tank?

[bk_market]

okay let say if the tank is bare bottom with LR. The tank is running fine but i want to add some sand. If I buy a bag or two of dead sand and put them in the tank. Will it create a a cycle and kill all livestock?

[jnguyen4007]

Hung,

 

If the sand has nothing in it, then it will not create a cycle that would increase the ammonia and nitrite level in your tank so your tank's inhabitants will be safe.

 

James

[ReeferMan]

i would rinse the sand really well and make sure you siphon the crap off the bottom of your tank before you pour it in. Just a tip but you can get a peice of PVS 3-4 inches and pour the sand in the pipe while resting it on the bottom of the tank, so you dont create such a sand storm.

[Almon]

rinse the sand really well

 

 

 

After that, rinse it again.

[bigJPDC]

man that PVC trick sounds like a good one!

 

 

Could you rinse sand by using a media reactor, or is the material too dense?

The only time I rinsed sand I did it by filling a homer bucket and burying a garden hose in it, then letting the water filter up and out until I thought it was clear of dust. It killed me to think that I was adding all that tap water, even if I strained the sand before putting in the tank.

 

jp

[jason the filter freak]

Dan has done it, cool thread on it too

[jnguyen4007]

That PVC pipe trick, that is really cool idea.

 

James

[bk_market]

should i go with super fine grade sand or a mix?

 

Also is black sand anygood or just the normal white sand is best?

 

How thich should my sand bed be just for decor purpose. i will have a deep sand bed on my fuge later.

Edited July 31, 2007 by bk_market

[ReeferMan]

Mix of sizes are best and 2 inches would be ok. If you like black go for it. White makes the tank look brighter though

[bigJPDC]

you'll get varying opinions on the black sand - I love it. For my 65 I went with 80 lbs indo-pacific (think salt and pepper) live sand and 40 lbs black tahatian moon sand - and I think it's still not black enough.

 

The down side is that the moon sand isn't live, so needs the rinsing and such. When I put up my 20g, I am going all black and I'll try to seed with a cup from the other tanks, maybe just wait longer for things to get live. That will give me an idea of whether or not I'll do it when I get that 240.

[bk_market]

anyone with picture of blacksand reef?

[bk_market]

i think i will just stick with normal white sand.

 

Im planning to upgrade soon my tank soon from 45 to something between 75~90g and i have a feq questions:

 

What is the most effective way to remove coraline from the back and size of the tank after I empty it?

 

Also how do i get rid of spray paint from the back of the tank if i want to change from blue to black?

 

And last is i want to remove the scratches froma tank before I start to stock it, any of u guys use any kind of scratch remove kit? How does they work anyway?

[ReeferMan]

First coralline can be scrapped off if its glass as well as spray paint. I would soak the take in a vinegar water mix and then scrap. Spray paint scraping is a mess. Scratched can be taken out of acylic but almost impossible to take out of glass. I say almost because it can be done but i think the kits are pretty expensive. I have heard of someone on here (?) saying they used something that lighten smaller scratches. Search and see if you can find the post. Ineducated in believe is the person that tried it out and said it worked

[bk_market]

is there some kind of liquid to just melt the paint off? Im afraid scraping all the coraline and paint off will scratch the tank even more?

[davelin315]

The concept for removing scratches is the same for acrylic and for glass. You basically use something that will buff it out. If you want to remove the scratches from acrylic, you use sandpaper (that's what comes in the kits). You'll buff until it's hazy without any visible scratches and then when you add water the haze will disappear. This is only something that you should use on the inside of the tank, on the outside, the haze won't go away unless you have something to polish it with (and even then I'm not sure how well it will come out).

 

For glass, use some comet if it's a very tiny scratch. My old college roommates used to use it to take the scratches off of watch faces (he worked summers as a janitor and that was what they did in the school that he worked in to remove tiny surface scratches from windows). It takes a bit of work but it worked on watches. I would think that it would also work on glass tanks, too. If it doesn't, don't blame me! That's hinting to test it some place where it won't matter first!

 

As far as removing the coralline, same as Chris said, use some vinegar. I wouldn't dilute it, though, simply pour it on and let it soak for a few minutes and then chisel away with a razor on glass or a hard piece of plastic on acrylic (you can use a credit card on either).

 

For the paint, since it's on the outside, you could use either a heat gun or hair dryer. I don't know what the effect of mineral spirits or turpentine is on a seal and would think that it would haze acrylic pretty quickly.

[bk_market]

great info thanx guys. im getting ready for my tank upgrade.

 

About the transfering part from old tank to new tank

 

Im planning to use all the old water from the orginal tank and put them in the new tank

Also all the liverock and leave it barebottom for a few days then add sand in for decor. The livesand from my old tank i will need to decide if i can rinse and use it again.

 

Will my barebottom tank work fine? will my new tank with everything the same (Water, LR, equipment...)except the sandbed handle my current load on my old tank?

[treesprite]

My first round with sand was "black" sand (called something like Tahitian moon). In the tank it looked like an un-appealing dark gray rather than black, which was not visually pleasant.