Silt: vacuum sand before it cycles?

[Gary Jaz]

So I did not rinse the sand before putting it in. I poured it over the rocks so as not to splash the few inches of water I had in there. Now I have sand on the rocks. So I waved a large spoon to blow the sand off and the water is all cloudy again, after it became clear a few days after I added the sand/water. I wonder if it would be a good idea to vacuum the sand to remove as much silt as possible now before it cycles and livestock goes in?

 

[ScottR]

So I did not rinse the sand before putting it in. I poured it over the rocks so as not to splash the few inches of water I had in there. Now I have sand on the rocks. So I waved a large spoon to blow the sand off and the water is all cloudy again, after it became clear a few days after I added the sand/water. I wonder if it would be a good idea to vacuum the sand to remove as much silt as possible now before it cycles and livestock goes in?

How long has the sand been in the tank? I’m assuming this is a new setup. Also, did you use live sand or bagged sand? I used live sand for my setup. Took about 3 days for the cloudiness to go away. I’d recommend water changes over vacuuming first.

 

[Gary Jaz]

How long has the sand been in the tank? I’m assuming this is a new setup. Also, did you use live sand or bagged sand? I used live sand for my setup. Took about 3 days for the cloudiness to go away. I’d recommend water changes over vacuuming first.

It was live sand, CaribSea Arag-Alive, with an exclamation point. I dumped it in last Friday in a new tank.

 

[naterealbig]

If I do this, I stir the sand bed daily, and let the filter sock and skimmer pull out the funk. Takes a few days, but it works.

 

[Gary Jaz]

If I do this, I stir the sand bed daily, and let the filter sock and skimmer pull out the funk. Takes a few days, but it works.

I can see that working.

 

[cracker]

You can vacuum a section after the tank cycles. that's what I did after not rinsing took a while but I got most of it out. I would think a vac will get more of silt than stirring . run the water thru a filter sock back into the tank. Do it a little at a time during a water change maybe.

edit now I think about it the filter sock might not be fine enough to capture the super fine silt .

 

[ScottR]

There’s no reason to vacuum live sand if it was just put in. Unless you have livestock in there already that are dirtying it. Live sand isn’t supposed to be rinsed. The cloudiness will dissipate after a few days. One saying that never gets old in this hobby is “be patient”.

 

[Gary Jaz]

You can vacuum a section after the tank cycles. that's what I did after not rinsing took a while but I got most of it out. I would think a vac will get more of silt than stirring . run the water thru a filter sock back into the tank. Do it a little at a time during a water change maybe.

edit now I think about it the filter sock might not be fine enough to capture the super fine silt .

That's a great idea about running it back into the tank through a filter sock.

I ordered some 100 micron filter socks for this task.

 

[Gary Jaz]

There’s no reason to vacuum live sand if it was just put in. Unless you have livestock in there already that are dirtying it. Live sand isn’t supposed to be rinsed. The cloudiness will dissipate after a few days. One saying that never gets old in this hobby is “be patient”.

I was patient and the water was crystal clear, but I'm concerned that down the road every time something moves in the tank that the silt will reappear if I don't reduce it now.

 

[Gary Jaz]

Just blasted the sand with a powerhead the last 2 days after installing 2 100 micron socks now when I blast, little silt.