# sand instalation question?



## FRANK194 (Apr 25, 2008)

getting my black sand tomarrow, whats the best way to put in my tank and do i have to take my fish out? i got a 130gal with 7 rbp's and 3 caribe.


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## cobrafox46 (Jun 2, 2008)

I switched my gravel to play sand yesterday. I am sure it is equivalent to black sand. I just rinsed the sh*t out of it, scooped it in a cup, and poured it in slowly on the bottom of the tank. Mine was pretty clear right after setting it in. The tank was perfectly clear this morning! I left the fish in the tank and it did not seem to bother him. He actually tried to bite my hand a couple times.....LOL. There is a good pinned article on sand in the Tank and Equipment forum that I read or you can do some searches. Good Luck!!


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## FRANK194 (Apr 25, 2008)

cobrafox46 said:


> I switched my gravel to play sand yesterday. I am sure it is equivalent to black sand. I just rinsed the sh*t out of it, scooped it in a cup, and poured it in slowly on the bottom of the tank. Mine was pretty clear right after setting it in. The tank was perfectly clear this morning! I left the fish in the tank and it did not seem to bother him. He actually tried to bite my hand a couple times.....LOL. There is a good pinned article on sand in the Tank and Equipment forum that I read or you can do some searches. Good Luck!!


Sweet did you take out much water?


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## NTcaribe (Apr 8, 2004)

i didnt take any water out, but just be sure to rinse it until the water runs clear...scoop it in and it will just sink to the bottom, i use to put a dinner plate on the bottom when filling up the tank so i wouldn;t disturb the sand , but i figured if i just poured the water slowly it would do anything


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## NTcaribe (Apr 8, 2004)

i didnt take any water out, but just be sure to rinse it until the water runs clear...scoop it in and it will just sink to the bottom, i use to put a dinner plate on the bottom when filling up the tank so i wouldn;t disturb the sand , but i figured if i just poured the water slowly it would do anything


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## cobrafox46 (Jun 2, 2008)

FRANKK194 said:


> Sweet did you take out much water?


I did a 30% water change as I was changing the sand. I took the water out first then put the sand in and refilled. I used a 5 gallon bucket and a water hose to clean the sand. I just kept shoving the hose in and out of the sand and pouring water out every 20 seconds. It took me 3-4 minutes each bag and like I said my tank was almost clear when I put it in and is perfectly clear today. Just make sure the water is clear coming out of the bucket. I wouldn't think you would have to take too much water out.


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## FRANK194 (Apr 25, 2008)

cobrafox46 said:


> Sweet did you take out much water?


I did a 30% water change as I was changing the sand. I took the water out first then put the sand in and refilled. I used a 5 gallon bucket and a water hose to clean the sand. I just kept shoving the hose in and out of the sand and pouring water out every 20 seconds. It took me 3-4 minutes each bag and like I said my tank was almost clear when I put it in and is perfectly clear today. Just make sure the water is clear coming out of the bucket. I wouldn't think you would have to take too much water out.
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post some pictures of your set up.


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## cobrafox46 (Jun 2, 2008)

FRANKK194 said:


> post some pictures of your set up.


I am going to clean my tank and I will post up some clean pics.


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## cobrafox46 (Jun 2, 2008)

Here is a few crappy pics. I took all the stupid rocks and crap out of there that I hadin there for the crayfish. I want to try some plants again but he rips them up!


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

Make sure when your rinsing the sand..keep rinsing it till its crystal clear( the water that is).


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## FRANK194 (Apr 25, 2008)

Put my black sand in last night and it look's sweet. Except my p's got real dark.


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## cobrafox46 (Jun 2, 2008)

Post some pics!


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## FRANK194 (Apr 25, 2008)

for shure if everything is settled i'll put some up after work.


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## blackandgold4ever05 (Jun 5, 2008)

cobrafox46 said:


> Here is a few crappy pics. I took all the stupid rocks and crap out of there that I hadin there for the crayfish. I want to try some plants again but he rips them up!


That looks great cobra. I'm gonna remove my tree trunks and get some rocks from the stream soon. Here is what mine looks like with sand.


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