Sand in my 30 gal?

[LadyeLLe]

My new to me 30 gal aquarium is clean and ready to go! I want to use sand as a substrate and because of availablitly in my area will likely go with pool filter sand.

How do you go about rinsing the sand? Since I have to wait for my tank to cycle do I even have to worry about rinsing it?

I want a couple plants. How deep should the sand be? How do I get them to "root" in the sand? Should I put some gravel under the sand for the plants to root? I read something about plant anchors, how do these work?

My husband is worried about sand getting in the filter. I have a new 60 gal HOB for the tank, is this ok to use with sand? Do I have to modify it?

Is it necessary to vaccum sand, or can I just run the vaccum over the surface when cleaning? It should be dense enough that particulates shouldn't settle into the sand, correct?

[Cliff]

When I clean new sand, I will use a small bucket ½ filled with sand I want to clean. I will fill the rest of the bucket with water and slosh it all round mixing up the sand in the water. You will have to make sure you mix it up really good. Let the sand settle to the bottom leaving the dirty water on top. Carefully pour out the dirty water leaving the sand in the bucket. Re-fill the bucket with clean water and repeat the process. Complete this until the water comes out clean.

I’ve been cleaning my sand like that for quite some time now and it has worked really well for me.

[190MPH]

When I clean new sand, I will use a small bucket ½ filled with sand I want to clean. I will fill the rest of the bucket with water and slosh it all round mixing up the sand in the water. You will have to make sure you mix it up really good. Let the sand settle to the bottom leaving the dirty water on top. Carefully pour out the dirty water leaving the sand in the bucket. Re-fill the bucket with clean water and repeat the process. Complete this until the water comes out clean.

I’ve been cleaning my sand like that for quite some time now and it has worked really well for me.

Right on the money. Exactly to a tee how I do mine. You'll know when it's clean enough. You probably won't even need a full 50lb bag.

[TazManiac]

I generally use a large bucket half filled with sand and run the hose in it until it runs clear. The dirty water is pushed from the bucket as it overflows and the sand becomes a fluid mass, constantly moving it and allowing all grains to be rinsed.