The Puffer Forum

Finished setting up my tank last night. This is the first time I've used sand as a substrate. Even though I pre-wet it before putting it in the tank as the instructions said, a bunch of it seems to be floating at the surface and bobbing around with the current. I've tried scooping from the surface but there seems to be a never ending supply. Not to mention it seems to randomly sink and settle on all the decorations. Any ideas how to fix this?

What kind of sand is it? Did you rinse it thoroughly beforehand?

I think I did. Like I said, never used sand before. I put it all in a bucket and slowly put water in and mixed it til it had the consistancy to make sand castles. Normally I'd rinse gravel by putting it in a colander and running it under the sink, but that wouldn't have worked with sand.

I showed mine in a bucket and let a strong jet of water go through the sand for about 10 minutes. As the bucket overflowed all the crap came out.

What type of sand is it? did you buy an aquarium grade sand?

It was not fully wetted. Dry sand can easily float. it is the same principle as floating a sewing needle - surface tension supports it. Fully wetted it will sink. Very small-grained sand (sugar sand and similar) is very easily suppored by current in the water column though.