Sand in my fish tank?

Question

I recently put sand straight from the beach in my fish tank and i didn't sieve it and i was wondering if this can harm the fish and how to clean it and i don't really want to buy a vacuum cleaner thing and can this stuff the filter in the bottom of my tank tank..

Answer 1

Yes it would have been a very good idea to clean the sand 1st. You never know what kinds of pollutants can come from beach sand. A vac wont help at this point. The sand should have been rinsed and strained, then soaked in bleach to remove contaminants, and soaked in water with a very heavy dose of water conditioner to remove the chlorine.

Your statement that you do not want to buy a vac tells me that you are not ready to be keeping an aquarium. If you are not willing to keep your aquarium clean and provide your fish with fresh clean water then maybe you should consider giving your fish to someone who will take care of them properly. A vac costs 4 bucks at walmart.

Answer 2

If you took it straight from the beach and didn't boil it, there is no telling what kind of junk you brought into your tank (parasites, bacteria, fungus). Get it away from the fish as soon as possible and boil it. No matter what, you will need a siphon to clean it off, there is no way around that. Your last sentence doesn't make any sense, try rewriting it logically.

Soop Nazi

Answer 3

Yes it may harm the fish cuz the ocean is salt water and MOST fish are fresh water. To clean it you'd have to run fresh water over it in a very small slotted sifter. Yes, it can clog the filter in the bottom of the tank.

Answer 4

ok, ill assume your tank is salt water, because if its fresh water, this was an incedibly stupid thing to do, considering the amount of salt that would be in it.

basically, no, its not ok. beach sand has all sorts of fungus and bacterial problems that need to be treated before adding it to an aquarium.

you might get lucky and they will be ok.... but probably not.
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