Sand from Home Depot

[Titandan]

Hi,

I'm new to this board. I bought crushed marble sand from Home Depot today and i was wondering if it would be okay for my african tank. I read somewhere that Home Depot would have good sand for aquariums. I bought the nontoxic playsand for sandboxes that kids play with. I am soaking it with water and I tried to get all of the tiny particles of sand out from the water, but more comes out. The water in the bucket with the sand is very cloudy. Do I need to keep adding water until the water becomes clear?
I would like any of your input thankyou.

-dan

[aharris]

You might try putting sand in a bucket and burying a hose down inside the sand and letting it run until the water that flows over the top runs clear.

[Titandan]

I made the mistake of putting the sand in the water already. I rinsed it as much as I could have. I rinsed it about 15-20 times(a lot of water was wasted). Will the cloudiness in the water die down or will I have to do a massive water change?

Thanks for any input.

-dan

[aharris]

The cloudiness should die down given time. Have you introduced any sources of bacteria? I thought I had a massive dust problem once when I changed substrates, but it was actually a bacteria bloom.

[Mbuniac]

I rinsed mine in the driveway by putting a small amount (about 1/4 bucket) and using a high pressure nozzle to agitate the sand. When the bucket fills up, pour the water out trying not to let the sand go with it. Then repeat the process as many times as necessary until the water is clear. Dump the clean sand into a seperate bucket and start the process all over again until you have rinsed as much sand as you need.
You may have to do several water changes. Agitate the sand as much as you can while you remove water. Turn off your filters so the stirred up sand doesn't get in them. LOL
Sam

[Titandan]

Thanks. I hope it works, but more importantly, I hope my fish don't die.

Thanks for your help.
God bless.

-dan

[truckpoetry]

I have washed that sand pretty successfully using the hose in the bottom of the bucket. It is time consuming but it will eventually clear up - just keep mucking it up with your hands until it runs clear.

NOW, since you have already clouded your tank with the sand, you'll find it will settle, but it might take a couple of months to completely clear. And even then, some things may rustle up the sand and make it cloudy again. Try doing large water changes as frequently as you can and eventually you'll get most of it out.

[LoJack]

I find that Silica sand from home depot has worked best for me. It settles extremely fast, and it takes about 2 buckets full of water for the water to run crystal clear as opposed to 15-20 buckets of water with playsand. I was skeptical, as I had no idea as to whether or not silica sand would be safe, but I've been using it now in 3 of my aquariums for about 11 months and its awesome. The only downside, is that under the light in your tank, it looks like white beach sand and takes away from the color of your cichlids.

[soleil988]

I made the same mistake when I switched to sand, but luckily for me I didn't have any fish in the tank. So I let the sand settle and within 3 or 4 days the water was clear and the sand died down. Hopefully all works out. =)

[Bhumnarain]

i got a 65 gallon freshwater tank, will it be okay if i put home depot sand in it as long as i clean it? and also, my tank has all types of fish in it.