Sand on rocks in new cycling tank

[TheLoneSeaMonkey]

This is probably a really dumb question but I got water in my tank today, then added rock and then live sand and the sand of course got all over the rock when I put it in with water already in since it is a small 20 gallon AIO tank. Can I take my spare powerhead and just blow the sand off or should I leave it? I don't love the way it looks so if I can blow it off, I want to. The tank currently has a dead shrimp in it and is cycling so I don't want to upset that process either, and I am not sure how fastidious the bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle are and what may or may not kill them off. (I am a human pathogenic microbiologist and am probably way overthinking this, but I just want to make sure!)

 

[fishguy242]

hi,yes just blow it off rocks.

 

[TheLoneSeaMonkey]

hi,yes just blow it off rocks.

wonderful, thank you!

 

[PbMan26]

Yea no harm clearing off the rocks. I'd use a turkey baster.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

I second the turkey baster… the power head might just create more of a mess than you want. Your bacteria will be totally fine though.

 

[Coralreefer1]

No harm in blowing it off. In the future when you are thinking of setting up a tank, I would add the live sand and rock first. Then use A plate or something similar to pour the water onto to disburse the water over a greater area and at a slower speed to reduce stirring anc clouding up your tank.
good luck

 

[Cell]

General guidance is rocks in first against the bottom glass, then sand. This keeps your rock structures more stable and protects any burrowing critters from collapse.

 

[mkereefer]

This is probably a really dumb question but I got water in my tank today, then added rock and then live sand and the sand of course got all over the rock when I put it in with water already in since it is a small 20 gallon AIO tank. Can I take my spare powerhead and just blow the sand off or should I leave it? I don't love the way it looks so if I can blow it off, I want to. The tank currently has a dead shrimp in it and is cycling so I don't want to upset that process either, and I am not sure how fastidious the bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle are and what may or may not kill them off. (I am a human pathogenic microbiologist and am probably way overthinking this, but I just want to make sure!)

You can use a new turkey baster to blow the pieces off.

 

[TheLoneSeaMonkey]

No harm in blowing it off. In the future when you are thinking of setting up a tank, I would add the live sand and rock first. Then use A plate or something similar to pour the water onto to disburse the water over a greater area and at a slower speed to reduce stirring anc clouding up your tank.
good luck

I mixed water in my tank and didn't want the bacteria in the live sand to die from lack of salinity while I figured out what I was doing so I added the live sand after I added water and of course it just fell wherever it wanted to. I added the rock first for stability and since it was cured I didn't think it would matter as much since my live sand and bottled bacteria is likely what will seed the rock. Again, probably overthinking, but my scientist brain makes me overly careful about keeping my bacteria alive - I will probably continue to be just as interested in my tank bacteria as my fish

Thanks everyone for the turkey baster suggestion! I used one and it worked great, tank is looking good and I am so excited to be started!